Influence of Site Conditions and Quality of Birch Wood on Its Properties and Utilization after Heat Treatment. Part II—Surface Properties and Marketing Evaluation of the Effect of the Treatment on Final Usage of Such Wood

Abstract

This work is a follow-up contribution to the characteristics of Betula pendula (silver birch) wood from different habitats and the impact of the subsequent heat treatment. Specifically, it focuses on the surface properties of birch wood in the form of veneers, namely color, hardness, roughness and wetting, and in particular on the marketing evaluation of the attractiveness of colored birch wood and, thus, its possible use in practice in the Czech Republic. Three heat treatment steps at 170, 190 and 200 °C were used. The resulting values of the properties of the treated birch veneers were compared with the untreated reference veneers and also with beech veneers. These properties were the wood density, the colorimetric parameters, the roughness parameters, the wetting parameters, the hardness and density, and none of the parameters studied showed negative changes due to the temperature adjustment. Overall, both in terms of properties and in terms of marketing appraisal, there is the potential for birch to replace, for example, beech, especially in the furniture industry, by application in the form of heat-treated veneers after suitable heat treatment. The conclusions of the marketing analysis resulting from the questionnaire survey conducted on a sample of respondents show the significant preference for the heat-treated birch wood compared to reference birch samples without heat treatment.