Kiln Drying of coigüe wood (Nothofagus dombeyi)

Abstract

A program of artificial drying of coigüe wood (Nothofagus dombeyi) 1 inch thick, pretreated by hot water soaking to 70° C during 48 hours was applied in this research. The specific objectives were to apply a drying program based on moisture content, and to evaluate the drying quality. The assay of the treated wood was evaluated regarding the final quality obtained, as well as the drying time. The application of the drying program to coigüe wood, turned out to be of regular quality. The greatest defects were splits, split ends and twists in warps. In general, non clasification of wood was due to a hig frecuency of defects rather than to their high intensity. A significant quality change when applying pretreatment was not observed. A significant fall in drying time was seen, reducing it approximately 35%. In adition to this, a fairly significant fall in final collapse of pieces was observed. The application of hot water soaking pretreatment, with less drastic drying programs is recommended, to obtain a good quality product in a relatively short time.