Superheated steam treatment of rubberwood to enhance its mechanical, physiochemical, and biological properties
2020
Patcharawijit, Anatta | Yamsaengsung, Ram | Choodum, Nuttaporn
This research was aimed to investigate mechanical properties, color and cell-wall components changes, and durability of pre-dried rubberwood (Hevea brasiliensis) after superheated steam (SS) treatment. Wood samples were treated at different SS temperatures (140–180°C) for 1–3 h. The highest compression strength parallel-to-grain, hardness and impact strength were found for samples treated at 160°C for 3 h (30.7% higher than untreated), at 150°C for 1 h (26.6% higher than untreated) and at 150°C for 2 h (52.6% higher than untreated), respectively. The surface color became darker after each treatment in comparison with the untreated wood. The number of accessible hydroxyl groups decreased and the relative cellulose crystallinity increased with SS temperature, indicating decreased hygroscopicity of the treated wood. Also, SEM micrographs of wood surface showed consistent decrease in starch particles with treatment temperature. Both decay and termite resistances of treated rubberwood improved with treatment temperature. All the analyzes showed that dried rubberwood treated with SS had some improvements in the mechanical properties, decreased hygroscopicity, and increase resistance to decay.
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