The Philippines developed “hot oil bath” technology for bamboo, according to DOST chief.
HOT OIL BATH TECHNOLOGY — The Philippines had developed its alternative method of preserving bamboo using oil heat treatment as the country was taking a cue from Europe’s thermal modification (TM) technology.
According to DOST Secretary Fortunato “Boy” T. de la Peña, the development of a “hot oil bath” technology for bamboo was initiated by the Department of Science and Technology-Forest Products Research and Development Institute (DOST-FPRDI) and was funded by the DOST-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources (PCAARRD) under the agency’s Grants-In-Aid (GIA) program.
De la Peña said in a report that the DOST-FPRDI — through a DOST-PCAARRD-GIA funded project — developed a “hot oil bath” that utilized spent cooking oil as an alternative to fresh vegetable oils in order to reduce cost of the heating medium.
Also, de la Peña said that the equipment had been used to oil-heat-treat eight-feet-long bamboo poles.
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According to him, the bamboo poles treated from the said equipment had been characterized in terms of gluability, machinability, and finish ability. He also noted that optimized oil heat treatment conditions had been established based on the properties of the oil-heat treated bamboo.
“The oil-heat treatment of bamboo can be an alternative method of protecting bamboo (versus toxic chemical preservatives) against attack of wood boring insects such as powder-post beetles and termites and can also provide protection against decay fungi.Hence, oil heat-treated bamboo can be ideal for making product designs for both outdoor use and indoor applications,” de la Peña said.
De la Peña also cited that thermal modification (TM) of ligno-cellulosic material such as bamboo and wood had slowly gained popularity as an alternative method of prolonging their service life and also improving its dimensional stability and color.
He added that the technology, which originated in European countries, had spread to other parts of the world —including Southeast Asian countries.
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