Treatment of wood for the production of building structures and other wood products

Abstract

Compositions and devices for the production of treated wood products are disclosed. A moisture exchange container for treating a plurality of wood pieces with a chemical formulation of interest is described. Also, an adhesive suitable for gluing wood pieces that have been treated, or that are going to be treated, with a chemical formulation of interest is described. Also disclosed are methods and systems using the devices and compositions of the present invention, and treated wood products.

1 . A container for treating a plurality of wood pieces with a liquid, the container comprising: 
 a supportive framework for holding a plurality of wood pieces in the container, the framework comprising a base frame, a top frame and a plurality of side rails connecting the base frame and the top frame; and    at least one surface comprising a plurality of apertures, wherein the apertures comprise a size such that a fluid can pass through the apertures, but a substantial proportion of the plurality of wood pieces within the interior of the container do not pass through the apertures.    
     
     
         2 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the supportive framework comprises: 
 a rectangular frame comprising the base frame of the container;    a rectangular frame comprising the top frame of the container; and    four side rails connecting the base frame to the top frame, wherein the side rails extend perpendicularly from the base frame to the top frame to join a corner of the base frame to a corresponding corner of the top frame to form a rectangular-shaped container having a base, a top, and four sides.    
     
     
         3 . The container of  claim 2 , further comprising additional side rails that connect the base frame to the top frame as part of the framework.  
     
     
         4 . The container of  claim 2 , further comprising additional side rails that extend along the top surface of the container.  
     
     
         5 . The container of  claim 2 , further comprising additional pieces as the base frame of the container, wherein the additional base frame pieces are interconnected to form a grid that extends from at least one side of the base frame to the opposite side of the base frame.  
     
     
         6 . The container of  claim 1 , further comprising a first set of feet extending from the bottom of the framework so that when the container is placed on a flat surface, the container rests on the feet.  
     
     
         7 . The container of  claim 6 , wherein the feet are positioned to extend from the inner perimeter of the base frame such that when two containers are stacked, the feet from the upper container insert within the perimeter of the top frame of the lower container to restrict the containers from moving laterally with respect to each other.  
     
     
         8 . The container of  claim 7 , wherein the feet further comprise an extension such that when two containers are stacked, an extension from each of the feet from the upper container rests on the upper surface of the top frame of the lower container to provide a space between the two containers.  
     
     
         9 . The container of  claim 8 , wherein the extension comprises a second set of feet separate from the first set of feet.  
     
     
         10 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the top frame comprises; 
 at least one rail comprising a planar surface that is parallel to the top surface of the top of the container;    a side rail comprising a planar surface that is parallel to the side surface of the container; and    a surface that extends from the interior edge of the top rail to the lower edge of the side rail to provide a surface that is angled such that the interior perimeter of the container at the lower edge of the top frame is greater that the interior perimeter of the container at the upper edge of the top frame.    
     
     
         11 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein at least two of the side surfaces and the bottom surface of the container comprise a plurality of apertures.  
     
     
         12 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one surface comprising a plurality of apertures comprises a mesh attached to the framework.  
     
     
         13 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein each of the materials used to make the container are stable to temperatures of greater than 150° F. (65.6° C.).  
     
     
         14 . The container of  claim 13 , wherein at least a portion of the framework comprises channel steel, wherein the sides of the channel extends towards the bottom surface of the container.  
     
     
         15 . Wood treated with a liquid using the container of  claim 1 .  
     
     
         16 . An adhesive comprising a polyvinylacetate (PVA) resin and an isocyanate cross-linking agent, the adhesive providing a bond strength of greater than 85% wood failure when the adhesive is used to bond two pieces of wood.  
     
     
         17 . The adhesive of  claim 16 , wherein the bond strength provides greater than 90% wood failure when the adhesive is used to bond two pieces of wood.  
     
     
         18 . The adhesive of  claim 16 , wherein the isocyanate cross-linking agent comprises a polymeric diphenylmethane diisocyanate.  
     
     
         19 . The adhesive of  claim 16 , wherein the polymeric diphenylmethane diisocyanate comprises a mixture of poly(methylene phenylene isocyanate), methylene diphenyldiisocyanate, and methylene diphenylylisocyanate.  
     
     
         20 . The adhesive of  claim 16 , wherein the polyvinyl acetate resin comprises polyvinyl acetate and polyvinyl alcohol.  
     
     
         21 . The adhesive of  claim 20 , wherein the polyvinyl alcohol ranges from about 5-15% and the polyvinyl acetate ranges from about 40-80%.  
     
