Abstract
Impregnation is a common method of protecting wood from external influences. This study proposes the use of spent engine oil as an impregnating composition for modifying birch wood to make it resistant to biological degradation and water. The indicators of water resistance and dimensional stability of wood such as wetting contact angle, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and biodegradation tests have been determined. It has been found that treatment with spent engine oil significantly increases the dimensional stability (56.8% and 45.7% in tangential and radial directions) and water-resistant indicators of wood. Thermogravimetric analysis has showed that the curves for the impregnated specimens were different from the control group and had two sharp peaks at 302 and 357 °C. However, FTIR indicated that no clear chemical reactions occur between spent engine oil and wood. A study on wood resistance to biological degradation has showed a significant increase in resistance against brown rot (Poria placenta fungi) in the treated specimens, in contrast to the control group. Thus, impregnation of wood with spent engine oil makes it possible to increase wood resistance to water and biological degradation.
Highlights
Wood is the most widespread environmentally friendly, renewable natural polymer
When birch wood was impregnated with spent engine oil, the weight percent gain (WPG) was 58.6%, which indicates a high degree of impregnation and easy penetration of the composition into the wood
The treatment of wood with spent engine oil reduced swelling in tangential and radial directions by 56.8% and 45.7%, respectively
Summary
Wood is the most widespread environmentally friendly, renewable natural polymer. It possesses a complex structure, the main components of which are cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and extractives. This material is important in a number of industrial sectors of the economy and areas of economic activity such as construction, furniture production, and the chemical industry [1]. Wood has significant advantages over other materials, for example, a high ratio of strength indicators to its weight, high impact resistance, the possibility of using it in many technological processes, etc. Strength, hydrophobic properties and resistance to biological degradation of wood can be achieved by reducing its hygroscopicity using many modification methods, such as steam thermal treatment [7,8,9], cell wall modification with methyltrimetosiloxane [10,11], modification using styrene [12] and phenol-containing resins [13,14], modification using boron and compatibilizers [15], high-density polyethylene [16] and siloxanes [17], modification using 1,3-dimethylol-4,5-dihydroxyethylene urea [18], thermal processing [19], modification using waxes, paraffins [20,21], vegetable oils [22,23], etc
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