Kinetic model of CCA fixation on wood. Part I. The initial reaction zone

The fixation process for chromated copper arsenate (CCA-C) preservative treated wood has at least two distinctly different zones. One of these is a fast "Initial Reaction," characterized by a rapid increase in pH and a decrease in available hexavalent chromium (Cr-VI). In the present study we develop a mathematical model that describes the initial reaction kinetics for red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.) treated with 1% CCA-C. The results show that the initial fixation reactions follow pseudo 10th order kinetics. The activation energy and pre-exponential factors were found to be 37.8 kJ.mol(-1) and 8.7 x 10(-19) h(-1) mol(-9) l(9), respectively. At all treatment temperatures tested, the initial reaction resulted in approximately 47% chromium reduction. At 4 degrees C the time required to complete the initial reaction is approximately 4.5 h; at room temperature the initial reaction is complete in about 1.7 h. At 50 degrees C the initial reaction is complete in about 25 min. The complete model incorporates the rate equation, Arrhenius temperature dependence, and the fixation definition into a single equation that expresses % chromium fixation as a function of initial chromium concentration in the treating solution and time and temperature history of the wood following treatment. This model can also be used as an integral part of an overall fixation model that can be used to predict the percent fixation at a given treatment condition based on knowledge of the temperature history of the wood during fixation.