Marc H. Schneider

Wood-polymer combinations: The chemical modification of wood by alkoxysilane coupling agents

SummaryVinyl polymers in wood-polymer combinations fill cell cavities but do not bond to nor enter cell walls to any noticeable extent. The wood dimensional stability thus remains virtually unchanged. Nonleachable-bulking treatments which react with the cell wall material tend to diminish wood strength properties and do not appear to show promise for providing a link between the cell wall and the polymer. Alkoxysilane coupling agents are widely used to modify the interface between dissimilar materials, such as glass fibers and thermoplastic or thermosetting resins. The coupling agent γ-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane was used in this study with trembling aspen, white birch and eastern white pine woods. Antishrink efficiencies comparable to those reported for reactive chemical wood modifiers were obtained. This treatment did not require acidic or basic reaction conditions which could cause wood strength reductions. Its effects upon wood strength and the extent of bonding to the cell wall are presently under investigation.

Properties of furfurylated wood

The first processes of wood modification with furfuryl alcohol (FA) (furfurylation) were developed several decades ago. FA is a renewable chemical, produced from hydrolysed biomass waste. Over the past decade modernized processes for furfurylation of wood have been developed. This study presents decay properties of furfurylated wood. Laboratory methods and field tests were performed on fungi, termite and marine borer attack. Tests on physical and mechanical properties are also presented. The properties of furfurylated wood depend on the retention of grafted/polymerized poly-FA in the wood. At high modification levels (high retention of poly-FA) the enhancement of a wide variety of properties is achieved: an exceptional increase in hardness, exceptional resistance to microbial decay and insect attack, increase in modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity, and high dimensional stability. At lower modification levels property enhancements also occur. Notable are resistance to microbial decay and insect attack, and relatively high dimensional stability.

New cell wall and cell lumen wood polymer composites

SummaryFurfuryl alcohol-based (FA) cell wall and methyl methacrylate-based (MMA) combination formulations were used to make wood polymer composites (WPC). Swelling gradients developed during preparation. Properties (density, hardness, water extractables, antiswell efficiency) gradients were observed along samples in 5 of the 7 treating formulations. Two cell wall treatments based on furfuryl alcohol did not show the gradients. The results suggest treating solution separations occurred during impregnation and the resulting nonhomogenious chemical produced the properties gradients. WPC made using the combination formulations based on MMA had properties which fell between cell wall and cell lumen formulations.

Eco-efficient wood protection: furfurylated wood as alternative to traditional wood preservation.

This paper aims to show the potential decay resistance of furfurylated wood and investigate possible eco‐toxicity of such materials produced. This paper deals with the environmental aspects and durability of furfurylated wood, both laboratory and field tests are included in the investigations. Results from several decay tests, emission analysis studies and ecotox tests are presented. The results show that furfurylated wood is highly decay resistant. Furthermore, no significant increase in eco‐toxicity of leaching water was found and degradation through combustion does not release any volatile organic compounds or poly‐aromatic hydrocarbons above normal levels for wood combustion. Durability enhancement by furfurylation of wood is not believed to be harmful to the environment. Wood modified with furfuryl alcohol, “furfurylated wood”, is currently being marketed as a non‐toxic alternative to traditional preservative treated wood (wood impregnated with biocides). This paper summarises much of the long term exposure of furfurylated wood ever caried out, and present the first eco‐tox tests on such material ever done.

Development of Modified Wood Products Based on Furan Chemistry

The first processes for “furfurylation” of wood (wood modification with furfuryl alcohol) were developed several decades ago. Furfuryl alcohol is a renewable chemical since it is derived from furfural, produced from hydrolysed biomass waste. Over the last decade modernised processes for furfurylation of wood have been developed. These new processes are based on completely new catalytic systems and process additives. The properties of furfurylated wood depend on the retention of grafted/polymerised furfuryl alcohol (PFA) in the wood. At high modification levels (high retention of PFA) the enhancement of a wide variety of properties are achieved: an exceptional hardness increase, exceptional resistance to microbial decay and insect attack, high resistance to chemical degradation, increase in MOR and MOE, and high dimensional stability. At lower modification levels many property enhancements also occur, however to slightly lower extent. Notable are resistance to microbial decay and insect attack, increase in MOR and MOE, and relatively high dimensional stability. Two main processes for production of furfurylated wood have been developed for Kebony ASA (Former Wood Polymer Technology ASA) by the authors. Kebony TM for hardwood modification and VisorWood TM for soft wood modification, where the name reflects the colour of the material produced by the process. Commercial production according to the Kebony process has been running since October 2003, mainly for flooring. A small Kebony production plant is now in operation in Lithuania. A Kebony/VisorWood production plant was started during of 2003 in Porsgrunn, Norway. There are now planed for an expansion of this plant, and plans for a large Visorwood plant is ongoing. Further commercialisation of the technology will be done through licences issued by Kebony ASA.

