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Optimising wood chemical modification with lactic acid oligomers by screening of processing conditions and chemical additives
2016 - IRG/WP 16-40741
Oligomer systems based on lactic acid (OLA), were impregnated in wood and polymerised in-situ by heat treatment to improve the properties of the treated wood especially regarding anti-swelling efficiency (ASE), hygroscopicity, water leaching resistance and durability. This article relates the optimisation of the heat treatment conditions and the consideration of selected chemicals for improvement ...
C Grosse, M-F Thévenon, M Noël, P Gérardin


The impact of catalyst on the properties of furfurylated beech wood
2016 - IRG/WP 16-40748
European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) is a major tree species of European forest that is underexploited because of its low dimensional stability and durability. Similarly to what has been developed with radiata pine, furfurylation might be the answer to optimize the utilization of local beech wood. Beech wood furfurylation process was studied using five different catalysts: maleic anhydride, maleic ...
P S Sejati, A Imbert, C Gérardin, S Dumarçay, E Fredon, E Masson, D Nandika, T Priadi, P Gérardin


Prevention of fungal damage of oil and date palm wood by organic acids
2017 - IRG/WP 17-10877
Felled palm trunks are susceptible to fungi as long as their moisture content is above fibre saturation. During this period, palm wood has to be protected against mould and rot fungi. Environmental-friendly organic acids are suitable. Small samples of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) and date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) wood were treated with 1 to 10% solutions of acetic acid and propionic acid, respec...
M Bahmani, O Schmidt


Evaluating the role of Actinobacteria in the gut of wood-feeding termites (Reticulitermes spp.)
2017 - IRG/WP 17-10880
Nitrogen has been shown to be a limiting nutrient across a range of xylophagous insects. These insects often rely on symbiotic microorganisms in the gut for nitrogen acquisition, via fixation of atmospheric nitrogen or break down of other available nitrogenous substances. In phylogenetically lower, wood-feeding termites, the role of nitrogen fixing bacteria has been well studied. However, there is...
Evaluating the role of Actinobacteria in the gut of wood-feeding termites (Reticulitermes spp.)


Overview of the treated wood quality control program in the United States with the recent challenges and advances
2017 - IRG/WP 17-20616
In the past two decades, there have been significant and rapid changes in wood protection technologies for residential applications which have moved away from long established heavy duty metal oxide based products such as chromated copper arsenate (CCA). The successor generation of wood protection systems usually contain copper as the primary biocide, in combination with carbon-based co-biocides s...
L Jin


The use of new, aqueous chemical wood modifications to improve the durability of wood-plastic composites
2017 - IRG/WP 17-40787
The wood flour used in wood-plastic composites (WPCs) can biologically deteriorate and thus the overall mechanical performance of WPCs decrease when exposed to moisture and fungal decay. Protecting the wood flour by chemical modification can improve the durability of the wood in a nontoxic way so it is not harmful to the environment. WPCs were made with modified wood flour and then evaluated for m...
R E Ibach, C M Clemons, G C Chen


A Green and Novel Technology for Recovering Copper and Wood from Treated Wood Waste – Part II: Optimization, copper metal recovery, and process design
2017 - IRG/WP 17-50326
The US consumes 70 million pounds of copper and produces 580 million cubic feet treated wood annually. The EPA disallows burning and reusing treated wood waste due to health/environmental concerns. Vast quantities of copper and wood are landfilled. Two safe and low cost extraction systems, citric acid and ammonium citrate, were identified in Part I of this study. In Part II of the study, effects o...
S Chen, R Patel


Five-year evaluation of a field trial of Eucalyptus grandis poles treated with zinc and boron
2017 - IRG/WP 17-30721
Round Eucalyptus wood treatment in sequential stages with inorganic borates and metal salts (zinc sulfate and boric acid+borax) was studied; the aims were to form an insoluble precipitate of zinc borate inside wood and to reduce treatment costs by performing the first treatment by simple ascent and diffusion of the preservative, at the same time as it was sought to impregnate the heartwood. The se...
C Ibáñez, A Camargo, C Mantero, M Rabinovich


Response of the symbiotic flagellate protists community of subterranean termites to sublethal amounts of biocides
2018 - IRG/WP 18-10911
Subterranean termites are quite efficient at extracting nutrients from lignocellulose. Their ability relies not only on the digestive tract physiology but also on symbiotic relationships established with flagellate protists and bacteria. This work aimed to screen the response of the flagellate protists community of the subterranean termite Reticulitermes grassei Clément to the ingestion of differ...
S Duarte, T Nobre, P Borges, L Nunes


