Water vapour sorption behaviour of thermally modified wood

Abstract

The work presented in this paper reports on the water sorption properties of thermally modified wood, densified wood and wood modified using a combination of the two methods. The paper presents new findings concerning the sorption isotherms and sorption kinetics behaviour. The sorption kinetics is analysed in terms of the parallel exponential kinetics (PEK) model which has recently been introduced to the wood science community as a better alternative to the often used Fickian models, at least where cell wall sorption behaviour is considered. The PEK model comprises two exponential sorption kinetic terms which are termed fast and slow sorption processes. The PEK model is then interpreted by using a relaxation-limited kinetics model consisting of two series-coupled Kelvin–Voigt elements.