ABSTRACT
This study investigated the effect of two thermal treatment technique on the biological properties of the wood of Pinus taeda L. and Eucalyptus grandis and W. Hill ex Maiden, comparing them with results obtained for the untreated wood. Of each species were sampled three trees at age 25, from where it drew a central plank height DBH for making test specimens were subjected to thermal treatments for later be transformed into pieces of 2.5 x 2.5 x 0.9 cm. In the first treatment the wood were subjected to thermal treatment by autoclaving at 130 ºC/ ± 3 o C and pressure of 2 kgf /cm² for 3 hours and, after a conditioning period, subjected to heat in an electric oven at 160 oC/ ± 1 oC for the same period. The second treatment consisted of only heat treatment by kiln. Resistance to biological attack was evaluated by accelerated decay test in the laboratory, using a white-rot fungus, Trametes versicolor (Linnaeus ex Fries) Pilat and other brown rot Gloeophyllum trabeum (Persoon. ex Fries) Murr. The combined treatment of the autoclave with electric oven favored the decay of both species of wood fungi employees, except for Pinus taeda submitted to the fungus Trametes versicolor, while treatment in an oven provided increase biological resistance of Pinus taeda wood fungus Trametes versicolor and of Eucalyptus grandis fungus Gloeophyllum trabeum. In general it is concluded that treatment in an oven resulted in more resistant to biological degradation and lower weight loss compared with the combined treatment of the autoclave with electric oven while the latter when applied to both species resulted in an increase in the propensity of biological degradation.
Keywords:
biodegradation; heat treatment; white rot; brown rot
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