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Durability of heat-treated wood
1999 - IRG/WP 99-40145
Heat-treated wood from the French process were laboratory tested against decay using agar block test and a modified soil block test. Water absorption, bending strength, lignin content and acid number were also determined to evaluate the effect of heat treatment. Heat treated samples exhibit a higher lignin content and a lower acid number compared to untreated control indicating the degradation of ...
D P Kamdem, A Pizzi, R Guyonnet, A Jermannaud


Targeted inhibition of wood decay (Using everything but the kitchen sink)
1997 - IRG/WP 97-10203
Low molecular weight oxidative decay agents have been implicated in the degradation of wood by brown-rot decay as evidenced by chemical analysis of brown-rotted wood and detection of oxalic acid and hydroxy radicals. Fenton chemistry (H2O2 / Fe++) is often proposed as the mechanism for generating hydroxy radicals. Previous authors have shown iron to enhance the brown-rot hydrolysis of wood, while ...
F Green III, T A Kuster, T L Highley


Wood surface pretreatments with metal tannates
1989 - IRG/WP 3552
The sequential application of aqueous solutions of tannins derived from radiata pine bark and water-soluble metal salts was examined as a means of improving the water repellency of wood surfaces. Nine metal salts were screened in combination with tannin solutions and, based on water repellency of pretreated filter paper, four were selected for further study. The two-step application of tannin solu...
D V Plackett, D R Cronshaw


Leachabilty and efficacy of fatty acid derived boron esters as wood preservatives - leachability and efficacy of fatty acid derived boron esters as wood preservatives
2004 - IRG/WP 04-30351
Borates have many advantages as wood preservatives. However, boron is susceptible to depletion under humid conditions and this restricts its outdoor use. In order to reduce boron leachability in treated wood, one of the anticipative approaches is to use organic fixed boron-based preservatives. This study investigated the leachability of six boron ester compounds as potential preservatives. Scots p...
A Mohareb, J Van Acker, M Stevens


Relationship between degradation of wood, cellulose or lignin-related compounds and production of hydroxyl radical or accumulation of oxalic acid in cultures of brown-rot fungi
1994 - IRG/WP 94-10062
The degradation activities of brown rot fungi against wood, cellulose, and lignin-related compounds were measured in cultures containing glucose or wood as a carbon source. Also the activities of one-electron oxidation and hydroxyl radical production and the amount of oxalic acid present in the cultures were measured. The degradation activities of the fungi against wood, crystalline cellulose and ...
S Itakura, T Hirano, H Tanaka, A Enoki


Influence of acidification on decay processes of CCB treated wood
2004 - IRG/WP 04-10514
The phenomenon of copper tolerance by brown rot fungal strains has been known for a long period but the complete mechanism of copper tolerance by these fungi is not understood yet. Copper tolerance has previously been linked to oxalic acid excreted by copper tolerant brown rot fungal strains. This acid reacts with copper in the wood to form an insoluble and therefore less toxic copper oxalate. The...
M Humar, S A Amartey, M Šentjurc, F Pohleven


Old and new facts on the dry rot fungus Serpula lacrymans
1991 - IRG/WP 1470
The article collates some of the recent literature on the biology of the dry rot fungus Serpula lacrymans. The fungus can grow at 28°C, and maximum wood moisture is above 55%. Serpula Iacrymans degrades crystalline cellulose. The intensive production of extracellular oxalic acid is neutralized by calcium and iron. There is considerable variation among the strains with regard to factors such as gr...
O Schmidt, U Moreth-Kebernik


Properties of cellulose degraded by the brown rot fungus, Postia placenta
1988 - IRG/WP 1350
To gain further understanding of the nature of the cellulose depolymerizing agent or agents of brown-rot fungi, brown-rotted cellulose was chemically and physically characterized. Various culture conditions, such as low nitrogen and elevated oxygen levels, did not induce degradation of cellulose by Postia placenta in liquid cultures. Therefore, brown-rotted cellulose for analysis was prepared by a...
T L Highley, R E Ibach, T K Kirk


