THE EFFECT OF CHEMICAL TREATMENTS ON THE DIMENSIONAL STABILITY OF OIL PALM STEM AND RUBBERWOOD

Abstract

Acetylation without the use of any catalyst or organic cosolvent and polymerisation of monomers in situ were carried out on oil palm stem and solid rubberwood. The extent of acetylation varied proportionally with curing time. The acetyl content of wood increased with the increase in weight gain after treatment compared to the untreated samples. The dimensional stability of the treated samples was improved in all treatments. Acetylation on both types of wood gave better improvement in dimensional stability per weight gain than polymer treatment.