Comparative Study on Liquefaction of Creosote and Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA)-treated wood and Untreated Southern Pine Wood: Effects of Acid Catalyst Content, Liquefaction Time, Temperature, and Phenol to Wood Ratio

Creosoteand chromated copper arsenate (CCA)-treated wood waste and untreated southern pine wood were liquefied with phenol and sulfuric acid. The effects of sulfuric acid content, liquefaction time, liquefaction temperature, and phenol to wood ratio on liquefaction rate (i.e., wood residue content) were investigated and analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results showed that both creosoteand CCA-treated could be liquefied at the same liquefaction conditions as untreated southern pine wood and they all exhibited similar trends on liquefaction rate. In general, Lower residue content could be obtained by higher sulfuric acid content, liquefaction temperature, phenol to wood ratio and longer liquefaction time. Despite the similarities in major effects, the interactions between variables varied among these three liquefaction materials, which could be due to the participation of the preservatives during liquefaction.