Summative Analysis of Nine Common North American Woods

Abstract The summative analysis of lignocellulosic materials has heretofore been a complicated process or the analysis has been incomplete. The Bomb/HPLC summative analysis method presented in this report results in a complete analysis of woody materials using a sample preparation scheme that is easily adopted into a normal laboratory routine. The method relies on HPLC for the majority of the component analyses. To demonstrate the applicability and reproducibility of the Bomb/HPLC method, ten wood samples, from nine different wood species, were analyzed in triplicate and the summative analysis of each sample was effected. The ten woods analyzed were: American beech ( Fagus grandifolia ), Quaking aspen ( Populus tremuloides ), Black cherry ( Prunus serotina ), Sugar (Hard) maple ( Acer saccharum ), Red (Soft) maple ( Acer rubrum ). White ash ( Fraxinus americana ), Yellow birch ( Betula verrucosa ), Douglas fir heartwood and Douglas fir sapwood ( Pseudotsuga menziesii ), and White fir sapwood ( Abies conco...