Dimensional stabilization of wood treated with tall oil dissolved in different solvents

Abstract

Many water repellents, such as classic wood preservatives have the disadvantage of being harmful to the environment. Therefore, interest increased even eco-friendly, or of biodegradable material. Natural oils (tallow, linseed oil), appears to be capable of preventing the wood water uptake. However, the total amount of oil required to achieve a high penetration of the sapwood. The aim of this study was to investigate the water repellent efficiency of tall oil dissolved in different solvents. As solvents ethanol, methanol, acetone and tall oil water emulsions were used. Scots pine and Uludag fir sapwood samples were impregnated with tall oil formulations. For this purpose we used tall oil/solvents (W/W) at the concentrations of 10% and 20% respectively. Test samples cut into small sizes (20 × 20 × 10 ± 0,2 mm) for water uptake and tangential swelling tests. The tests were carried out based on American Wood Protection Association (AWPA) standard E4 (2003).