06 February 2026
Chemical treatments have been developed to enhance the durability and service life of timber. The treatments impregnate wood cells, making them resistant to decay, insects, weather, or fire. Appropriate recycling or disposal of treated timber at the end of its service life can be an issue. For example, disposal by full combustion can generate heavy metal residues and problematic organic compounds such as dioxins and furans.
Advanced thermal treatment can convert treated timber to biochar and syngas which are renewable energy products. Biochar produced has potential to be suitable for industrial grade applications. The pyrolysis process may also reduce the amount of unwanted chemical byproduct.
Using laboratory testing techniques, this project examined the chemical composition of a hardwood timber sample before and after being converted to (a) biochar and syngas and (b) the sample’s full combustion.
Download Report