Chemical composition of 36 Brazilian Amazon forest wood species

Woods of 36 tree species from the Brazilian Amazon forest have been extracted and analyzed by means of total hydrolysis. For each species, three trees were analyzed in duplicate. The sugars and other byproducts of hydrolysis were analyzed by HPLC. Uronic anhydrides and acid-soluble lignin were determined by colorimetric methods. Acid-insoluble lignin, ash, and extractive contents were analyzed gravimetrically. Each analysis was performed several times and the data were evaluated statistically. The average percentages for ash and extractives are presented. Quantitative data for sugars obtained by HPLC were recalculated for glucan, galactan, arabinan, and mannan contents. These data are presented together with quantitative data for acetyl groups, 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfuraldehyde, levulinic acid, uronic anhydride, acid-soluble and-insoluble lignin as summative analysis data based on an ash- and extractive-free basis, where, in an ideal case, the data should sum up to 100%. The summative results obtained varied from 96.0% to 99.6%, which is very satisfactory.