Acetylation of lignocellulosic materials.

摘要

This invention relates to a process for the acetylation of lignocellulosic materials (LM) by (a) bringing the LM into intimate contact with an acetylating agent comprising acetic anhydride at a temperature from 70-140 DEG C and (b) bringing the acetylated LM from step (a) into contact with a superheated chemical agent comprising acetic acid and/or anhydride at a temperature above 140 DEG C so as to reduce the acetic acid or acetic anhydride content of the acetylated LM to below 10% by weight. LM's treated in this manner have excellent dimensional stability. <IMAGE>