Vacuum dehydration treatment for pest-free wood packaging
This technology kills insects living inside wood — such as beetle larvae — by placing the wood inside a vacuum chamber with a flexible wall that collapses against the wood's surface, creating close contact for heat transfer while simultaneously pulling moisture out of the wood. The vacuum dehydrates the insects until they lose enough body weight to die, typically 25–50% of their mass. The process is calibrated to the wood's starting moisture content, making it more precise than blanket heat or chemical treatments. It is specifically designed to address the international phytosanitary problem of wood packaging materials — pallets, crates, and similar containers — carrying invasive insects across borders.
What you could build
A commercial vacuum-dehydration treatment system sold or licensed to pallet manufacturers, wood packaging producers, or port-of-entry fumigation service providers to certify compliance with international phytosanitary standards (ISPM-15); buyers would be industrial pallet makers, wood heat-treatment service companies, and customs-compliant export facilities.
Who in Virginia should care
Virginia's port infrastructure at Hampton Roads and Richmond-area logistics and pallet manufacturing operations would have direct compliance cost reasons to adopt certified wood treatment technology.
Readiness: Lab validated
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Zhangjing Chen, Marshall S. White, William H. Robinson
- Granted
- June 22, 2010
- Status
- Granted patent
- Patent number
- 7739829
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.