Dimensional Stability of Treated Sengon Wood by Nano-Silica of Betung Bamboo Leaves

Istie Rahayu,Esti Prihatini,Akhiruddin Maddu,Fitria Cita Dirna,Dodi Nandika,Wayan Darmawan

doi:10.3390/f12111581

Abstract

Sengon (Falcataria moluccana Miq.) is one of the fastest growing wood that is broadly planted in Indonesia. Sengon wood has inferior wood properties, such as a low density and dimensional stability. Therefore, sengon wood requires a method to improve its wood quality through wood modification. One type of wood modification is wood impregnation. On the other hand, Betung Bamboo leaves are considered as waste. Betung Bamboo leaves contain silica. Based on several researches, nano-SiO2 could improve fast-growing wood qualities. According to its perfect solubility in water, monoethylene glycol (MEG) is used in the study. The objectives are to evaluate the impregnation treatment (MEG and nano-silica originated from betung bamboo leaves) in regard to the dimensional stability and density of 5-year-old sengon wood and to characterize the treated sengon wood. MEG, MNano-Silica 0.5%, MNano-Silica 0.75%, and MNano-Silica 1% were used as impregnation solutions. The impregnation method was started with 0.5 bar of vacuum for 60 min, followed by 2.5 bar of pressure for 120 min. The dimensional stability, density, and characterization of the samples were studied through the use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results show that the treatment had a significant effect on the dimensional stability and density of sengon wood. Alterations in the morphology of treated sengon wood were observed through the full coverage of the pits on the vessel walls (SEM analysis results) and the detection of ethylene (FTIR analysis results) and silica (XRD and FTIR analysis results). Overall, the 0.75% MNano-Silica treatment was the most optimal treatment for increasing the dimensional stability and density of 5-year-old sengon wood.

Highlights

Degradation and deforestation decrease wood production from our natural forests.we need alternative wood resources to overcome the wood supply shortage through the utilization of fast-growing species [1] or a wood biomass [2,3,4]
We aim to evaluate the impregnation treatment (MEG and nano-silica derived from betung bamboo leaves) with regards to the weight percent gain (WPG), anti-swelling efficiency (ASE), bulking effect (BE), water uptake (WU), and density of 5-year-old sengon wood, and to characterize the treated sengon wood
Dimensional stability testing on sengon wood included the calculation of the WPG, ASE, WU, BE, and oven-dried density

Summary

Introduction

Degradation and deforestation decrease wood production from our natural forests.we need alternative wood resources to overcome the wood supply shortage through the utilization of fast-growing species [1] or a wood biomass [2,3,4]. The quality of fast-growing wood needs to be improved through technology. It is a potential technology to be developed in industries It improves the wood’s hygroscopicity, dimensional stability, and durability without harming the environment [9,10,11]. There are two chemical modifications with the potential to be developed on an industrial scale: acetylation and furfurylation [18]. Research on impregnation technology for fast-growing wood has been carried out in Indonesia and other countries, using methyl methacrylate [19,20,21], formaldehyde-based chemical compounds such as phenol formaldehyde [22,23], rosin [24], furfuryl alcohol [25], paraffin [26], and aqueous solutions [27]. The utilization of chemical substances and formaldehyde material for wood modification could have a hazardous consequence to our health and environment

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