Abstract

The influence of drying temperature on the hysteresis effect of rubberwood is determined in this study. Results showed
reductions in sorption capacity of rubberwood dried at high temperatures as compared to the control conventional
temperature dried material at respective corresponding set conditions. The reduction of the hygroscopicity of
rubberwood is a combined effect of both physical, morphological structure and chemical composition as affected by the
drying temperature. This improvement is found to be primarily attributed to the (i) hysteresis effect enhanced by
increased drying temperature, (ii) loss of hygroscopic hemicelluloses, and (iii) rearrangement/ degradation of
amorphous cellulose content in the cell wall.

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