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Fungal laccases as a tool for wood functionalization
2013 - IRG/WP 13-20533
Wood degrading fungi are the most important production organisms for laccase, a promising oxidative biocatalyst with numerous biotechnological applications in the forest products industry. Laccases are multi-copper containing oxidases (EC 1.10.3.2), which catalyse mono-electronic oxidation of phenols, polyphenols and anilines at the expense of molecular oxygen. Interest in these essentially ‘eco...
M Schubert


Micronized Copper Wood Preservatives: Strong Indications of the Reservoir Effect
2013 - IRG/WP 13-30609
Micronized copper wood preservative systems were launched commercially in May 2006. Now, over 75% of the residential lumber produced in the USA is treated with micronized wood preservative formulations. Although considered controversial at first, the mode of action of micronized copper has been clearly defined by multiple authors over the years, as well as a need for a co-biocide in water-borne sy...
M H Freeman, C R McIntyre


Performance testing of DMDHEU-modified wood in Australia
2013 - IRG/WP 13-30613
Chemical wood modification with dimethyloldihydroxy-ethyleneurea (DMDHEU) or its derivatives has been researched for many years and shown to be applicable to improve certain wood properties to both solid lumber and wood-based composites. Earlier research proved a high biological resistance of DMDHEU-modified wood against biological degradation in laboratory and field tests in Europe. Due to the ve...
H Militz, J Norton


Preliminary testing of spiroborate esters as wood preservatives
2013 - IRG/WP 13-30614
Fungicide and insecticide properties of boric acid are known since 30’s of the last century, but high solubility and leachability of inorganic borates limit their use for only applications not directly exposed to liquid water. A number of attempts were made to fixate borate salts into the wood structure but this research topic is still up to date and undiscovered. Water insoluble organoboron est...
D Panov, N Terziev


Application of a model for the prediction of fungal degradation of thermally modified beech timber by Trametes versicolor
2013 - IRG/WP 13-40622
Colour measurement technology is found to be feasible for characterization of the property changes of thermally modified timber (TMT). In opposite to time-consuming and expensive laboratory tests a non-destructive test represents an improvement for the manufacturer of TMT. Therefore the aim of this study was to develop a method which allows sorting the different treatment intensities after the man...
Clauder, L., Richter S., Unger, W., Pfriem, A


Performance of Coatings on Wood Treated with Carbon-Based Preservatives
2013 - IRG/WP 13-40638
Wood treated with carbon-based preservatives is often used in applications where coatings are required, yet few studies have examined the effect of such treatment on coating performance. Users need to be confident that coatings on carbon-based preservative-treated wood will perform as well as or better than those on untreated wood. The present study examines the performance of three coatings on un...
R Stirling, P I Morris


Influence of Heat Treatment Medium on Fungal Resistance of Beech Wood
2013 - IRG/WP 13-40643
Hydrothermal treatment of beech wood (Fagus orientalis) performed in acidic, neutral and alkaline buffered mediums in 160 and 180°C. White rot fungi (Coriolus versicolor) and brown rot fungi (Coniophora puteana) were used to determine the influence of heat treatment mediums on the behaviour of fungal resistance. White rot of wood digest lignin rather than cellulose; while brown rot digests the ce...
A Talaei, A Karimi, M-F Thévenon


Moisture and Fungal Durability of Wood-Plastic Composites Made With Chemically Modified and Treated Wood Flour
2013 - IRG/WP 13-40648
Evaluating the fungal durability of wood-plastic composites (WPCs) is complicated by the influence of slow moisture sorption. Recently, the American Wood Protection Association (AWPA) Standard Method E10, Testing Wood Preservatives by Laboratory Soil-Block Cultures, was modified to incorporate not only solid wood, but also wood-based composites and WPCs. To simulate long term WPC performance, cond...
B K Segerholm, R E Ibach


Durability of alternatives to CCA-treated wood - Results from field tests after 11 years exposure
2013 - IRG/WP 13-30633
The present study was initiated as a consequence of restrictions against the use of CCA-type wood preservatives in Sweden in the 1990s. New copper-based formulations were introduced on the market and to some extent, also alternatives to preservative-treated wood, such as thermally and chemically modified and linseed oil treated wood as well as heartwood of non-tropical naturally durable wood s...
P Larsson Brelid, M-L Edlund


