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Improved resistance of Scots pine and Spruce by application of an oil-heat treatment
2000 - IRG/WP 00-40162
Spruce (Picea abies L. Karst.) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) were subject to a heat treatment which was carried out in an oil-bath. The aim was to improve the dimensional stability of the treated wood and its resistance against fungi. The bath of vegetable oil provides a uniform heat transfer at temperatures of 180°C, 200°C and 220°C and protects the submersed wood from oxygen. Heat trea...
M Sailer, A O Rapp, H Leithoff


Durability of different heat treated materials from industrial processes in ground contact
2005 - IRG/WP 05-40312
In this study the durability of heat treated wood originating from four different European industrial heat treatment processes in ground contact was examined. The manufacturers of heat treated material were: PLATO Hout B.V./Netherlands, Thermo Wood/Finland, New Option Wood/France and Menz Holz/Germany where Oil-Heat treated Wood (OHT) is produced. All heat treated materials showed significantly i...
C R Welzbacher, A O Rapp


Thermal modification of non-durable wood species 1. The PLATO technology: thermal modification of wood
1998 - IRG/WP 98-40123
The PLATO technology is an innovative upgrading technology with low environmental impact, which can be applied to fast grown and non-durable wood species. This technology is based on a thermal modification of solid wood without the addition of chemicals (e.g. preservatives), consisting of a hydrothermal treatment, followed by drying and curing. The PLATO technology results in a substantial improve...
M J Boonstra, B F Tjeerdsma, H A C Groeneveld


Determination of the water sorption properties and preliminary results from field tests above ground of thermally modified material from industrial scale processes
2004 - IRG/WP 04-40279
In this study the differences in moisture behavior and durability above ground of heat treated wood originating from different European industrial heat treatment plants by means of the water sorption properties as well as field tests were examined. The manufacturers of heat treated material were: PLATO Hout B.V./Netherlands, Thermo Wood (Premium wood)/ Finland and Menz Holz/ Germany, where Oil-...
C R Welzbacher; A O Rapp


Investigation of the suitability of silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) for thermal modification
2004 - IRG/WP 04-40275
In this study the suitability of silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) was examined for thermal modification. Comparative experimental investigations were performed with silver fir and Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst.) after thermal treatments. Besides properties, which characterize the quality of heat treatments, like dimensional stability and resistance against fungal attack, strength properties of the...
C Brischke, A O Rapp


Influences of the hydro-thermal treatment on physical properties of beech wood (Fagus orientalis)
2005 - IRG/WP 05-40303
Influences of the hydro-thermal treatment on physical properties of beech wood were studied. Wood specimens (2×2×2cm) were treated in two steps. At first step, samples were treated at 160,180 & 200ºC for 4, 5 & 6 hours. At second step, treated samples were cured based on their first step treatment temperatures (160,180 & 200ºC) for 16 hours. The treated samples were soaked in water...
B Mohebby, I Sanaei


Thermal modification of non-durable wood species 2. Improved wood properties of thermal treated wood
1998 - IRG/WP 98-40124
Properties of wood treated in a new heat-treatment process called the PLATO-process have been studied. Several wood species have been treated using this new thermal modification process using a range of process conditions (mainly time and temperature). In this study the characteristics of the treated wood were determined using samples from whole planks treated on pilot plant scale. The modified ch...
B F Tjeerdsma, M J Boonstra, H Militz


Comparison of thermally modified wood originating from four industrial scale processes – durability
2002 - IRG/WP 02-40229
This study examined the differences in biological wood properties of heat treated wood originating from four different European industrial heat treatment plants. The manufacturers of heat treated material were: PLATO Hout B.V./Netherlands, Thermo Wood/Finland, New Option Wood/France and Menz Holz/Germany where Oil-Heat treated Wood (OHT) is produced. The results of miniblock tests with basidiomyc...
C R Welzbacher, A O Rapp