     
         22 . The adhesive of  claim 16 , wherein the isocyanate cross-linking agent ranges from 15 to 20 percent of the total weight and the polyvinyl acetate resin ranges from 80 to 85 percent of the total weight.  
     
     
         23 . The adhesive of  claim 16 , further comprising an aluminum chloride catalyst.  
     
     
         24 . A wood product comprising the adhesive of  claim 16 .  
     
     
         25 . A method for treating wood comprising: 
 (a) assembling a plurality of pieces of wood;    (b) placing the plurality of pieces of wood in a container, wherein the container comprises (i) a supportive framework for holding a plurality of wood pieces in the container, and (ii) at least one surface comprising a plurality of apertures, wherein the apertures comprise a size such that a fluid can pass through the apertures, but a substantial proportion of the plurality of wood pieces within the interior of the container do not pass through the apertures; and    (c) exposing the plurality of wood pieces to conditions such that a fluid is added to, or removed from, the wood.    
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the framework comprises a base frame, a top frame and a plurality of side rails connecting the base frame and the top frame.  
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , further comprising a first set of feet extending from the bottom of the framework so that when the container is placed on a flat surface, the container rests on the feet.  
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the feet are positioned to extend from the inner perimeter of the base frame such that when two containers are stacked, the feet from the upper container insert within the perimeter of the top frame of the lower container to restrict the containers from moving laterally with respect to each other.  
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the step of exposing the plurality of wood pieces to conditions such that a fluid is added to, or removed from the wood comprises heating the wood and the fluid to a temperature ranging from about 150° F. (65.6° C.) to about 240° F. (115° C.).  
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 25 , further comprise gluing the wood pieces together with an adhesive comprising a polyvinylacetate (PVA) resin and an isocyanate cross-linking agent, the adhesive providing a bond strength of greater than 85% wood failure when the adhesive is used to bond two pieces of wood.  
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the adhesive bond strength provides greater than 90% wood failure when the adhesive is used to bond two pieces of wood.  
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the isocyanate cross-linking agent comprises a polymeric methylene diphenyl diisocyanate.  
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the polymeric diphenylmethane diisocyanate comprises a mixture of poly(methylene phenylene isocyanate), methylene diphenyldiisocyanate, and methylene diphenylylisocyanate.  
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the polyvinyl acetate resin comprises polyvinyl acetate and polyvinyl alcohol.  
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the isocyanate crosslinking agent ranges from 10 to 30 percent of the total weight of the adhesive and the polyvinyl acetate resin ranges from 90 to 70 percent of the total weight of the adhesive.  
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the gluing step is performed prior to step (b).  
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the gluing step is performed subsequent to step (c).  
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 25 , further comprising drying the treated wood to remove at least a portion of the moisture in the wood such that the final wood product has a predefined moisture content ranging from about to about 3-30%.  
     
     
         39 . A wood product made using the method of  claim 25 .  
     
     
         40 . A wood product comprising an adhesive to join at least two separate pieces of wood to each other, the adhesive comprising a polyvinylacetate (PVA) resin and an isocyanate cross-linking agent, the adhesive providing a bond strength of greater 85% wood failure when the adhesive is used to bond two pieces of wood.  
     
     
         41 . The wood product of  claim 40 , further comprising a bond strength of greater 85% wood failure when the adhesive is used to bond two pieces of wood.  
     
     
         42 . The wood product of  claim 40 , wherein the isocyanate cross-linking agent comprises a polymeric methylene diphenyl diisocyanate.  
     
     
         43 . The wood product of  claim 40 , wherein the polymeric diphenylmethane diisocyanate comprises a mixture of poly(methylene phenylene isocyanate), methylene diphenyldiisocyanate, and methylene diphenylylisocyanate.  
     
     
         44 . The wood product of  claim 40 , wherein the polyvinyl acetate resin comprises polyvinyl acetate and polyvinyl alcohol.  
     
     
         45 . The wood product of  claim 40 , wherein the isocyanate crosslinking agent ranges from 10 to 30 percent of the total weight of the adhesive and the polyvinyl acetate resin ranges from 70 to 90 percent of the total volume of the adhesive.  
     
     
         46 . A system comprising: 
 (a) a station for loading a container for treating a plurality of wood pieces with a liquid, the container comprising a supportive framework for holding a plurality of wood pieces in the container, and at least one surface comprising a plurality of apertures, wherein the apertures comprise a size such that a fluid can pass through the apertures, but the plurality of wood pieces within the interior of the container do not pass through the apertures;    (b) a station for treating the wood pieces with a liquid formulation of interest;    (c) a station for removing excess moisture from the wood after the wood has been treated with the liquid; and    (d) a station for gluing at least a portion of the wood pieces together.