Oil-heat-treatment of wood - process and properties

Modifying heat treatments can improve wood properties in different ways. This work describes an oil-heat-treatment process, developed and used in industrial scale in Germany. Vegetable oil serves at temperatures between 180°C and 220°C as medium to transport heat into wooden beams and to separate oxygen from the immersed wood. After  several hours of deep-frying, the wood becomes modified with new properties: strongly increased dimensional stability, biological durability and brittleness. The new properties of the material are tested and described in detail. Additional information on the state of the art and on the industrial production in Germany is given.