Wood preservation preservation reaching back to ancient Greece during Alexander the Great's rule, where bridge wood was soaked in olive oil. The Romans protected their ship hulls by brushing the wood with tar. During the Industrial Revolution wood preservation became a cornerstone of the wood processing industry. Inventors and scientists such as Bethell, Boucherie, Burnett and Kyan made historic developments in wood preservation, with the preservative solutions and processes. Commercial pressure treatment began in the latter half of the 19th century with the protection of railroad cross-ties using creosote. Treated wood was used primarily for industrial, agricultural, and utility applications, where it
Tyrolean shale oil Tyrol in Seefeld area were used from 1350 until 1964. In 1902, Martin Albrecht, a collector of minerals, discovered oil shale deposits on the shore of Lake Achen at Pertisau; his family still exploits and markets the oil. Tyrolean shale oil has always been an integral part of Tyrolean medicine. The shale oil contains bound sulfur, which exerts its effect in shale oil. Long before the oil refinery, the oil of the Alps, the "black gold", was already used for tar, light oil (naphtha), impregnation of wood fences, as waterproofing for roofs and asphalt roads. Due to the low yield,