Avaliação da qualidade da madeira de Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. (Moraceae) para utilização na indústria de celulose e papel

Abstract

The species Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. (jackfruit), well adapted to the region of Recôncavo of Bahia, has its wood been used for the furniture manufacture, and the fruit as human food. However, no studies on the quality of wood and its potential for use in the pulp and paper industry were found in the literature. In view of this, the objective of this study was to characterize the physical, chemical and anatomical radial variation of Artocarpus heterophyllus wood and to evaluate its potential in the pulp and paper industry. In all analyzes, usual methodologies for physical, chemical and anatomical characterization of wood were used. The results obtained allowed to conclude that there was a decrease in the basic density in the marrow-shell direction, and that the high levels of lignin and extractive found for the species are potential compromising of its use in the pulp and paper industry. The wood quality index for pulp and paper production showed best results for cell wall fraction, flexibility coefficient and Runkel ratio in the positions closest to the marrow, while for the feltring index in regions closest to the shell.