Potencial energético da madeira de Eucalyptus sp. em função da idade e de diferentes materiais genéticos

Abstract

The present study aimed to determine the influence of age and different genetic material of Eucalyptus sp. in wood energy production. Therefore, we evaluated three Eucalyptus sp. clones from Gerdau S/A, at four different ages: 3, 4, 5 and 7 years. Five discs were removed from each tree (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100% of the trunk commercial height), and the wood basic density and calorific value were determined. Based on these values we estimated the energy m-3 amount. We observed an effect of age and genetic material for the wood density and the calorific value. Moreover, the amount of energy m-3 increased with increasing age, and the three genetic materials evaluated were significantly different between them. The GG 680 clone showed better performance for this variable, presenting at seven years 2,943 kW.h.m-3. Note that the selection of the best genetic material must consider the wood technological characteristics, as well as their productivity and effectiveness of technical production.