Elevating Timber Sustainability: Exploring Non-Chemical Wood Modification via Air Heat Treatment for Diverse Applications

Abstract

Anthocephalus cadamba wood exhibits considerable potential as a fast-growing wood species that can effectively address the issue of diminishing wood resources derived from natural forests. Nevertheless, it is important to note that wood derived from fast-growing species has substandard features compared to wood obtained from natural forests. So, it becomes imperative to enhance the quality of such wood by implementing heat treatment techniques. In addition, heat treatment of the wood is performed with a temperature in the range of 160-260℃, and the processing time is relatively short. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to evaluate the impact of air heat treatment on the dimensional stability, strength, and hardness of Anthocephalus cadamba wood. For 4 hours, Anthocephalus cadamba wood was heated to 170, 190, and 210℃. The CIE-Lab color system was used to analyze the wood's color transformation following treatment. Moisture content, density, weight changes, volume shrinkage, hardness, and compressive strength were also measured before and after treatment. Overall, color shift (E*) was shown to be mitigated by higher treatment temperatures. The extractive ingredients in Anthocephalus cadamba wood discolored slightly at 170 but entirely at 190 and 210℃. Weight loss, volume shrinkage, density, and moisture content were also seen in heattreated Anthocephalus cadamba wood. Polymer breakdown and water uptake by cell walls could be to blame. The dimensional stability of Anthocephalus cadamba wood was reduced along with its hydrophobicity. Wood's compressive strength decreases as hemicellulose is degraded during heat treatment and at higher temperatures. Reduced hardness is caused by high treatment temperatures and weight loss that weakens wood. As described, the color and dimensional stability of the heat-treated samples indicated as the effective parameters to improve in this present study. As air heat treatment temperatures rise owing to chemical compound degradation in Anthocephalus cadamba wood, its physical and mechanical qualities can change. In conclusion, this study showed the feasibility of heat treatment on Anthocephalus cadamba wood to improve the color dan dimensional stability.

The Effect of Synthetic and Commercial Nano-Magnetite on the Electromagnetic Absorbance Behavior of Magnetic Wood

“…Many people also use this because they are interested in its durability and aesthetic superiority. Several previous studies have developed fast-growing wood modifications through acetylation, furfurylation (Hadi et al 2020), impregnation (Hartono et al 2016), chemical modification (Teng et al 2018), and thermal modification (Hidayat et al 2024;Suri et al 2023). In addition to improving the intrinsic properties of wood, the modification process also allows the wood to produce new properties and makes wood multifunctional (Sandberg et al 2017).…”