Chemical Alterations of Hardwood Veneers Due to Thermal Treatment (original) (raw)

Wood is the most popular building material in the world due to its universal versatility, although it has disadvantages - the difficulty to apply small diameter logs in construction, hygroscopicity and anisotropic swelling and shrinking. To solve these disadvantages, plywood from wood material is produced. Plywood is a material that can solve anisotropy, but it is still biodegradable by rot and stain fungi. Thermal treatment is a methodology that improves the durability of wood. In this paper aspen (Populus tremula L.), poplar (Populus x canadensis Moench) and birch (Betula pendula Roth) were treated by steam (WTT) and vacuum (TERMOVUOTO) devices under 160°C/50 min (birch and aspen), 204°C/2 h, 214°C/2 h, 217°C/3 h, 218°C/30 min (birch and poplar). Chemical changes in treated veneers were investigated by ATR-FTIR (Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) in a range 2000 cm-1 – 800 cm-1. ATR-FTIR is a non-destructive methodology, which is important during ...