Wood treatment method and apparatus employing laterally shiftable transportation segments

A system for treating wood, said system comprising:

• a first wood treatment vessel for receiving at least one bundle of wood, wherein said first wood treatment vessel comprises a first door;
• and
• a bundle transport system for moving said bundle of wood into and/or out of said first wood treatment vessel, wherein said bundle transport system comprises a first transport segment, a first cart for transporting said bundle of wood along said first transport segment, and a cart drive system for enabling the movement said first cart,
• wherein said first transport segment comprises a first fixed portion and a first shiftable portion, wherein said first shiftable portion is located proximate said first entrance door,
• wherein said cart drive system comprises at least one stationary active component physically coupled to at least one of said first shiftable portion and said first fixed portion of said first transport segment.

A process for producing chemically-modified wood, said process comprising:

• (a) opening a first door of a first wood treatment vessel while a first movable transport segment is in a first retracted position away from said first door;
• (b) shifting said first movable transport segment from said first retracted position to a first aligned position;
• (c) loading at least one bundle of wood into said first wood treatment vessel while said first movable transport segment is in said first aligned position, wherein said loading includes using said first movable transport segment to at least partially support the weight of said bundle of wood;
• (d) shifting said first movable transport segment from said first aligned position to said first retracted position;
• (e) closing said first door while said first movable transport segment is in said first retracted position;
• (f) treating said bundle of wood in said first wood treatment vessel while said first door is closed to thereby provide at least one treated bundle of wood,
• wherein said shifting of steps (b) and (d) comprise laterally shifting said first movable transport segment between said first aligned and said first retracted positions along a path that is substantially perpendicular to the axis of elongation of said first wood treatment vessel.

A process for treating wood, said process comprising:

• (a) loading at least one bundle of wood into a chemical modification reactor;
• (b) chemically modifying said bundle of wood in said chemical modification reactor to thereby provide a chemically-modified bundle of wood;
• (c) unloading said chemically-modified bundle of wood from said chemical modification reactor;
• and
• (d) during at least a portion of said loading and/or said unloading, applying a force to at least a portion of said bundle of wood using a bundle adjustment system, wherein the force applied by said bundle adjustment system is operable to re-align one or more misaligned pieces of wood, when present, within said bundle of wood.