Chemical constituents and fiber dimensions of Malaysian Native Wood

The demands for wood and wood-based products are likely to increase in the
future as it contributes in many applications. It is also important to study the chemical
constituents and fiber dimensions of the wood to determine its potential utilization.
The chemical constituents (holocellulose, cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin and
extractives) and the fiber dimensions (fiber length, fiber width and lumen diameter) of
Sesbania grandiflora have been determined in this study. The standard methods were
used to determine each chemical constituent. Soxhlet extraction was performed for the
determination of extractives and delignification method was conducted to obtain the
holocellulose content. Kurschner hoffner’s method and drying method were carried
out for the determination of cellulose and ash content respectively. Simple
microscopic and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) studies were carried out for
the determination of fiber dimensions. The results revealed that stalks of Sesbania
grandiflora contain 6.20% of extractives, 79.75% of holocellulose, 14.05% of lignin,
39.0% of cellulose, 40.75% of hemicellulose and 12.05% of ash respectively. The
fiber dimension results showed that the Sesbania grandzflora stalks has fiber length of
0.00256mm, fiber width ranging from 13.25µm to 17.83µm and lumen diameter of
0.22µm.