ABSTRACT
The goal of this study was the fixation of water-soluble polyethylene glycol (PEG) into the wooden cell wall. The dimensional stability of beech wood (Fagus sylvatica) modified with PEG400 and various carboxylic acids (1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA), citric acid (CA), malic acid, pyromellitic acid, tartaric acid, L-glutamic acid hydrochloride, ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid disodium salt dihydrate, trans-aconitic acid, maleic acid and itaconic acid) was examined. Investigations of anti-swelling efficiency (ASE), weight-percent gain (WPG) and bulking effect were made. Both the highest dimensional stabilization (values of ASE at the end of examination between 37 and 40%) and the best fixation of the chemicals in the wood (total loss of WPG between 37 and 38%) were achieved with combinations of BTCA/PEG and CA/PEG. The variants impregnated without PEG had lower bulking values. Successful modification of wood seems to be possible with BTCA, CA and malic acid in combination with PEG400.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the project partners Heimes Holz GmbH, I. van Roje & Sohn Sägewerk und Holzhandlung GmbH & Co.KG and Clariant Produkte (Deutschland) GmbH for their support. Further thanks go to Tatiana Spallek, who provided great input during the preliminary tests.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Correction Statement
This article was originally published with errors, which have now been corrected in the online version. Please see Correction (10.1080/20426445.2023.2257467)