Antimicrobial properties of wood water obtained by a high frequency vacuum drying method

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the antimicrobial activity properties of the wood water released from specimens during the drying process. The specimens were dried using a high-frequency vacuum (HfV) drying method. Wood specimens from white oak (Quercus alba L.), walnut (Juglans regia L.), and Eastern beech (Fagus orientalis L.) were dried inside a drying kiln with settings of 7.56 MHz frequency, 39.19λ wavelength, and 0.5 to 0.97 mBar vacuum. The moisture content (%) of the white oak, walnut, and Eastern beech specimens prior to kiln drying were 70% to 75%, 80% to 90% and 75% to 80%. Drying days of wood specimens were 16, 10, and 8, respectively. The antibacterial and antifungal activities of the wood water samples were determined using the microdilution method. According to the antimicrobial test results, the best antimicrobial properties were found in the white oak’s drying water, with only 6.3 mg/mL of K. pneumoniae bacteria.