Physical Properties and Biological Resistance Capacity of Chemically Treated Bamboo (B. tulda) - A Preliminary Study

Runumee D. Borthakur, Ellora D. Borah

Abstract: Four years old bamboo (Bambusa tulda) samples were treated with different preservative chemicals and studied the effect on strength properties, physical properties and biodegradation resistance capacity of the treated samples. It was observed that compared to untreated and other simple chemical treatment, the combined treatment of boric acid (BA), copper acetate (CA), zinc chloride (Zncl2), sodium salt of triethelenetetramine dithiocarbamate (triendtc. ) followed by kerosene oil showed better performance. Dimensional stability in terms of antishrink efficiency (ASE), weight percent gain (WPG) and bulk coefficient (BC) as well as termite resistance capacity of the treated sample showed better performance compared to untreated sample. The efficacy of the preservative chemicals against termites and fungi was evaluated by burial test. It was observed that the strength properties of the treated bamboo samples in terms of modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE) was increased as compared to untreated sample.

Keywords: Preservative, Biodegradation, Dimensional stability, Strength properties