Chemi-thermal modification of wood

The aim of this research is to study the durability of wood by chemi-thermal modification. A chemical pre-treatment was introduced to catalyze the effect of thermal modification of wood by impregnating them with selective chemicals before their thermal treatment in oil. The effects of heating oils and pre-treatment chemicals were investigated. Changes in the oil absorption capacity wood at elevated temperature appear to play an important role in conveying stability of wood in terms of moisture uptake, fungal and decay resistance as well as dimensional swelling. Borax pre-treatment appeared to have a positive effect on the decay properties of wood but increased its hygroscopicity. As industry is looking for alternative wood treatment processes to enhance durability of wood, the effect of time-temperature-moisture absorption relationship on dimensional stability and decay properties are discussed.