Abstract:

Wood modification is the technologies with which the properties of wood are permanently altered by heating at high temperatures or reacting with low molecular weight monomers or oligomers. The specific properties of wood are consequently improved and certain new characteristics imparted due to the modification. The modified woods can resultantly serve for a longer term compared to the non-modified ones. As a result, the tension due to the lack of wood resource can be reduced. In this paper, the development and the state of the art of wood modification are systematically reviewed. The typical modification technologies such as thermal treatment, acetylation, treatments with N-methylol compounds, furfurylation, and impregnation with thermoset resins are introduced. The effects of chemical modification on the properties of the resulting wood are analyzed and the commercialization status of modified products presented. Consequently, an outlook for the development trends and challenges of wood modification is given.

Key words: wood modification, heat treatment, impregnation process, cell wall alteration, durability