An economical treatment schedule for boron impregnation of Eucalyptus grandis wood: Commercial trial of partially dried material

Abstract

Being non-durable, Eucalyptus grandis wood needs treatment with preservative chemicals. As vacuum-pressure impregnation treatment being more suitable for commercial applications, and boron chemicals being environment-friendly for indoor uses, an economical treatment schedule (15 minutes initial vacuum of -85 kPa followed by a pressure of 1300 kPa for 15 minutes and a final vacuum of -85 kPa for 5 minutes) developed at the Kerala Forest Research Institute was tested for its commercial suitability for treating E. grandis wood with boron chemicals. A pooled mean dry salt retention (DSR) of 7.7 kg m -3 was achieved for wood in partially dried condition with average moisture content of around 32%, using a 6% boric acid equivalent (BAE) solution. This confirms the success of the schedule for commercial application, as the DSR achieved is much higher than the standard specification of many countries.