The invention concerns a process for treating lignocellulosic material, preferably wood, comprising the following successive steps: (1) extracting lignin by a fluid in supercritical or subcritical phase to extract 40 to 85% by weight % of the lignin of the initial material; (2) filling by a filling compound, preferably in the presence of a fluid in supercritical or subcritical phase; and (3) finishing, so as to obtain a composite material formed by a three-dimensional network of filling compound that is transformed and incorporated in a network of cellulose and lignin.

The present invention improves the reliability of fire-resistance performance, and suppresses a drop in strength and a drop in Young's modulus for bending, with regard to a structural LVL containing a fireproofing chemical for fire-resistant structural wood material-use. The present invention is the LVL 61 for structural use comprising a plurality of raw material veneers 51 layered in the front-back thickness direction via adhesive layers therebetween. Each of the raw material veneers 51 is a wood material having a fireproofing chemical injected to the interior thereof and is constituted from a site of sapwood part alone, a site of heartwood part alone, or, a site wherein a sapwood part and a heartwood part are mixed. Injection holes 62 are provided, each having a circular cross section and extending in the thickness direction from each of the front surface and the back surface of the LVL 61. The injection holes 62 traverse through the plurality of raw material veneers 51 and the adhesive layers. On the front surface and the back surface, respectively, plurality of the injection holes 62 are aligned while leaving an interval therebetween in the width direction and in the length direction of the LVL 61. The injection holes 61(U) from the front surface and the injection holes 61(D) from the back surface are disposed at different positions from one another in the width direction and in the length direction.

The present invention improves the reliability of fire-resistance performance, and suppresses a drop in strength and a drop in Young's modulus for bending, with regard to a structural LVL containing a fireproofing chemical for fire-resistant structural wood material-use. The present invention is the LVL 61 for structural use comprising a plurality of raw material veneers 51 layered in the front-back thickness direction via adhesive layers therebetween. Each of the raw material veneers 51 is a wood material having a fireproofing chemical injected to the interior thereof and is constituted from a site of sapwood part alone, a site of heartwood part alone, or, a site wherein a sapwood part and a heartwood part are mixed. Injection holes 62 are provided, each having a circular cross section and extending in the thickness direction from each of the front surface and the back surface of the LVL 61. The injection holes 62 traverse through the plurality of raw material veneers 51 and the adhesive layers. On the front surface and the back surface, respectively, plurality of the injection holes 62 are aligned while leaving an interval therebetween in the width direction and in the length direction of the LVL 61. The injection holes 61(U) from the front surface and the injection holes 61(D) from the back surface are disposed at different positions from one another in the width direction and in the length direction.

A two-part flame-retardant, a flame-retardant oriented strand (OSB) and method for forming a flame-retardant OSB is provided. The two-part flame-retardant composition includes an aqueous solution containing a water-soluble flame-retardant and a flame-retardant powder that is incorporated into an oriented strand board without substantially affecting the mechanical properties of the oriented strand board. The method includes applying the aqueous solution containing a water-soluble flame-retardant to an oriented strand board furnish and applying a flame-retardant powder to the wetted furnish, without requiring an additional drying step.

The present invention provides a method for the acetylation of wood comprising treating the wood with an acetylation medium under wood acetylation reaction conditions and drying the acetylated wood, wherein the drying comprises at least two steps, wherein the wood is first dried with a first drying medium and then with a second drying medium.

Highly transparent (up to 92% light transmittance) wood composites have been developed. The process of fabricating the transparent wood composites includes lignin removal followed by index-matching polymer infiltration resulted in fabrication of the transparent wood composites with preserved naturally aligned nanoscale fibers. The thickness of the transparent wood composite can be tailored by controlling the thickness of the initial wood substrate. The optical transmittance can be tailored by selecting infiltrating polymers with different refractive indices. The transparent wood composites have a range of applications in biodegradable electronics, optoelectronics, as well as structural and energy efficient building materials. By coating the transparent wood composite layer on the surface of GaAs thin film solar cell, an 18% enhancement in the overall energy conversion efficiency has been attained.

A flexible structure is formed by subjecting cellulose-based natural wood material to a chemical treatment that partially removes hemicellulose and lignin therefrom. The treated wood has a unique 3-D porous structure with numerous channels, excellent biodegradability and biocompatibility, and improved flexibility as compared to the natural wood. By further modifying the treated wood, the structure can be adapted to particular applications. For example, nanoparticles, nanowires, carbon nanotubes, or any other coating or material can be added to the treated wood to form a hybrid structure. In some embodiments, open lumina within the structure can be at least partially filled with a non-wood substance, such as a flexible polymer, or with entangled cellulose nanofibers. The unique architecture and superior properties of the flexible wood allow for its use in various applications, such as, but not limited to, structural materials, solar thermal devices, flexible electronics, tissue engineering, thermal management, and energy storage.

A treatment process and wood products thereof including a product formulation of a single phase solution combining a wood preservative (durable component) with a Flame Retardant component (FR) to produce a durable Flame Retardant (dFR) treated wood product. The durable component comprises a range of copper based and non-copper based wood preservatives, while the FR component comprises alkali metal silicates and alkali metal aluminate compounds. The dFR working solution undergoes chemical impregnation (treatment) followed by a heat (fixation) process step that locks the chemical into the wood making it non-leachable. The dFR treated wood products are tested for their enhanced fire performance properties. When heated, wood undergoes thermal degradation and combustion producing gases, vapors, tars and chars. Using a cone calorimeter burn test method, dFR treated wood products show a significant reduction in heat release rate, mass loss rate and smoke generated values compared to untreated radiate pine.

A durable palm fiber composite material is obtained by impregnating an unprocessed palm bark in a resin adhesive solution prepared by using a palm leaf as a raw material and then hot-pressing. The palm bark is dried under a natural state without additional processing. The palm leaf is made into a tannin resin adhesive solution under the effect of additives such as furfuryl alcohol, paraformaldehyde, and others. A pH value of the adhesive solution is controlled to be 9-11. A solid content is 40-60%. An adhesive amount applied to the palm bark by the resin adhesive solution is 800-1500 g/m.sup.2. Odd number of layers (three or more layers) of palm barks that are impregnated by the resin adhesive solution and are hot-pressed to the composite material. Hot-pressed parameters are as follows: the temperature is 150-180° C. the unit pressure is 0.8-1.5 MPa, and the time is 10-30 s/mm.

Systems and methods for treating wood products are provided. The methods comprise preconditioning the wood product by irradiating one or more surfaces of the wood product with infrared (IR) and/or ultraviolet (UV) radiation and subsequently treating the wood product. The systems comprise one or more fixtures positioned to irradiate one or more surfaces of the wood product with IR and/or UV radiation, wherein each fixture comprises a reflector and a radiation source.