Characteristics of thermally modified wood in vacuum
2004 - IRG/WP 04-40287
In commercial thermal wood modification processes nitrogen, steam or oil has been used for the reduction of oxygen content in the reactor atmosphere. In present study no special heating medium, but an initial vacuuming step has been used for this purpose. Mass loss, resistance to fungal decay, dimensional stability, bending strength and modulus of elasticity of heat treated wood were evaluated and...
G Rep, F Pohleven, B Bucar


High-energy multiple impact (HEMI)-test – Part 2: A mechanical test for the detection of fungal decay
2006 - IRG/WP 06-20339
The suitability of the high-energy multiple impact (HEMI)-test for detection of early fungal decay was examined. The HEMI – test characterizes the treatment quality of thermally modified wood by stressing the treated material by thousands of impacts of pounding steel balls. This method differentiates between heat treatment intensities, which are expressed by structural changes of the wood. Simil...
C R Welzbacher, C Brischke, A O Rapp


High-energy multiple impact (HEMI)-test – Part 1: A new tool for quality control of thermally modified timber
2006 - IRG/WP 06-20346
Thermal modification processes improve durability and dimensional stability of wood, but the strength properties, especially the dynamic ones, are compromised and need to be considered with respect to industrial quality control. Results from standard dynamic strength testing, such as impact bending tests, suffer from high variability, and therefore require a high number of replicates. To overcome ...
C Brischke, A O Rapp, C R Welzbacher


The commercialisation of ThermoWood® products
2006 - IRG/WP 06-40339
The concept of thermally modifying timber is well established, which has achieved a limited market breakthrough to date. Commercial application has mainly occurred within Finland, though recent years has seen market gain in several other European countries. This paper reviews the known properties of ThermoWood® timber, based on the combined work of the Finnish ThermoWood® Association, alongside ...
D Jones, E Suttie, J Ala-Viikari, N Bergstrom, D Mayes


Photo-degradation of modified and non-modified wood, coated with water borne acrylic coatings during artificial light exposure
2007 - IRG/WP 07-30416
A series of experiments were carried out to investigate photo-degradation of thermally modified (at 210oC and – 0.9 bars for two hours) and non-modified spruce wood (Picea abies L (Karst)), coated with transparent and semitransparent (with 3% pigment content) acrylic coatings during artificial UV light irradiation for 200 hours. Photo-degradation was evaluated in terms of colour changes througho...
M Deka, M Tomažic, M Petric


Effects of heat treatments on decay resistance and material properties of ponderosa pine and yellow poplar
2007 - IRG/WP 07-40374
The potential for using heat treatment to improve the properties of North American fenestration species was evaluated on ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa L) and yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L) treated using the ThermoWood process at various treatment temperatures and times. Soil block tests using Gloeophyllum trabeum, Postia placenta, or Trametes versicolor showed that durability was enh...
C Vidrine, C Freitag, J Nicholson, J J Morrell


A step towards a better understanding of fungal colonization of modified wood - QRT-PCR studies
2008 - IRG/WP 08-10653
The area of wood protection is in a period of change. New wood protection systems have been developed while their mode of action remains insufficiently understood. The development of molecular methods provides potential tools to investigate the interaction between modified wood and decay fungi. One small step to tackle some of the unsolved questions about the mode of action of modified wood is tak...
G Alfredsen, A Pilgård, A Hietala


Preliminary investigation of biological resistance, water absorption and swelling of thermally compressed pine wood panels
2008 - IRG/WP 08-40396
Wood can be modified by compressive, thermal and chemical treatments. Compression of wood under thermal conditions is resulted in densification of wood. This study evaluated decay and termite resistance of thermally compressed pine wood panels at either 5 or 7 MPa and at either 120 or 150?C for one hour. The process caused increases in density and decreases in thickness of the panels; however, lab...
Ö Ünsal, S N Kartal, Z Candan, R Arango, C A Clausen, F Green III


Effects of oil types and treatment temperature on the properties of wood subjected to thermal modification in oil medium
2012 - IRG/WP 12-40574
The effect of the use of oil as a medium of heat transfer during thermal modification of different species of wood has been widely investigated with different results accruing with regards to the various end-use properties of the materials. However very little have been done on the effect of oil types as well as its interaction with treatment temperature on the resultant properties of the material...
L Awoyemi, M M Apetogbor, A A Oteng-Amoako


