Recent advances in wood modification
Timber construction has long been recognised as a means of achieving low-carbon solutions for construction, and an increased understanding from architects and specifiers has led to many believing timber to be the material of choice for the 21st Century. As the environmental concerns have grown considerable since several decades, the interest in biobased solutions in different areas of the society has increased and new modification processes and materials are constantly under development around the world. Wood modification processes are industrial processes that result in wood-based material that is non-toxic in service and when disposed at the end of life does not result in the generation of any toxic residues. This means it can be disposed at the end of a product´s life cycle without presenting any environmental hazards greater than those associated with the disposal of unmodified wood. A wood-based material is hereby understood to be a wide range of wood products that have their technical, aesthetical or tactile characteristics improved or that new functions have been added by the use of modification. Bended, densified and moulded wood are examples of modified wood that have been available on the market for at least 150 years. Thermal-modified timber, acetylated and furfurylated timber are examples of modified wood more recently available on the market. This collection of articles in the filed of Wood Modification outlines the current status of wood modification across the world.
Edited by
Professor Dick Sandberg(Luleå University of Technology, Skellefteå, Sweden)