Essay On Wood Modification

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3.0 WOOD MODIFICATION Wood modification can be defined as a process that improves the properties of wood, producing a new material that when disposed at the end of the product life cycle doesn’t present an environmental hazard any greater than unmodified wood. The modification of wood properties can be conducted through thermal, and by impregnation (Hill 2006). The use of heat treatments to modify wood is not new. Tiemann (1920) showed that drying at high temperatures help in the attainment of equilibrium moisture content and decrease in the consequent swelling of wood, Stammet al (1946) also reporteda heat-treatment to improve wood dimensional stability without densification and called the process “Staybwood”. Recently the interest in heat …show more content…

Enhance wood durability: Most woods are susceptible to rot in atmospheres with high humidity. Heat treatment leads to an improvement in the resistance against several biodegradation processes. Heat treatment of wood has an effect on wood’s chemical composition and through that on the properties of wood. The effect of heat treatment on wood’s properties was already known by our forefathers when heating the edges of fence poles to increase durability. In addition to better durability the advantages of heat treated wood are reduced hygroscopicity and improved dimensional stability. The reason why heat treatment method has not been commercialized earlier is mainly because the processes were complicated in large scale production due to high temperature needed to get good biological durability. The problem has been wood burning if shielding gas is not used. There have also been problems in getting the heat effect evenly inside the wood without surface charring. Also treatment decreased wood’s strength making it too brittle for many applications. At present, only few and mostly temperate wood species had been tested. Thus, all untested wood species needs to be evaluated. Parameters used such as treatment time and temperature must be optimized separately for different wood species to attain the desired properties (Ranin

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