The demand for exterior wood siding is stagnating in North America, partly due to the perception of consumers, architects and contractors regarding their durability and maintenance. Improving attributes such as the dimensional stability of wood is therefore necessary to make it more attractive to consumers. This project aims to assess the performance of Canadian species; white spruce (Picea glauca), trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) and jack pine (Pinus banksiana) treated by furfurylation. Anti-swelling efficiency (ASE), when exposed to humidity increased by an average of 40 % for white spruce, 44 % for aspen and 27 % for jack pine. In immersion, the furfurylation treatment increased ASE up to an average of 43 % for white spruce, 35 % for aspen and 18 % for jack pine. Modified Brinell and Janka hardness were increased for the furfurylated white spruce and especially furfurylated aspen. Furfurylated wood species showed a high whitening after accelerated UV exposure. However, this color change was reduced by applying a semi-transparent stain on the treated samples. Furfurylation treatment of Canadian wood species shows an interesting potential to improve their performance.

Download document (826 kb)
free for the members of IRG. Available if purchased.

Purchase this document