The Impact of Paraffin-Thermal Modification of Beech Wood on Its Biological, Physical and Mechanical Properties
by
Ladislav Reinprecht * and Miroslav Repák
Ladislav Reinprecht * and Miroslav Repák
Department of Wood Technology, Faculty of Wood Sciences and Technology, Technical University in Zvolen, T. G. Masaryka 24, SK-96001 Zvolen, Slovakia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Forests 2019, 10(12), 1102; https://doi.org/10.3390/f10121102
Received: 5 November 2019 / Revised: 22 November 2019 / Accepted: 26 November 2019 / Published: 2 December 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wood Protection and Preservation)
The European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) wood was thermally modified in the presence of paraffin at the temperatures of 190 or 210 °C for 1, 2, 3 or 4 h. A significant increase in its resistance to the brown-rot fungus Poria placenta (by 71.4%–98.4%) and the white-rot fungus Trametes versicolor (by 50.1%–99.5%) was observed as a result of all modification modes. However, an increase in the resistance of beech wood surfaces to the mold Aspergillus niger was achieved only under more severe modification regimes taking 4 h at 190 or 210 °C. Water resistance of paraffin-thermally modified beech wood improved—soaking reduced by 30.2%–35.8% and volume swelling by 26.8%–62.9% after 336 h of exposure in water. On the contrary, its mechanical properties worsened—impact bending strength decreased by 17.8%–48.3% and Brinell hardness by 2.4%–63.9%.
Keywords:
beech; paraffin; thermal modification; fungi; swelling; mechanical properties
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Reinprecht, L.; Repák, M. The Impact of Paraffin-Thermal Modification of Beech Wood on Its Biological, Physical and Mechanical Properties. Forests 2019, 10, 1102.
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