Chemical resistance of acetylated radiata pine sliced veneers

In an effort to increase sustainability and reduce CO2 emissions in the automotive sector, the use of renewable wood-based materials for structural elements in vehicles is gaining attention. Less durable, but locally available, wood species can be modified chemically or physically to increase their stability against degradation and make them a viable alternative to less sustainable materials even in outdoor applications. One common wood modification process is acetylation. With regard to using modified veneers in the outer layers of plywood for vehicle components, this study investigates the resistance of acetylated radiata pine veneers to automotive chemicals (distilled water, acetone, biodiesel, gasoline, anti-freeze). The specimens were exposed to the chemicals through two methods, the (1) immersion and (2) blotting paper test. Then, tensile tests were conducted to explore the influence of those chemicals on the mechanical behavior of the veneers. While in the immersion test, the highest mass increase was observed for distilled water (126 wt%), in the blotting paper test, it was found for the anti-freeze (81 wt%). In general, the acetylated veneers showed a good chemical resistance. No statistically significant influence of the chemicals on the tensile strength was observed.