Process for treating wood and resulting article

Claim 1

THE PROCESS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF A REINFORCED PLATE MATERIAL HAVING A REINFORCEMENT OF WOOD DELIGNIFIED TO ABOUT 85% WHILE MAINTAINING THE CELLULOSE IN SUBSTANTIALLY UNCHANGED CONDITION, AND MELAMINE FORMALDEHYDE FILLING UP THE CELLULAR AND INTERCELLULAR VOIDS OF SAID WOOD REINFORCEMENT AT A RATE OF AT LEAST 70% OF THE WEIGHT OF THE DRIED TREATED WOOD, COMPRISING SOAKING THE WOOD FOR 12 HOURS IN A SOLUTION OF SODIUM CHLORITE AT A TEMPERATURE OF ABOUT 60* C. AND HAVING A CONCENTRATION NOT EXCEEDING 10%, WHEREBY CELLULAR AND INTERCELLULAR VOIDS ARE CREATED IN THE WOOD BY THE DESTRUCTION OF THE LIGNITE, REMOVING THEREAFTER THE TREATED WOOD FROM THE BATH, IMPREGNATING THE TREATED WOOD WITH A SUSPENSION OF MELAMINE FORMALDEHYDE WHEREBY THE CELLULAR AND INTERCELLULAR VOIDS ARE FILLED UP WITH MELAMINE FORMALDEHYDE AT A RATE CORRESPONDING TO AT LEAST 70% OF THE WEIGHT OF THE DRIED TREATED WOOD, AND SETTING THE MELAMINE FORMALDEHYDE BY HEATING THE TREATED AND IMPREGNATED WOOD TO A TEMPERATURE CORRESPONDING TO THE TEMPERATURE OF POLYMERIZATION OF MELAMINE FORMALDEHYDE.