Moisture adsorption characteristics of copper-ethanolamine (Cu-EA) treated Southern yellow pine (Pinus spp.)

Abstract

Moisture adsorption isotherms were determined for untreated and copper-ethanolamine (Cu-EA) treated wood at different copper retention levels. The Cu-EA treatment reduces the water vapor accessibility in wood because copper has occupied some of the adsorption sites for moisture during the treatment. The percentage of adsorption sites occupied by copper was evaluated by M_t/M_u, which is the ratio of equilibrium moisture content for treated wood to untreated wood. The results show that, within the copper retention range used in this study, the M_t/M_u value decreases linearly at lower temperatures (4 and 15 °C) or logarithmically at higher temperatures (30 and 40 °C) with the increase of copper retention, suggesting that the percentage of adsorption sites occupied by copper (P) increases linearly or logarithmically with the copper retention in Cu-EA treated wood. P decreases with the increase of relative humidity. The reason is that more adsorption sites become available for moisture at higher relative humidity. It has also been found that the influence of Cu-EA treatment on hydrated water (M_h) is more significant than that on dissolved water (M_s).