Fire Retardant Treatment Technology of Timber: Essential Vacuum and Air Pressure for Optimum Chemical Absorption

Abstract

Timber is a building material having burning properties. However, due to the presence of moisture it does not burn till it dries. The moisture is replaced by air which evaporates in the form of vapour on drying. The timber attains burning properties when dried. The timber can be made fire proof on replacing the air by fire retardant chemical solutions. This process of making the timber fire retardant is termed as full cell process and the plant used is called vacuum pressure impregnation plant. In this paper, the details of the observations and results pertaining to vacuum, pressure and chemical retention with regard to the fire retardant treatment for various timbers have been given.