Finding out what chemicals extend the life of timber and the role chemistry plays were the points of discussion at the lecture given by Kesunathan Govender which took place at the Alan Pittendrigh Library, Steve Biko Campus, last week.
The Faculty of Applied Sciences, under the helm of its Executive Dean, Professor Suren Singh, hosted the Executive Dean’s Lecture Series whereby Govender spoke about chemistry and its role in the preservation of timber.
Kesunathan Govender is Operations Manager of Port Elizabeth based Arch Wood Protection (SA). He has a Master’s Degree in Chemistry and has conducted research in wood preservation using boron in water-based emulsion system.
Govender, who said there were some interesting outputs from around the globe on the development of a novel method to preserve reeds using environmentally friendly timber preservation and a unique engineering design, also spoke about opportunities of applying chemistry in the South African timber Industry. He said that the industry was looking at introducing new actives that are capable of imparting resistance against wood destroying insects and subterranean termites in particular.
How this could he done, he explained, was to look at opportunities for innovation and ensuring quality control for existing and new preservatives. “Some of the techniques that are being used to modify wood include heat treatment of timber at temperatures in excess of 180 degrees Celsius with no preservatives, also bulking the cell wall of timber to preserve implosion and subsequent degradation and filling the lumen with chemical as well as treating wood with fire retardants,” he said.
He also said that there are current gaps in the industry. “There is potential to make use of nanotechnology in the preservation of timber and investigate techniques to render the timber substrate hostile to wood destroying insects and fungi as well as investigate staining systems that are impregnated into timber so that blistering and rupturing of coatings is no longer a problem,” said Govender.
– Waheeda Peters
Pictured: Kesunathan Govender talks about the role of chemistry and its role in the preservation of timber at DUT.
