Wang Xuan, Shi Sheldon Q
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Process Institute (AMMPI), University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA.
Nat Commun. 2025 Jan 9;16(1):542. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-55782-x.
Wood has complex composition and structure, which make it difficult to achieve consistent and controllable treatment. A self-flowing process presented for the chemical treatment of wood is inspired by liquid transportation in trees during photosynthesis and tree growth, whereby liquid in the soil is brought through the natural vessels and/or fiber tracheids. In this process, wood lumbers are placed in a tank containing treatment chemicals such as preservatives, fire retardants, or reactive agents. Through an absorbent sheet bridging the untreated lumber to an overflow tank, the chemicals are drawn into the lumber under capillary force and pressure difference, so that continuous treatment occurs inside the wood. Effectiveness of the self-flowing process is evaluated and compared to conventional immersion and vacuum wood treatment methods. The self-flowing method is very effective for wood delignification, which is six and four times more effective than that from immersion and vacuum pressure treatment methods, respectively. The self-flowing process allows a more uniform wood treatment compared to that from the immersion and vacuum pressure methods. A mathematical model was developed to describe the self-flowing process. This model can accurately predict the treatment time required for achieving desired results under various conditions.
木材具有复杂的组成和结构，这使得实现一致且可控的处理变得困难。一种用于木材化学处理的自流式工艺的灵感来源于树木在光合作用和生长过程中的液体运输，即土壤中的液体通过天然导管和/或纤维管胞被输送上来。在这个过程中，木材被放置在一个装有处理化学品（如防腐剂、阻燃剂或反应剂）的槽中。通过一张吸收性薄片将未处理的木材与溢流槽连接起来，化学品在毛细作用力和压力差的作用下被吸入木材中，从而使木材内部发生连续处理。对自流式工艺的有效性进行了评估，并与传统的浸渍和真空木材处理方法进行了比较。自流式方法对木材脱木质素非常有效，分别比浸渍法和真空压力处理法有效六倍和四倍。与浸渍法和真空压力法相比，自流式工艺能使木材处理更加均匀。开发了一个数学模型来描述自流式工艺。该模型可以准确预测在各种条件下达到预期效果所需的处理时间。
