Summary
According to nonequilibrium thermodynamics, the local rate of entropy production is minimized for moist wood in the stationary state. Furthermore, the rate of entropy production due to moisture flow must be zero in this state. Conservation of energy applied to the steady flow of water vapor through an arbitrarily selected volume element of wood shows that the vapor entropy gradient is zero. Because the entropy production due to moisture flow must be balanced by a corresponding entropy flow away from the element, entropy gradients for bound water and water vapor are equal and the bound water entropy gradient also is zero.
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Nelson, R.M. Wood in the stationary state: Zero entropy gradients for water vapor and bound water. Wood Sci.Technol. 26, 335–342 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00226075
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00226075