Properties of wood treated with hydrophobisation agents

Access of water to wood can be reduced by treating wood with water repellents. In terms of overall wood protection, the most promising hydrophobisation systems are the ones introducing the hydrophobic agent into close contact with the wood cell wall components. In this work, the applicability of hydrophobic treatments in the new generation's wood preservation has been studied by using silicon-based compounds deriving from paper, textile or masonry industry. The model compounds were chosen on the basis of their chemical structure and nature as well as of their predicted reactivity. Chemical analyses as well as physical tests of the treated wood showed that the most promising hydrophobisation agents had come into contact and in some of the cases even bonded with the wood cell wall components. The results indicate that the siloxane compounds studied have efficacy against wood decaying fungi. Leaching do not affect the efficacy of the treatments which is also an indication of fixation of the compounds in the wood structure. In addition, some of the compounds studied prevent the growth of mould fungi and blue stain on the treated wood material. As expected, the glueability properties of hydrophobised wood surfaces differ from those of untreated wood. The performance of traditional wood adhesives with the hydrophobised wood was evaluated and proved to be unsatisfactory.