Peg Penetration and the Effects of Peg Pretreatment in Air-Dried <i>Eucalyptus Regnans</i>

Authors

  • John Ralph

Keywords:

Eucalypt, backsawn, polyethylene glycol, PEG, moisture loss

Abstract

E. regnans, a species of Eucalypt marketed as Tasmanian oak, was incubated in PEG 400 (30% v/v) before investigating the nature of PEG migration into the timber and moisture loss in air-drying backsawn (aka flatsawn) timber. PEG penetration was quantified, and further migration into the timber during the course of drying (120 days) was negligible. In a second investigation, samples of E. regnans were incubated in either PEG (30% v/v) or a saturated sodium-dodecyl sulphate (SDS) solution. Moisture content loss was monitored to determine if a chemical pretreatment can affect the rate of moisture loss during air-drying of backsawn E. regnans. Compared with a control, the chemically treated samples dried more slowly under harsh environmental conditions. However, the appearance of the samples treated with SDS was poor, even compared to the degraded and untreated control samples. These results suggest that to arrest permanent defects in drying E. regnans may require more than just a retardation of moisture loss.

References

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Published

2007-06-05

Issue

Number 1 / January 2006

Section

Research Contributions

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