Wood Material Science and Engineering 

About: Wood Material Science and Engineering is an academic journal published by Taylor & Francis. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Materials science & Composite material. It has an ISSN identifier of 1748-0272. Over the lifetime, 752 publications have been published receiving 7039 citations. The journal is also known as: Wood material science and engineering.

Thermo-hydro and thermo-hydro-mechanical wood processing: An opportunity for future environmentally friendly wood products

Abstract: This state-of-the-art report presents the basic concepts of some of the thermo-hydro (TH) and thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) wood processes that are in use today, i.e. heat treatment, compression of wood in the longitudinal or transverse direction and wood welding. The reasons for the growing interest in TH and THM techniques are discussed, and the development of the different concepts, from first ideas to current status, is briefly presented. The physical and chemical changes that occur in wood during TH and THM processing according to the latest research are also presented. Finally, developments that are close to or already have an industrial application are presented, and the challenges for further development of the heat treatment, compression and wood welding processes are discussed. The TH processing of wood is based entirely on water and heat, and a THM process incorporates an additional mechanical force. The purpose of wood transformation by a TH or a THM process is to improve the intrinsi...

Chemical modification of wood : a short review

Abstract: For most markets for wood, it is used without any treatments or modifications. When wood is used in adverse environments, it may be treated with chemicals to help prevent decay, improve water resistance, reduce the effects of ultraviolet radiation or increase fire retardancy. Many of these treatments involve the use of toxic or corrosive chemicals that can harm the environment. Chemical modification of wood provides an alternative by providing protection against water, decay, UV and thermal degradations by bonding chemicals to the cell wall polymers that do not leach out. Dimensional stability and decay resistance are two major properties that can be greatly improved by simple reactions with acetic anhydride.

Understanding decay resistance, dimensional stability and strength changes in heat-treated and acetylated wood

Abstract: Reductions in hygroscopicity, increased dimensional stability and decay resistance of heat-treated wood depend on decomposition of a large portion of the hemicelluloses in the wood cell wall. In theory, these hemicelluloses are converted to small organic molecules, water and volatile furan-type intermediates that can polymerize in the cell wall. Reductions in hygroscopicity and improved dimensional stability of acetylated wood depend on esterification of the accessible hemicelluloses in the cell wall reducing hydrogen bonding with water and bulking the cell wall back to its green volume. Stability is not 100% since the water molecule is smaller than the acetyl group so water can access hydroxyl sites even when the wood is fully acetylated. The cell-wall moisture content is too low in acetylated wood to support fungal attack so the initial enzymic attack starting the colonization does not take place. Strength properties are reduced in heat-treated wood owing to the degradation of the cell-wall mat...

Adhesive systems used in the European particleboard, MDF and OSB industries*

Abstract: In this work, the adhesive systems used today in the European industries of particleboard, medium density fibreboard (MDF) and oriented strand board (OSB) are discussed. The structure of particleboard, MDF and OSB markets in Europe in relation to the types of adhesives and product specifications are presented as well. It is noticeable that new markets for wood-based panels like particleboard and fibreboard, known as non-furniture markets, are growing in Europe at a fast rate. It was concluded that most of the technological changes concerning the adhesive systems applied and additives have been realised from the need for niche panel products, the obligation to reach even lower formaldehyde emissions, and the necessity to decrease production costs due to the stringent competition in the market of wood-based panels.

Influence of treatment temperature and duration on selected biological, mechanical, physical and optical properties of thermally modified timber

Abstract: The impact of heat-treatment temperature (180, 200, 210, 220 and 240°C) and various heat-treatment durations on selected biological, mechanical, optical and physical properties of thermally modified timber (TMT) was determined. The suitability of different measures for prediction of the treatment intensity was also investigated. Resistance to impact milling (RIM), lightness L*, equilibrium moisture content (EMC), and antiswelling efficiency (ASE) were correlated with corresponding fungal resistance achieved by heat treatments. The results show that the decrease in mass by heat treatments is a suitable measurand to describe the treatment intensity, which is a product of treatment temperature and duration, where the impact of temperature is dominant over the impact of time. The properties examined showed a strong reciprocally proportional relationship with the decrease in mass. Different correlations were found for the various treatment temperatures: the higher the temperature applied, the lower th...