Wood Preservation With Chemicals

The effective and lasting treatment of wood against insect and fungal attack grows in importance as forestry reserves decline and as cost increases feed through to the building trade and other timber users. At the same time, environmental pressures bear ever more heavily on the types of chemicals and processes employed in the preservation industry. This book records the proceedings of an international meeting arranged to address such issues. The 15 principal chapters are based upon papers by invited experts to a combined audience of preservation practitioners and non-specialists. The chapter sequence follows the logical pattern of the conference, beginning with a review of the biological threats to be contended. There follow historical and state-of-the-art accounts of aqueous, organic solvent and non-liquid treatment processes. Preservatives increasingly must meet international product and environmental standards, which along with the related test, analytical and quality control procedures, are described and referenced. Contributors from the wood preservation industry address a range of needs associated with cost, safety and performance efficacy, not neglecting a search for a better understanding of the finer chemical mechanisms involved. Remaining problems are outlined in strategies for further research and development. Address a range of needs associated with cost, safety and performance efficacy Problems are outlined in strategies for further research and development

The Nordic Council of Ministers, the BAT Group under the Working Group for Sustainable Consumption and Production, has requested the consultant to prepare a report on Best Available Techniques (BAT) in wood preservation with chemicals in the Nordic countries. The Nordic wood preserving industry produces around 2.1 million m³ of impregnated wood per year, which is about one third of the total supply of pressure-treated wood in Europe. This report describes the present status of the used technologies, their emissions and impacts on the environment and technologies that can be considered BAT. The report will also be used as an input from the Nordic countries to the EU process under the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) for preparation of the BAT Reference Document for preservation of wood and wood products with chemicals (WPC BREF) which is foreseen to start in 2014.

This book is exclusively concerned with wood modification, although many of these processes are generic and can be applied to other lignocellulosic materials. There have been many rapid developments in wood modification over the past decade and, in particular, there has been considerable progress made in the commercialisation of technologies. Topics covered include: The use of timber in the 21st century Modifying the properties of wood Chemical modification of wood: Acetic Anhydride Modification and reaction with other chemicals Thermal modification of wood Surface modification Impregnation modification Commercialisation of wood modification Environmental consideration and future developments This is the first time that a book has covered all wood modification technologies in one text. Although the book covers the main research developments in wood modification, it also puts wood modification into context and additionally deals with aspects of commercialisation and environmental impact. This book is very timely, because wood modification is undergoing huge developments at the present time, driven in part by environmental concerns regarding the use of wood treated with certain preservatives. There has been considerable commercial interest shown in wood modification over the past decade, with products based upon thermal modification, and furfurylation now being actively being marketed. The next few years will see the commercialisation of acetylation and impregnation modification. This is a new industry, but one that has enormous potential. This book will prove useful to all those with an interest in wood modification including researchers, technologists and professionals working in wood science and timber engineering, wood preservation, and well as professionals in the paper and pulp industries, and those with an interest in the development of renewable materials.

In recent years considerable progress has been made in elucidating wood decay mechanisms. This basic knowledge not only has the potential to develop alternative environmentally-benign wood preservatives, but may also impact other areas such as bioremediation and pulp and paper. This book will summarize the latest knowledge of the developments, potential impacts, and applications from some of the world's leading experts.