Water-Related Properties of Wood after Thermal Modification in Closed Process under Pressure in Nitrogen
Forests 2024
Guntis Sosins, Jānis Zicāns, Juris Grīniņš, Prans Brazdausks

Silver birch (Betula pendula) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) wood boards (1000 × 100 × 25 mm) were thermally modified in a 340 L pilot-scale device in nitrogen with a special focus on increasing dimensional stability and reducing hydrophilicity. The research expands our understanding of the TM process in a closed system under pressure of nitrogen and its impact on the water absorption capabilities of wood. Several thermal modification (TM) parameters were tested, including temperature (160–180 °C), maximum temperature duration (30–180 min), and TM chamber initial pressure (3–6 bar). TM wood dimensional changes, mass loss (ML), equilibrium moisture content (EMC), and anti-swelling efficiency (ASE) were determined to characterize the TM process intensity and evaluate the hydrophilicity. Birch wood exhibited a higher ML (5.9%–12%) than pine wood (2.6%–9%) after TM. TM caused a shrinkage in the tangential, radial, and total volume of both wood species. The TM birch wood ASE values varied from 22% to 69%, while


Keywords
birch | dimensional stability | moisture content | nitrogen | pine | pressure | thermal modification
DOI
10.3390/f15010140
Hyperlink
https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/15/1/140

Sosins, G., Zicāns, J., Grīniņš, J., Brazdausks, P. Water-Related Properties of Wood after Thermal Modification in Closed Process under Pressure in Nitrogen. Forests, 2024, Vol. 15, No. 1, Article number 140. e-ISSN 1999-4907. Pieejams: doi:10.3390/f15010140

Publication language
English (en)
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