POROSITY AND PORE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF RECENT AND ANCIENT BURIED PHOEBE ZHENNAN WOOD DETERMINED BY MERCURY INTRUSION POROSIMETRY

The porosity and pore size distribution of recent and ancient buried Phoebe zhennan are studied in this paper by means of mercury intrusion porosimetry. The results show that the micropore and mesopore diameters of recent and buried wood are mainly distributed in range of 40.3 nm and 183.1 nm respectively, while the macropore in 45276.6 nm and 3503.9 nm separately. For both samples, the pores with diameters below 349.9 nm account for about 60% of the total intrusion volume, and contribute more than 98% of the surface area. The cumulative pore area of recent wood is slightly greater and the pore diameter ranges from 50.3 nm to 349.9 nm. While the cumulative pore area of buried wood is significantly larger than and the pore diameter ranges until 50.3 nm. These results can provide information for further investigations on the sorption behaviour and the liquid permeability of ancient buried wood.