Estimation of service life of treated wood in ground contact based on early indicators
2013 - IRG/WP 13-20536
A well-known problem with field testing is that it takes a long time before meaningful and reliable results are achieved. Only when a trial has come to an end the so called average life for the samples in a group can be calculated and compared with other samples. The aim of the present study was to investigate if it is possible to get a reasonable and good estimation of the average life long befor...
M Hansson, J Jermer, P Larsson Brelid, N Terziev


Critical moisture levels and mould resistance of five different wood treatments
2013 - IRG/WP 13-30632
Mould resistance of five different treatments were tested using two methods, a recently developed method for the determination of critical moisture levels of building materials (RHcrit), and ASTM D3273-94. The critical moisture level method exposed samples at 22 °C and 98, 92, 86 and 82% relative humidity (RH) for 12 weeks. ASTM D3273-94 was performed at 29 °C and about 95% RH. Treatments c...
G Bok, P Johansson, A Ekstrand Tobin, S Bardage


Moisture performance testing of wood – Practical experiences
2014 - IRG/WP 14-20546
Different methods are used to characterize the moisture performance of wood and to quantify the effect of moisture loads on the resulting service life. These methods can be divided into direct and indirect methods. Furthermore they can be distinguished by characteristics like continuous or periodical measurements and measuring local or global moisture content (MC). Furthermore each measuring metho...
L Meyer, C Brischke, M Kasselmann, C Rösmann


Communities of mold fungi in moisture damaged building materials
2014 - IRG/WP 14-20542
The critical conditions needed for the development of mould and decay fungi have been modelled for different building materials. However, current knowledge of indoor microbes growing on building materials relies on culture-based methods and more advanced molecular biological techniques should be employed to study the complex microbial communities in building materials. In this paper molecular biol...
E Sohlberg, H Viitanen


Changes in mechanical and chemical properties of wood exposed outdoors
2014 - IRG/WP 14-20550
The aim of this study was to investigate differences in certain mechanical and chemical properties of three different wood species (common beach (Fagus sylvatica), Norway spruce (Picea abies), and copper-ethanolamine (CuE) impregnated Norway spruce (Picea abies)) that were exposed in use class 3 (CEN, 2006) for periods between 4 and 30 months. The results show, that changes in the investigated me...
N Thaler, C Brischke, D Žlindra, V Vek, M Humar


Statistical analysis of 40 years of preservative in-ground stake testing in Australia
2014 - IRG/WP 14-20552
Wood is widely recognized as a valuable material, yet the natural durability of some wood species limits its use for certain outdoor purposes. For decades, a wide range of methods and chemicals have been developed to increase the resistance of wood against degrading microorganisms and termites. Preservative treatment has a long and widespread tradition in wood protection. Proper testing of the eff...
J Van den Bulcke, L J Cookson, I De Windt, W Li, J Van Acker


Coconut shell pyrolytic oil as wood protectant against biodeterioration
2014 - IRG/WP 14-30648
Extensive research on various plant and microbial extracts has been conducted as an alternative to using synthetic or inorganic chemicals for wood protection. Development of effective and low environmental impact products and technologies for wood protection is imperative. In the present study, the efficacy of coconut shell pyrolytic oil as a wood protectant is analysed in terms of its antifungal,...
K S Shiny, O K Remadevi


Ammoniacal Copper Zinc Arsenate Preservative Treated Wood Ties Their Performance in Testing and Track
2014 - IRG/WP 14-30636
While not a new preservative system, Ammoniacal Copper Zinc Arsenate (ACZA), had not previously been used to protect crossties. Its performance in treating difficult or refractory species of wood has been documented through its wide range of uses approved in AWPA. The establishment of appropriate testing for railroad material use was put in place and includes laboratory, field as well as commercia...
T Carey


Resistance of fungal derived pigments to ultraviolet light exposure
2014 - IRG/WP 14-30642
The potential for using fungal derived pigments as surface treatments for limiting photodegradation of wood was investigated. Extracts from Chlorociboria aeruginosa and Scytalidium cuboideum were compared with a traditional aniline dye and chromic acid treatment. Hybrid poplar sapwood samples treated with these solutions were exposed to 86.4 kj/m2 of UV radiation and assessed for lignin degradatio...
H G Beck, S Freitas, G Weber, S C Robinson, J J Morrell


