These proceedings contain 11 papers focusing on broad perspective of wood modification research, ranging from fundamental research on chemicals and new principles to process development and market aspects.

Construction using timber has seen a resurgence in light of global climate mitigation policies. Wood is a renewable resource, and engineered wood products are proving to be competitive against concrete and steel while having several advantages. However, while the renewable nature of wood in...

Birch and spruce samples were scanned using X-ray computed tomography (CT) to determine changes in the density and density profile caused by thermo-hydro treatment (THT). Small-dimension wood blocks were subjected to treatment at three different temperatures (160 °C, 170 °C and 180 °C) for 1 h and...

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of four phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resin treatments with different molecular weights at four different concentrations (5, 10, 15, and 20%) in treated beech wood. The mechanical properties of untreated and treated beech wood were evaluated....

In built environments the combustibility of wood is a great concern, which limits the use of wood as a building material due to legislation. The reaction-to-fire properties of wood can be altered with the use of fire-retardant chemicals, and most of the commonly used fire retardants already have a...

This proceedings contains eleven papers focusing on recent developments in wood modification. Topics covered include: modification systems that can block the photodegradation of wood; decay resistance, dimensional stability and strength changes in heat-treated and acetylated wood; practical...

During the past decade, researchers worldwide have developed and investigated new treatment techniques to improve intrinsic wood properties. Because of environmental concerns, the pressure on the wood industry is higher than ever before to find alternatives to tropical hardwoods and...

Modified wood is commercially available and merchandized as a new, environmentally friendly and durable wood species. However, there are no standards focusing on the evaluation of modified wood. Combining resistance against fungal decay and good ecotoxicological properties may be a start. In this...

Plasma treatment at atmospheric pressure using a dielectric barrier discharge was carried out to increase the surface hydrophilicity of wood and wood-based materials. Surface energy determination by contact angle measurement revealed an increase in the polar component of surface energy and in total ...

Studying structure and chemistry of wood and wood-based materials is the backbone of all wood research and many techniques are at hand to do so. A very valuable modality is X-ray computed tomography (CT), able to non-destructively probe the three-dimensional (3D) structure and composition. In this...