Fast-growing pine wood modified by a two-step treatment based on heating and in situ polymerization of polystyrene

Effect of the temperature of the heat treatment of pine wood on subsequent in situ polymerization with poly(methyl methacrylate)

“…The impregnation with PMMA improved both stiffness (36%) and strength (37%) in comparison with untreated wood. A similar effect was observed by Acosta et al 53 . who treated Pinus elliottii wood at 180 °C with subsequent polystyrene impregnation, and explained the changes as being based on morphological changes caused by heating at high temperatures, such as radial cracks and expansion of radial pits.…”

“…In this context, combined treatments have been reported well in the literature as an alternative to recover the termite resistance and mechanical properties lost with thermal treatment 16–22,28,29 . New functionalities can also be imparted to wood, such as a resistance to fungi.…”

“…Despite their wide range of applications, thermal treatments are not efficient enough to attenuate all wood restrictions, especially those related to poor mechanical properties. Losses above 50% in both stiffness and strength are commonly reported in the literature, 22–24 depending on sample dimensions, treatment parameters, and processes, among other endogenous and exogenous factors 8 . Besides, thermal treatments are often not effective in preventing xylophagous attacks 25–27 …”

“…New functionalities can also be imparted to wood, such as a resistance to fungi. For instance, Acosta et al 22 . heat‐treated a Pinus elliottii wood at 180 °C for 2 h and then applied an in situ polymerization with a styrene solution.…”

Understanding the effect of combined thermal treatment and phenol–formaldehyde resin impregnation on the compressive stress of wood

“…Hemp oil impregnation could decrease the brittleness and increase the modulus of elasticity of TMT (Baar et al 2021). By conducting in situ polymerization of polystyrene into TMT, it could recover losses in both stiffness and strength attributed to thermal modification (Acosta et al 2021). Combining functional emulsified polymer impregnation with thermal modification could be a promising approach to improve the mechanical performance of TMT.…”