Determination of the amine to copper ratio remaining in wood after leaching
2002 - IRG/WP 02-30285
The effectiveness of the protection and the environmental impact of the treated wood are two of the most important aspects that need to be understood for all preservatives. Both are particularly influenced by the loss of biocidal components from treated wood. For amine copper preservatives, copper fixation determines the leaching resistance of the copper and amine compounds formed in wood. Previou...
N Lucas, J N R Ruddick


Experiments on the degradation of tributyltin oxide: A progress report
1984 - IRG/WP 3287
A variety of experiments designed to assess the chemical and physical factors affecting the degradation of tributyltin oxide in treated timber are described. Simple procedures in which temperature and oxygen availability were increased in the presence of wood and water suggest that the wood itself was of prime importance. Attempts to decrease degradation with antioxidants were unsuccessful but led...
R J Orsler, G E Holland


Practical experiments with Boracol 10 Rh used as a fungicide in the repair process after attack by the dry rot fungus (Serpula lacrymans)
1987 - IRG/WP 3458
The test is carried out in an old house in Nyhavn, Copenhagen. The roof and the walls close to were heavily attacked by dry rot fungus (Serpula lacrymans) because damage to the zinc covering the frontspice were letting in water to the wood and wall construction. An attack by the dry rot fungus is more complicated to repair compared with other wood destroying fungi because beside the damage on wood...
J Bech-Andersen


Weathering of copper-amine treated wood
2000 - IRG/WP 00-40155
Copper ethanolamine (Cu-EA) treated southern pine (SP) were artificially weathered with a QUV Weathering Tester. The weathering regime was composed of a continuous UV-light irradiation for 2 hours followed by a water spray for 18 minutes for a total time of 1200 hours. The changes on the surface of the weathered samples were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis,...
J Zhang, D P Kamdem


A possible role of unique TCA cycles in wood-rotting basidiomycetes
2003 - IRG/WP 03-10461
The copper tolerant brown-rot fungus, Fomitopsis palustris, acquires metabolic energy by use of the constitutively-occurring Kornberg’s glyoxylate cycle coordinating with oxalate biosynthesis and glucose oxidation (Erman Munir et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, (2001) 98, 11126-11130). Furthermore, this fungus does not have the normal TCA cycle, lacking 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase which is a ke...
E Munir, T Hattori, M Shimada


The lasting dehydration of wood treated by bifluorides worked up in Diffusec noticed by a continual drying of the wood
1999 - IRG/WP 99-30196
After an immersion of sound wood in a solution of Diffusec, in which a combination of acid potassium and ammonium bifluorides = FHF- in dissociated form is present, their potassium and ammonium fluoride ions together with the bifluoride ion = (FHF-) diffuse into the wood. They make use of the woodmoisture available as O-H-O bonds directly attached to the cellulose in the wood fibres to attract the...
H F M Nijman


Production, function and neutralization of oxalic acid produced by the dry rot fungus and other brown rot fungi
1987 - IRG/WP 1330
The formation of oxalic acid by the wood-destroying fungi causing brown rot, is found to be the key which by hydrolysing the hemicellulose brings the cellulose in the tracheid wall in contact with the cellulase enzymes and yeld watersoluble sugars leaving only a lignin skeleton. To control the pH in the substrate the excess oxalic acid is precipitated to water insoluble calcium oxalate by the dry ...
J Bech-Andersen


The effect of acid rain on CCA treated timber
1990 - IRG/WP 3579
The effect of acid precipitation on the leaching of copper, chromium and arsenic from timber treated with different CCA preservatives was studied in the presence of three types of soil under simulated field conditions. Pine sapwood, embedded in soil, was subjected to simulated rainfall at three different levels of acidity. The CCA preservative formulations tested were:- American Wood Preservers&am...
R J Murphy, D J Dickinson


Hydrolysis of bordered pits during colonization of conifers by brown-rot fungi
1995 - IRG/WP 95-10103
Brown-rot decay results in rapid reduction in degree of polymerization (DP) of holocellulose with concomitant strength loss (MOR) without removing lignin. Development of new methods of wood protection will require focusing on early events in the sequence of depolymerization. Bordered pit membranes (sapwood) represent a readily available source of non-lignified carbohydrate, ie. pectin and cellulos...
F Green III, J L Tschernitz, T A Kuster, T L Highley


