Kebonization for timber treatment

A new wood treating process that uses a type of alcohol instead of copper-based chemicals has arrived. “Kebonization” is the result of research conducted by Dr. Marc Schneider, University of New Brunswick, Canada, in the 1980s and 1990s. Softwoods are injected with furfuryl alcohol, a byproduct of corn and sugar production, and then subjected to heat and pressure. The result according to an article appearing in a recent Building Products publication is harder, more stable, and more resistant to water and weather damage than untreated wood.

Norwegian investors who wanted to develop and commercialize the technology got involved in 1997. A pilot production plant opened in Norway in 2003, and began supplying European projects-decking and piers, cladding and roofing, window frames, plus indoor flooring and furniture-the next year. In January 2009, a larger, full-scale plant was opened in Skien, Norway.

The decking currently sold in the U.S. is southern yellow pine domestically grown but shipped by container to Norway for processing.

The company hopes to eventually open a plant in the U.S. Although most of the treated SYP is shipped back to the U.S., some is marketed as a premium product in Europe-along with similarly treated ash, beech, maple, and Scots pine.
The company says that Kebony has been specified for 22 major new installations on the East Coast of the US that will soon start construction.

Source: buildingproducts.com