Abstract

According to the literature, an efficient method to improve properties of rubberwood to be suitable for structural use is still required. In this work, a novel densifying method for the development of high strength rubberwood for this application was introduced. The method consists of three main steps including pre-compression of rubberwood raw material, impregnation of pre-compressed rubberwood with methyl methacrylate (MMA) and mechanical compression of MMA-impregnated pre-compressed rubberwood. Effects of targeted compression ratios used during compression on the properties of the obtained rubberwood was explored. The result showed that the properties of the obtained rubberwood were dependent on the compression ratios and most of them had greatly improved compared with that of original rubberwood or densified rubberwood reported elsewhere. Interestingly, properties of the obtained densified rubberwood were higher compared with that of typical softwood and hardwood provided in a wood handbook. Note that, it is possible to scale up the proposed method to industrial production level because it requires simple steps.