Preservative Treatment of Two Bamboo Species by Long-Term Immersion and Modified Boucherie

This study aimed to evaluate the quality of preservative treatment of Bambusa vulgaris and Dendrocalamus giganteus bamboo species employing two treatment methods. The bamboos were collected in clumps in the municipalities of Alegre and Jerônimo Monteiro, southern of Espírito Santo State, Brazil. The stems were sectioned in 2.0 m-long culms and treated in solutions with 1 and 3% of the active ingredients (a.i.) of a product based on copper, chromium and boron (CCB). In the long-term immersion method, the culms were immersed in the solution for 5, 10 and 15 days. In the modified Boucherie method, the solution penetrated the bamboo species using a pressure of 0.7 MPa. Treatment quality was evaluated by means of penetration and retention of CCB in the culms. There was greater penetration of a.i. at the base of the culms, and retention was below recommendation according to the Brazilian standards for wood treatment.