Established for more than 30 years
100% effective – non toxic – Material Sensitive
Using only naturally occurring elements, air and water, sound biological principles and established laws of physics, all insects inhabiting organic materials will die at any life-cycle stage when exposed to our Thermo Lignum® WARMAIR treatment method. The absence of any chemicals or noxious gases during the process allows immediate reuse of the items upon completion of the treatment, without risk of harm to your health, the object, or the environment.
The Thermo Lignum® process essentially targets the susceptibility of insects to elevated temperatures of around 48-55°C dependent on the species.
From a conservation point of view the key to using warm air to kill insects is to maintain the moisture content of the material at a constant level during the heating, holding and cooling phases. This is achieved by using sophisticated software to control the relative humidity (RH) and temperature of the atmosphere within the treatment chamber, thereby preventing any physical or structural change in the object due to evaporation or absorption of moisture.
Temperature/mortality rate - Insects are temperature-sensitive. At temperatures of around 50°C their protein starts to denature and they eventually die.
Keylwerth Diagram - The relationship between the relative humidity and temperature of the atmosphere on the one hand, and the moisture content of wood on the other hand, is not linear. The actual inter-relationship is indicated on the Keylwerth diagram. In order to keep the moisture content of wood constant whilst increasing the temperature surrounding it, we have adapted this function.
Controlled Delta T - The temperature difference (Delta T) between the surface and the core of an object mustn’t be to high. During the Thermo Lignum® WARMAIR process the Delta T for all three phases (warming / holding / colling) can be set individually and will never rise above this chosen value.
Temperature and humidity graphs - Schematic Process of a Thermo Lignum® WARMAIR treatment with controlled Relative Humidity in a sealed system (chamber or temporary housing of object)
