Determining the degree of fireretardancy of plywood with thermogravimetry, part 2: poplar plywood

To determine the preliminary level of fire retardancy achieved in veeners before manufacturing of finished plywood, thermogravimetric (TG) and derivative thermogravimetric (DTG) methods are used. TG and DTG analyses of treated and untreated wood, as well as of fire retardants alone, were performed on a Perkin-Elmer TGS-2 thermogravimetric equipment. Fire resistance of plywood was tested in accordance with standard test for resistance to the effects of fire and the most efficient fire retardants, sodium tetraborate and boric acid had the same results as TG/DTG analyses, which points out the validity of TG methods in predicting success of fire retardants in future products.