Variation in treatability of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) by the chemical modification agent furfuryl alcohol dissolved in water

Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) sapwood was investigated for variation in treatability using the wood modifying agent, furfuryl alcohol (FA) in water. The variation in treatability within trees, between trees and between different stands of Scots pine was studied. Investigated variables that reduced the residual variance significantly were: site location, latitude of site, height of trees, annual ring width, vertical and horizontal position in the tree and method of drying. Linear mixed model statistics were used and tree number was handled as a random variable. The best model reduced the treatability residual variance by 67%. Location was the single factor affecting treatability most. Differences in latitude between locations may be the reason for that. Latitude correlated negatively with the treatability. Within the trees, the treatability of sapwood increased with distance from ground and with distance from heartwood border. A small, but significantly better treatability was found for kiln dried wood (60A degrees C) compared to air dried wood (20A degrees C).