PRESERVATION OF RUBBERWOOD BY BORON-DOUBLE VACUUM PROCESS

Abstract

Treatment of rubberwood with preservatives by dip-diffusion takes a long time. To shorten the time, the double vacuum pressure treatment was tried. Rubberwood samples in green and partially air-dried conditions were impregnated with a boron compound using double-vacuum pressure treatment. The chemical was found to diffuse naturally into the centre of the wood and achieved a specific loading of more than 0.2% boric acid equivalent at the sample core within one week following treatment. This treatment is preferable over the dip-diffusion process which normally takes two weeks for samples of similar size.