Solvent and hence solute (a.i.) penetration during any wood preservation treatment cycle and the flow pathways taken by the solvent in the wood are crucial elements in determining the adequacy of any treatment. Inadequate solvent penetration into specimens or an inappropriate tissue throughflow pattern during impregnation will markedly affect the distribution pattern achieved by many non-diffusible preservative systems. There is to date no direct method of determining the pathways liquid solvents take during their penetration into wood. Currently used methods, such as directional gas permeability measurements are indirect and only provide indications of the relative potential for certain pathways in the wood to be used during liquid impregnation of wood. The following work describes the development and experimental trial of a technique using cryogenic electron microscopy for the direct visual determination of water penetration into samples of Pinus patula and its potential for use in Eucalyptus grandis.

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