Permeability to Water of the Fibre Cell Wall Material of Two Hardwoods

The permeability to water of the fibre cell wall of birch (Betulapubescens Ehrh.) and lime (Tilia x vulgaris Hayne) wood, wasmeasured in wood slices in which most of the void space wasfilled with paraffin wax or a polymerizing silicone elastomer.An osmotic technique was used with solutes of molecular weightgreat enough to prevent their molecules from penetrating thepores in the water-swollen cell wall. The solutes used weredextran and polyethylene glycol with molecular weights of 40000 and 6000 respectively. Values for permeability k x 10²¹, as defined by the Darcy equation,ranged between 3.6 m² for the tangential direction in birch,to 27 m² for the longitudinal direction in birch. These resultsare in good agreement with previously measured values but areat least ten times less than theoretical values. It is calculatedthat total emptying or filling of a wood cell through the wallmight be possible in as little as 5 min under a pressure differenceof 0.1 MPa if other flow pathways were blocked. Key words: Betula pubescens, Tilia x vulgaris, Water permeability, Fibre cell wall