Wood-polymer combinations: Bonding of alkoxysilane coupling agents to wood

SummaryTrembling aspen has been impregnated with the coupling agent γ-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane and the hygroscopicity and antishrink efficiency measured before and after water extraction. There was a hygroscopicity depression with treatment, but not enough to account for the observed antishrink efficiencies. There was limited reversibility after water extraction. This indicated that the wood was interacting with part of the sorbed silane more strongly than with water, and that there was a diversity of sorption environments within the wood-silane complex.

Development of chemometric models based on near infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis for predicting the treatment level of furfurylated Scots pine

The use of furfuryl alcohol (FA) as a wood modification agent has been known for decades. An independent and reliable analytical method to determine the level of furfurylation is not available. This article reports the use of near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to make partial least square prediction models for determining the furfurylation level (the percentage of FA polymer formed within the wood structure). A total of 115 individual samples of furfurylated Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) originating from 115 production batches were used for modelling. As much as 81 samples were randomly selected for the calibration set and 34 samples for the validation set. Both NIR and TGA gave good predictions when validated by a separate test set. The r2 for NIR and TGA are 0.93 and 0.94, respectively, and the root mean square errors of predictions are 1.025 and 0.958, respectively. However, the number of principal components for the NIR and TGA models is two and six, respectively. The NIR method is preferred because only two principal components are used and sampling is fast.

Thermophysical properties of wood-polymer composites

SummaryTheoretical models are proposed for predicting the longitudinal and transverse thermal conductivities of wood-polymer composites. The predictions of the models are in good agreement with the measured thermal conductivities of red maple boards impregnated with either polystyrene, polymethyl methacrylate or polyfurfuryl alcohol. The density, heat capacity, transverse thermal conductivity and longitudinal thermal conductivity of the red maple boards were 589 kg/m3,1290 J/kg K, 0.155 W/mK and 0.358 W/mK, respectively. Polymer impregnation moderately altered the thermophysical properties of the boards. The increase in density of the boards ranged from 60% to 79%, the increase in transverse thermal conductivity ranged from 12% to 33%, the increase in longitudinal thermal conductivity ranged from 3% to 13% and the decrease in heat capacity ranged from 3% to 11%. Polystyrene provided the largest increase in density whereas polymethyl methacrylate yielded the greatest increase in thermal conductivity and the largest decrease in heat capacity. Treatment with polyfurfuryl alcohol caused the samples to swell and resulted in the lowest increases in thermal conductivity and density. On average the thermal diffusivity of the composites was 26% smaller than that of the parent wood.

Water vapour diffusion and adsorption characteristics of sugar maple (Acer saccharum, Marsh.) wood polymer composites

SummaryWater vapour diffusion characteristics and adsorption isotherms were determined for cell-lumen and cell-wall treated wood polymer composites (WPC). The diffusion coefficients of the cell-lumen WPC were lower than untreated wood and the cell-wall WPC coefficients were lower than cell-lumen. Using the Hailwood and Horrobin sorption model, it was found that the unimolecular layer is formed at lower moisture contents in WPC than in wood. The amount of free dissolved water was reduced only in the cell-wall WPC. The polymer reduces the water vapour accessibility in both types of WPC.

Hygroscopicity of wood impregnated with linseed oil.

SummaryThe reduction in hygroscopicity as spruce wood is impregnated with linseed oil may be accounted for using a molecular exclusion model. On the basis of the model, each linseed oil molecule appears to displace 90 water molecules and occupy 6 hydrogen bonding sites in the wood.