Résumé
Due to recent national forestry policv banning logging from the Northern parts of the country. Iranian wood industry must mostly rely on wood importation. Birch (Betula sp.) from Russia is a commonly imported wood, but has a low durability and therefore must be protected for long-term, uses. Protection systems based on wood impregnation with different monomers and their conversion to un-leachable reacted polymers were developed to create new wooden products with improved properties. Furan compounds such as Furfuryl Alcohol (FA) can be commercially used for wood modification. Wood is impregnated with FA, which is converted to poly FA by heating. Furfural is, in fact, the primary raw material in the production of FA, and is extensively manufactured in Iran from residues of sugar cane. Furfural can not be easily polymerized alone like FA; however it is an aldehyde able to react with urea to make polymer network. In this study the possibility of creating furfural/urea polymer along with acidic catalyzer (maleic anhydride) was evaluated for the improvement of physico-mechanical properties, as well as the durability of birch wood.