Biological degradation resistance of wood acetylated with thioacetic acid
1983 - IRG/WP 3223
Chemically, modification of wood is being considered as an alternative to conventional preservation by toxic chemicals. Acetylated wood has been reported to be quite resistant to most biodegrading organisms at weight percent gains (WPG) around 15-19. The conventional acetylation techniques with acethic anhyrdride result in generation of acetic acid. However, acetylation with thioacetic acid overco...
S Kumar, S C Agarwal


An anti-termite formulation for soil treatment with natural products and its efficacy against Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki
2003 - IRG/WP 03-30319
An anti-termite formulation of an environmental conservation type for soil treatment was developed. The formulation was composed of decanoic acid (n-capric acid, an fatty acid derived from coconut oil with ten carbons) as an active ingredient and other natural products. Experiments to examine the efficacy of the formulation against Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki were conducted at the termite field...
S Yoshida, T Nakagaki, A Igarashi, A Enoki


Oxalic acid metabolism of Postia placenta
1992 - IRG/WP 92-1566
The oxalic acid metabolism of Postia placenta was studied in liquid culture in order to identify the metabolic pathways of biosynthesis and to determine whether oxalic acid physiology could be correlated with efficiency in wood decay. Oxalic acid production was determined for test strain MAD698 grown in a basal defined medium with a variety of different carbohydrate and nitrogen sources. The highe...
J A Micales


Serpula lacrymans the dry rot fungus. Revue on previous papers
1989 - IRG/WP 1393
It is found that the Dry rot fungus Serpula lacrymans grows in houses only because of its need for basic materials to neutralize the oxalic acid production or heavy metals which celate the oxalic acid. The average distance from the mycelium to the basic materials is found in average to be 14.2 cm with a variation from 0-100 cm. In contrast to Serpula lacrymans the Coniophora puteana and the Rigido...
J Bech-Andersen


Chemically modified tannin and tannin-copper complexes as preservatives for wood
2001 - IRG/WP 01-30271
The efficacy of Mimosa tannin, chemically modified tannin, and tannin-copper complexes as wood preservatives was studied. When the tannin-ammonia-CuCl2 solutions were impregnated into wood specimens in a one-step procedure, a large quantity of the tannin-copper complex was fixed in the specimens. Little of the complex was leached from specimens by a weathering treatment, and these specimens showed...
H Yamaguchi


Amine copper reaction with wood components: acidity versus copper adsorption
1997 - IRG/WP 97-30161
The bonding sites for copper in wood from CCA, as well as ammoniacal/amine based systems, has long been a topic of investigation. Both phenolic and carboxylic functional groups have been discussed as potential bonding sites for copper. However, no consensus on the adsorption mechanism has been realized. Thus, the selective adsorption of copper in southern yellow pine from ethanolamine-copper solut...
S M Thomason, E A Pasek


The degradation of wood surfaces by dilute acids
1985 - IRG/WP 3326
Thin radial/longitudinal sections(~100 µ) of Corsican Pine (Pinus nigra) and Lime (Tilia vulgaris), were exposed to Sulphuric, Sulphurous, nitric, acetic, and formic acid at 40°C in the pH range 2-6. After about 3 months exposure to Sulphuric, nitric, acetic and formic acid at pH 2.0 Pine lost some 20-25% of its tensile strength. Losses in tensile strength due to sulphurous acid were greater bei...
P D Evans, W B Banks


The fixation of copper in Pinus sylvestris using the sodium salts of two polyhydroxycarboxylic acids
1992 - IRG/WP 92-3706
As part of the research concerned with the development of fixed, copper based preservatives, the salts of polyhydroxycarboxyIic acids, have been used in copper sequestration studies and fixation trials in Pinus sylvestris splinters. Selected compounds have been shown to be effective sequestrants at low concentrations allowing alkaline solutions to be formulated. Leaching trials following a 48 hour...
M Bacon, J A Cornfield


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