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Abstract: Mechanically induced vibration wood fusion welding techniques can also be used to obtain wood surface finishes of increased surface hardness and performance in presence of polymerizing unsaturated oils such as sunflower oil, or other polymerizing finishes. Wood surface hardness values more than double than those for the untreated control timber can be obtained by this method. This result is obtained due to two effects induced by the sharp increase in temperature induced by the mechanical welding vibration (i) the polymerization to a hardened network of the unsaturated oil and (ii) the densification proven to occur in the surface layer of the timber during mechanically-induced vibration-welding. The first of these effects predominates at shorter welding times while at slightly longer welding times both effects occur with the second one progressively becoming the bigger contributor. In the latter case the some μm thin densified surface is a surface composite formed by the networked unsaturated oil permeating the wood fibre/fused lignin composite.

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13: C NMR evidence is presented confirming that the main decomposition (and recomposition) mechanism of hexamine is not directly due to formaldehyde but rather proceeds through now-identified intermediates, i.e. mainly through the formation of reactive imines rather than methylene bases, possibly also forming a very slight amount of iminomethylene bases. This also confirms that any species with strong real or nominal negative charge under alkaline conditions, be it a tannin, resorcinol or other highly reactive phenols, be it melamine or another highly reactive amine or amide, or an organic or inorganic anion, it is capable of reacting with the intermediate species formed by decomposition (or recomposition) of hexamine far more readily than formaldehyde explaining the capability of wood adhesives formulations based on hexamine to give bonded panels of extremely low formaldehyde emission. If no highly reactive species with strong real or nominal negative charge is present, then decomposition of hexamine proceeds rapidly to formaldehyde formation as reported in previous literature. The elucidation of the hexamine decomposition mechanism, which is presented, and a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) investigation also allowed to advance a reason for the without-curing-formation of ambient temperature stiff gels in tannin/hexamine glue mixes and to propose chemical structures for the ionic coordination linear polymers formed.

Glue-lines in boards made of wood particles using high moisture tolerance tannin-based adhesives were observed to present the unusual behaviour of producing a melting effect of the wood cell walls directly in contact with the adhesive. The high moisture content of up to 29% used in the preparation of these exterior grade particleboard and OSB industrial panels at standard pressing times causes considerable flow of the amorphous lignin and hemicelluloses in the wood directly in contact with the adhesive leading to a composite, compact interphase in which almost loose wood fibers are drowned in a hardened adhesive matrix. In this interphase the anatomical characteristics of the wood cell walls appear to be lost. This considerable flow is apparently due to the marked decrease of the glass transition temperature of hemicelluloses and lignin at the very high moisture contents used. This effect was replicated in boards prepared with a synthetic MUF adhesive using also a moisture content level much higher than what normally this resin is capable of tolerating by just lengthening considerably the pressing time used.