Corrosion of fasteners in heat-treated wood – progress report after nine years’ exposure outdoors
2012 - IRG/WP 12-40601
The corrosion of common fastener materials now in use - mild steel, zinc-coated steel, aluminium and Sanbond Z-coated steel – has been evaluated after nine years’ exposure outdoors in untreated and heat-treated (thermally modified) spruce (Picea abies). Spruce from south-western Sweden was used. The heat-treatment was carried out in Finland by Stora-Enso Oy according to the ThermoWood process ...
J Jermer, B-L Andersson


Improvement of the biological performance and dimensional stability of two tropical woods by thermal modification
2012 - IRG/WP 12-40605
Pink cedar wood and rubberwood were thermally modified at 230°C in air for 4 h or for 8 h, and then subjected to bending, compression and hardness tests to evaluate the effect of the treatment on these mechanical properties. The biological performance of the modified wood was also determined, according to EN113, and the dimensional stability measured by means of the anti-swelling efficiency. The ...
M M González-Peña


Decay resistance of thermally modified Scots pine after 6 years’ exposure above ground
2013 - IRG/WP 13-40624
In the present study the performance of boards treated by ThermoWood process were studied above ground and the results given are based on a “modified” horizontal double- layer test. The base layer of boards was in direct contact with ground and the conditions were much harder than in the standard method. After six years’ exposure clear differences were found between untreated Scots pine and ...
H Viitanen, S Metsä-Kortelainen, A Nurmi, S Jämsä


Combined effects of thermal modification and ACQ-D impregnation on properties of southern yellow pine wood
2013 - IRG/WP 13-40637
In this study, samples of southern yellow pine sapwood were first thermally modified and then treated by the alkaline copper quat-type D (ACQ-D) wood preservative. Two heating temperature (180℃ and 220℃) and two concentrations of ACQ-D solution (0.9% and 1.35%) were used in the experiments. The combined effects of thermal modification and ACQ-D on leaching performance, mechanical prope...
Wang Wang, Yuan Zhu, Jinzhen Cao


Effects of thermal modification on properties of Douglas-fir heartwood
2014 - IRG/WP 14-40663
The flexural properties and mass losses of thermal modified Douglas-fir pretreated with boron or glycerol were examined. Pretreatments were associated with slight, but not significant, reductions in modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE)of Douglas-fir at different thermal treatment levels. Boron pretreatment had the greatest effect on MOR. MOR of non-pretreated and ...
Li Yan, J J Morrell


Improving dimensional stability of thermally treated wood by secondary modification – potential and limitations
2014 - IRG/WP 14-40664
The potential of treating thermally modified wood with melamine resin to improve the dimensional stabilization is tested in this research. Two different boards of poplar (Populus ssp.) were cut into two halves. One half of each board was thermally modified (T1 and T2) in a commercial process, the other half was used as untreated reference material. The material was thermally modified using the vac...
G Behr, K-C Mahnert, S Bollmus, H Militz


Development of new wood treatments combining boron impregnation and thermo modification - Effect on decay and termites durability
2014 - IRG/WP 14-40666
Environmental pressures appeared in most European countries during the last decade has lead to the development of more environmentally acceptable preservation methods. In this context, wood heat treatment has been one of the most investigated alternative methods during the last years. Treated at temperatures ranging between 180 and 220°C, wood components undergo more or less important chemical mo...
S Salman, A Pétrissans, M-F Thévenon, S Dumarçay, B Pollier, P Gérardin


Experiences with an industrial system for controlled thermal wood modification in pressurized unsaturated steam
2014 - IRG/WP 14-40678
Thermal wood modification in pressurized reactors has a long history, but these processes are to date industrially scarcely used, because of the relatively complicated process equipment, compared to the more common high-temperature processes in kilns at atmospheric pressure. However, based on our practical experience with the FirmoLin® process, supported by recent scientific findings, it is foun...
W Willems


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