Describing the history and state-of-the-art of the thermo-hydrous manipulation of wood, this book provides either a desk reference or a field manual of wood science. It examines the polymeric components of wood and its multilevel hierarchical structure that confer its unique general-purpose character and faculty for transformation. Exceeding all other material in its capacity to deform under controlled conditions and for a proscribed outcome, wood, under thermo-hydrous conditions, permits a multitude of industrial processes. Discussing the processes at work and the industrial applications, this book is a must for all interested in the manipulation of wood.

Steam explosion is a rapidly developing technique for the fractionation and modification of lignocellulosics and for the extraction of industrial polysaccharides. This book is a primary integrated presentation of the fundamental and technological aspects of this process, and provides an exhaustive discussion of its prospects for the future. The main topics concern the kinetic and engineering aspects as well as the structure modifcations of the substrates, induced by the steam explosion process. Applications in the pulping and textile industries, in the bioconversion of wood and agricultural biomass, and in polysaccharide extraction are widel discussed. Potential developments of this technique in the activation of lingocellulosics for dissolving and the production of new textile fibers and films are also considered.

Over the past four decades, there has been immense progress in every area of lignin science, ranging from the enzymology of lignin biodegradation, to the delignification of wood fiber during pulping and bleaching, to advances in spectroscopy. Lignin and Lignans: Advances in Chemistry captures the developments that have been achieved by world-class