Treatment of wood with a polyhydric alcohol and an alkylene oxide

Abstract

Abstract Distortion of pine or spruce wood is prevented by impregnation with 0.5-50% of an alkylene oxide in gaseous, liquid or dissolved form and causing polymerisation of the alkylene oxide within the wood. The alkylene oxide may be ethylene, propylene or butylene oxide. The temperature of treatment may be 0-160 DEG C. Air may first be removed from the wood under reduced pressure and the alkylene oxide then applied at a pressure of 1-200 atmospheres. The time of treatment may be 0.5-20 hrs. The wood may contain up to 12% of water. The wood may first be treated with a substance which reacts with an alkylene oxide, e.g. a saturated aliphatic mono- or polyhydric alcohol containing up to 10 carbon atoms and monoethers thereof; saturated aliphatic carboxylic acids containing up to 10 carbon atoms; ammonia; or a primary, secondary or tertiary amine containing up to 10 carbon atoms. A catalyst may be supplied to the wood together with or after the alkylene oxide. The catalyst may be a liquid, e.g. aqueous sodium hydroxide solution, or a gas or vapour, e.g. boron trifluoride, ammonia, monoethylamine, dimethylamine, trimethylamine, triethylamine, pyridine, piperidine, or morpholine. Volatile material may be removed from the treated wood under vacuum. Elevated pressure may then be employed to distribute more uniformly the alkylene oxide reaction products.

Inventors

• 👤 Moren Rolf Erhard

Bibliographic Details