Abstract: Eucalyptus is one of the most fast-growing trees. Therefore, in the last decades it has been extensively planted and harvested so that nowadays Eucalyptus is one of the most popular trees of the planet. There are many genres of this plant and they are often treated as a large bunch of the same timber characterized by moderate mechanical and surface properties which hinder their usage for any sight application (e.g. flooring, cladding, ceiling). In this study four species of Eucalyptus: E. grandis, E. dunnii, E. cloeziana and E. tereticornis were undergone to densification through hydro-thermo-mechanical treatment (HTM) first and then to oil heat-treatment (OHT) in order to improve their mechanical properties and hydrophobicity. It was observed that low density species (E. grandis) reaches higher compression degrees while heavier species (E. tereticornis) reach densities over 800 kg/m³; however, HTM decrease the variability of the properties. Treatments at higher temperature (160 °C) involves higher compression degree, lower set-recovery and higher surface hydrophobization, but also weaker mechanical properties. The hot oil post- treatment helps to contain the springback effect and to reduce the wettability of each specimen. Densified samples present similar surface hardness. The tailored application of the two treatments improves the properties of every Eucalyptus which can gain market also for nobler end-usages.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the colorimetric properties of Pinus taeda and Schizolobium parahybum woods treated by in situ polymerization. The wood samples were impregnated in a vacuum/pressure system and polymerized in an oven at 90°C for 10h, using benzoyl peroxide at 1,5wt% as the catalyst. The treatments were characterized using attenuated total reflectance infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy and weight percentage gain (WPG). The color evaluation was performed using CIEL*a*b* concepts, specular gloss, and UV-Visible spectrophotometry. Treated woods showed increases in band intensity related to polymers (1730, 1460 and 1145 cm-1), and WPG ranged from 39 to 164%, depending of the wood species and treatments. Lightness decreased, while the Chroma, gloss and the color coordinates increased. A darkening of the all treated samples was observed, and confirmed by the decrease in the reflectance intensity between 400 and 700 nm.

This study presents the preparation of polypropylene composites filled with mixtures of household waste of mate-tea and wood particles to increase the economic value chain of mate-tea, especially in Latin America. Filler mixtures in proportions ranging from 0 to 60% depending on the type of particle were used. The polypropylene matrix was fixed at 40% and roughness surface and color evaluation were performed. The highest mean roughness (Ra) was observed for the composite with 30:30% proportion of filler mixture, which denotes the difficulty of homogenizing a mixture of fillers with different shapes and dimensions. Nevertheless, even with higher roughness for composites with a balanced blend of filler, this does not imply the presence of large peaks and valleys. In general, all the composites presented a dark color. Variation of color composites was more evident for higher proportions of household waste of mate-tea.

Avaliou-se o efeito da termorretificação nas proprie dades físicas e mecânicas da madeira de Eucalyptus grandis e Eucalyptus saligna. Amostras de madeira foram modificadas termicamente por meio de uma combinação: pré-tratamento em autoclave (127°C - 1h) e tratamento em estufa (180-240°C - 4h); bem como tratamento apenas em estufa a 180-240°C durante 4h. As modificações químicas foram avaliadas por espectroscopia no infravermelho. A avaliação das propriedades físicas foi realizada por meio de ensaios de perda de massa, massa específica básica, teor de umidade de equilíbrio e estabilidade dimensional. Modificações na superfície do material foram analisadas pela técnica de ângulo de contato e o comportamento mecânico foi avaliado com testes de flexão estática. O uso de pré-tratamento em autoclave afetou as propriedades analisadas, no entanto a exposição em estufa denotou as maiores modificações na madeira de ambas a espécies. As modificações químicas foram relacionadas com a degradação das hemiceluloses. Além disso, observou-se redução significativa da higroscopicidade e da resistência mecânica da madeira termorretificada, enquanto que a massa específica básica não possuiu modificações significativas para a madeira das duas espécies estudadas. Os melhores resultados de redução da molhabilidade foram encontrados para as temperaturas mais baixas, enquanto que a estabilidade dimensional elevou-se em função da temperatura de tratamento em estufa. A maior perda de resistência mecânica foi observada no tratamento a 240°C para ambas as espécies.

The effect of thermal treatments on physical and mechanical properties of rose gum and Sydney blue gum wood was evaluated. Wood samples were thermally modified in a combination: pre-treatment in an autoclave (127°C - 1h) and treatment in an oven (180-240°C - 4h); and only treatment in an oven at 180-240°C for 4h. Chemical changes in the structure of woods were evaluated through infrared spectroscopy. Evaluation of physical properties was performed through mass loss, specific gravity, equilibrium moisture content and dimensional stability tests. Surface changes were analyzed through apparent contact angle technique and static bending tests were carried out to evaluate the mechanical behavior. Use of pre-treatment in autoclave affected the properties analyzed, however oven, resulted in the highest changes on wood from both species. Chemical changes were related to the degradation of hemicelluloses. Moreover, a significant decrease of hygroscopicity and mechanical strength of thermally modified woods was observed, while specific gravity did not significantly change for either of the species studied. The best results of decrease of wettability were found in low temperatures, while dimensional stability increased as a function of temperature of exposure in oven. The highest loss of mechanical strength was observed at 240°C for both species.

Colour changes by thermal treatments are a good alternative to increase wood quality, especially for non-structural uses. In this study, rose gum (Eucalyptus grandis) and Sydney blue gum (Eucalyptus saligna) woods from Southern Brazil were thermally treated under different conditions (steam pre-treatment in an autoclave at 127 °C for 1 hour and heat treatment in an oven at 180, 200, 200 and 240 °C for 4 hours) and colour changes were investigated using CIEL*a*b* technique. The main findings show that thermal treatments resulted in darkening of the wood, which was more intense at high temperatures. Colour difference after two-step steam-heat treatments was higher than 45 for both species. In general, the influence of the steam pre-treatment was more visible in lower temperatures. Lightness (L*) was the parameter that best described the colorimetric behaviour of rose gum and Sydney blue gum woods. In conclusion, thermal treatments are a great method to improve the market value of wood, especially for aesthetic uses, but it requires a control of process conditions.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of attack by xylophagous organisms on the physicomechanical properties of Araucaria angustifolia wood from the floor of a historic house in Pelotas, Southern Brazil using two nondestructive methods. To achieve this, samples were collected from the floor for visual assessment by photography in metric scale. All the images were exported to CAD software in order to measure the percentage of the sample's surface attack in relation to its total area. Subsequently, nondestructive tests were performed using an ultrasound with two types of transducers. Mechanical properties of the material was measured through static bending tests and these results were compared with the results of nondestructive methods. The nondestructive methods of computerized visual analysis and ultrasound were efficient for quantifying the surface attack and showed a good relationship with the results obtained in static bending tests.