Experiences with an industrial system for controlled thermal wood modification in pressurized unsaturated steam
2014 - IRG/WP 14-40678
Thermal wood modification in pressurized reactors has a long history, but these processes are to date industrially scarcely used, because of the relatively complicated process equipment, compared to the more common high-temperature processes in kilns at atmospheric pressure. However, based on our practical experience with the FirmoLin® process, supported by recent scientific findings, it is foun...
W Willems


Biocidal Products Regulation – Structure and Impact for Product Authorization and Testing in EU
2014 - IRG/WP 14-50308
Since September 2013 the Biocidal Products Regulations (BPR) has been in force in Europe. BPR replaces the Biocidal Products Directive (EC/98/8) and in some respect marks a turning point in the European legislation concerning registration of all types of biocides. BPR introduces some changes both for suppliers of active substances and for companies that produce and place biocide containing wood p...
M Klamer


Interpretation of moisture monitoring data - Relevance of moisture content thresholds for fungal decay
2015 - IRG/WP 15-10839
It is widely accepted that besides temperature wood moisture content (MC) is the key factor when it comes to durability of wooden structures exposed to weathering. Many approaches to predict the service life of wooden structures have therefore been based on using wood MC as one major input-variable to develop dose-response relationships between material climate and decay response. However, to impr...
L Meyer, C Brischke


Applicability of wood durability testing methods to bio-based building materials
2015 - IRG/WP 15-20561
It is well known that organic materials may be susceptible to attack from a range of fungal organisms and any bio-based material used in locations where there is the possibility of microbiological activity must be expected to be able to withstand or prevent such attack. There are a wide range of test methods and standards in place to test susceptibility although most of these test individual compo...
S F Curling, B K Stefanowski, E Mansour, G A Ormondroyd


Above ground field testing: results of experiments in Brazil after one year
2015 - IRG/WP 15-30660
After the development of new products they need to be field-tested to assess their efficacy under diverse conditions of climate, comparing them with a preservative with proven efficacy. In some testing sites, decay occurs very slowly. The solution would be to bring these tests to locations that are conducive to biodeterioration, like tropical climates. Tropical sites provide higher temperature and...
M F Natale, J M Vidal


Mould growth on spruce claddings and the effect of selected influencing factors after 4 years of outdoor testing
2015 - IRG/WP 15-30671
Norway spruce (Picea abies) is the most frequently chosen wood species as claddings in façades in Norway, and is used both coated and uncoated. The visual changes that occur during weathering can be colour changes, abrasion or wear, blistering, flaking, and even cracks in the wood or coating, but more often growth of mould and blue stain fungi is the main challenge. A field test with synchronous monitoring of relative humidity, air temperature, material temperature and wood moisture content in Norway spruce claddings has been performed in southern Norway as part of the ClimateLife project. Visual evaluation of blue stain and mould growth according to EN 927-3 was performed, and evaluation data after 46 months exposure is presented. The objectives were to study the effect of 1) environment, 2) cardinal direction and 3) colour of the coated surface on growth of blue stain and mould fungi and to study the variation in relative humidity, air temperature, wood moisture content and material temperature. After 46 months exposure, the red coating system had generally the lowest mould ratings and the uncoated claddings had the highest. Of the white coloured claddings the ones facing south had lower mould ratings than those facing north, but the opposite were found for red coloured claddings. The relative humidity was higher in front of claddings exposed northwards and in a shaded environment compared to an open environment against south. In an open environment red coloured claddings had the lowest wood moisture content and highest material temperature, and red coloured claddings against south had the highest maximum material temperature.
L Ross Gobakken, G I Vestøl


Some comments on durability testing of WPC according to EN 15534-1
2015 - IRG/WP 15-40695
The standard EN 15534-1 (2014) gives advice for broad characterization of WPC materials and products. It contains instructions for test procedures concerning different properties e.g. mechanical properties, thermal properties, as well as durability. In this paper some WPC materials from the market were tested for their resistance against brown rot. Furthermore, the water uptake and bending prope...
S Bollmus, A Gellerich, H Militz


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