Modeling of simultaneous unidirectional leaching and reduction of Cr6+ in unfixed CCA treated wood

The unidirectional leaching of unfixed hexavalent chromium (Cr⁶⁺) from wood freshly treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) is modeled as simultaneous diffusion and first-order chemical fixation reaction. Small wood specimens were coated to restrict preservative movement to one direction, then treated with CCA and immersed in water to evaluate unidirectional leaching characteristics. The directional diffusion coefficients and reaction rate constants of Cr⁶⁺ in unfixed CCA-treated red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.) and southern pine (Pinus sp.) were estimated by least squares fitting of the model to leaching results in each direction independently. The reaction rate constants calculated from the diffusion and leaching model were generally consistent with results from pure fixation experiments, although the computed rate constants increased under the most severe longitudinal leaching conditions. The applicability of using diffusion coefficients and rate constants estimated from leaching results was tested using a finite difference implementation of the diffusion and reaction model to predict unidirectional leaching from small samples immersed intermittently in water. The predicted leachate quantities were consistent with experimental measurements at the end of each of five leaching events of various durations at temperatures alternating between 13 and 23°C over a 9-day period.