Effect of different concentration of furfurylation on physical properties and decay resistance of Paulownia wood
IRG/WP 16-40762
M Ghorbani, H Asghari
The furfurylation process is an extensively investigated wood modification process. Penetration of Furfuryl alcohol molecules into the wood cell wall results in a permanent swelling. In the present study, different concentrations effect of furfuryl alcohol monomer on physico-biological properties such as water uptake, dimensional stability and decay resistance of wood polymer made by fast-growing Paulownia wood were investigated. Wood-polymer composites were prepared by vacum-pressure impregnation of furfuryl alcohol in 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100% concentrations including ethanol for dilution, maleic anhydride and citric acid as catalyst. According to the results, weight percent gain of furfuryl alcohol levels was determined as 22.08, 45.82, 71.17, 87.48 and 101.43 % corresponding to 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100% concentrations, respectively. It was found that the increase of concentration led to significant improvement in dimensional stability and decay resistance and reduction in water uptake of composite. Furfuryl alcohol improved significantly resistance to Trametes versicolor, resulted in decreasing weight loss. The present study found no difference in the amount of improvement between decay resistance from furfurylated wood in 80 and 100% concentration. Furfurylation of Paulownia wood shows an interesting potential to improve the wood quality for solid timber products.