Dry wood is primarily composed of cellulose, lignin, hemicelluloses, and minor amounts (5% to 10%) of extraneous materials. Cellulose, the major component, constitutes approximately 50% of wood substance by weight. It is a high-molecular-weight linear polymer consisting of chains of 1 to more than 4 β -linked glucose monomers. During growth of the tree, the cellulose molecules are arranged into ordered strands called fibrils, which in turn are organized into the larger structural elements that make up the cell wall of wood fibers. Most of the cell wall cellulose is crystalline.  Delignified wood fibers, which consist mostly of cellulose, have great commercial value when formed into paper. Delignified fibers may also be chemically altered to form textiles, films, lacquers, and explosives.  Lignin constitutes 23% to 33% of the wood substance in softwoods and 16% to 25% in hardwoods. Although lignin occurs in wood throughout the cell wall, it is concentrated toward the outside of the cells and between cells. Lignin is often called the cementing agent that binds individual cells together. Lignin is a three-dimensional phenylpropanol polymer, and its structure and distribution in wood are still not fully understood. On a commercial scale, it is necessary to remove lignin from wood to make high-grade paper or other paper products.  Theoretically, lignin might be converted to a variety of chemical products, but in commercial practice a large percentage of the lignin removed from wood during pulping operations is a troublesome byproduct, which is often burned for heat and recovery of pulping chemicals. One sizable commercial use for lignin is in the formulation of oil-well drilling muds. Lignin is also used in rubber compounding and concrete mixes. Lesser amounts are processed to yield vanillin for flavoring purposes and to produce solvents. Current research is examining the potential of using lignin in the manufacture of wood adhesives.  The hemicelluloses are associated with cellulose and are branched, low-molecular-weight polymers composed of several different kinds of pentose and hexose sugar monomers. The relative amounts of these sugars vary markedly with species. Hemicelluloses play an important role in fiber-to-fiber bonding in the papermaking process. The component sugars of hemicellulose are of potential interest for conversion into chemical products.  Unlike the major constituents of wood, extraneous materials are not structural components. Both organic and inorganic extraneous materials are found in wood. The organic component takes the form of extractives, which contribute to such wood properties as color, odor, taste, decay resistance, density, hygroscopicity, and flammability. Extractives include tannins and other polyphenolics, coloring matter, essential oils, fats, resins, waxes, gum starch, and simple metabolic intermediates. This  component is termed extractives because it can be removed from wood by extraction with solvents, such as water, alcohol, acetone, benzene, or ether. Extractives may constitute roughly 5% to 30% of the wood substance, depending on such factors as species, growth conditions, and time of year when the tree is cut. The inorganic component of extraneous material generally constitutes 0.2% to 1.0% of the wood substance, although greater values are occasionally reported. Calcium, potassium, and magnesium are the more abundant elemental constituents. Trace amounts (<100 parts per million) of phosphorus, sodium, iron, silicon, manganese, copper, zinc, and perhaps a few other elements are usually present. Valuable nonfibrous products produced from wood include  naval stores, pulp byproducts, vanillin, ethyl alcohol, charcoal, extractives, and products made from bark.