Durability of thermally modified timber from industrial-scale processes in different use classes: Results from laboratory and field tests

Material from four common European processes of industrial heat treatment of timber was examined comparatively with reference to biological laboratory standard tests and field tests in soil contact and above ground. The thermally modified timber (TMT) used in the study was: Plato wood from the Netherlands, ThermoWood from Finland, New Option Wood (NOW) from France, and oil-heat-treated wood (OHT) produced in Germany. Tests of resistance to basidiomycetes (EN 113, 1996) and tests of resistance to soft rotting microfungi and other soil-inhabiting microorganisms (EN 807, 1997) showed substantially lower mass losses of TMT compared with controls. Only slight differences in mass loss were found between the four thermally modified materials. Based on results from laboratory standard tests all tested heat-treated materials were classified as durable to moderately durable [durability class (DC) 2-4], analogous to the classification of natural durability (EN 350-1, 1994). In contrast, the classification of TMT samples after 5.5 years' exposure in soil contact, in accordance with EN 252 (1990), was slightly durable to not durable (DC 4-5), whereas the classification obtained after 5.5 years' exposure in double layers in European hazard class (EHC) 3 (EN 335-1, 1992) was very durable to moderately durable (DC 1-3). On the basis of 5.5 years' field testing, thermally modified material (independent of the treatment process and supplier) appears not to be suitable for in-ground contact application. However, the suitability of TMT for use out of ground in EHC 3 was ascertained and is recommended.