Review of wood drying research in Brazil: 1984-2004

In Brazil, research on wood drying has been more focused on applied aspects than on fundamentals ones, and results have been published almost exclusively in Brazilian journals. The study of lumber deformation under aggressive drying conditions resulted in methods to group species and to define kiln schedules. Relationship between moisture content and electrical resistivity was used to improve quality control of dried lumber as well automatic control of the kiln drying process. Conventional kiln drying is the most common method for industrial drying, but seasoning and solar drying were also studied. The biggest research effort was directed to improve the drying of eucalypt lumber.