Encapsulation of chlorothalonil with polylactic acid using nanoprecipitation method for rubberwood preservation
2018 - IRG/WP 18-30722
Wood is a very beneficial material for humankind. The current trend is employing organic biocides as wood preservatives to inhibit the wood from biodeterioration caused by fungi and termite. However, these organic biocides are facing some shortcomings when being introduced into the wood using conventional water-based treatment due to their poor water solubility. Polylactic acid (PLA) was employed ...
T-J Teng, M N M Arip, R Kadir, E-P Ng, H-L Lee


FTIR-ATR monitoring of chemical changes of thermo-chemically modified beech wood degraded by brown-rot fungus
2018 - IRG/WP 18-40823
Wood chemical modification with lactic acid oligomers (OLA) has been reported to confer promising properties for wood outdoors applications. To better understand the lactic acid interaction with wood, chemical changes following biological degradation have been characterized with a battery of tests. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has been proved to be a valuable tool for studying fu...
C Grosse, M Noël, M-F Thevenon, P Gérardin


Effect of pretreatment of wood surfaces with a copper monoethanolamine solution on the natural weathering performance of semitransparent stains
2019 - IRG/WP 19-40881
Semitransparent stains for wood products are favored for outdoor applications in Japan because these finishes do not hide the wood grain. However, the photoprotective effects of wood surfaces are low, therefor there is a need to improve the weathering performance. We examined the natural weathering performance of semitransparent stains on wood pretreated with a copper monoethanolamine solution (Cu...
S Isaji, H Shibui, Y Hirabayashi


Water interactions in wood polyesterified with sorbitol and citric acid
2020 - IRG/WP 20-40888
Polyesterifcation of wood with sorbitol and citric acid seems to be a promising chemical wood modification technique that is both low-cost and produced from bio-based chemicals. An interesting aspect of the modification is the interaction of water with the polyesterified wood since the relationship with moisture appears to be unique compared to other wood modification systems. This communication p...
G Beck, A Treu, E Larnøy


A summary of decay performance with citric acid and sorbitol modification
2020 - IRG/WP 20-40898
Application of wood-based products as construction materials is one piece of the big puzzle to mitigate climate change. Wood is susceptible to biological deterioration. Environmentally motivated legislation is making the use of biocides less attractive from a commercial perspective. Ideally, a wood modification technology should be of low cost, water based and make use of thermal curing. This rese...
G Alfredsen, E Larnøy, G Beck, J Biørnstad, L R Gobakken, C A S Hill, A Treu


Macro biological degradation of wood treated with sorbitol and citric acid – first results from marine environment and termite exposure
2020 - IRG/WP 20-40901
Most European wood species are rapidly and severely degraded in termite-infested areas and the marine environment. There is a need for new solutions, especially in the marine environment, since we lack wood preservatives approved for marine applications in Europe. Several wood modification systems show high resistance against both marine borers and subterranean termites. However, the existing comm...
A Treu, L Nunes, E Larnøy


Effects of Borax and Boric Acid as Fire Retardants on the Resistance of Pterygota macrocarpa Wood to Fire Tests
2022 - IRG/WP 22-30770
The combustible nature of wood as a building material, when exposed to hazards of fire underscores the reason for fire retardant treatments. Pterygota macrocarpa wood is commonly used by builders in Nigeria for roof and other structural applications. Therefore, this study was carried out to assess the effect of Borax and Boric acid on the fire-retardant properties of P. macrocarpa wood. Wood sampl...
J M Owoyemi, O Apogbona, T O Akinwamide


Durability against fungal decay of sorbitol and citric acid (SorCA) modified wood
2022 - IRG/WP 22-40928
Most European-grown wood species are susceptible to biological degradation, specifically, they suffer from a poor resistance against wood-destroying fungi. Therefore, prior to outdoor exposure, wood has to be treated either by applying a protective coating on its surface or by full-volume impregnation with antifungal chemicals. However, due to environmental and health concerns, the most frequently...
K Kurkowiak, L Emmerich, H Militz


CIOL®-protection of wood – an update
2022 - IRG/WP 22-40932
Most commercial wood species from the northern European region are of low natural durability. Products from these wood species for outside applications need therefore protection to increase their service life. This protection should be free of biocides, come from renewable resource, have great performance and hold a low consumer price. A mixture of water, sorbitol and citric acid has the potential...
A Treu, E Larnøy, J Biørnstad


Biocomposites based on PVA, cellulose nanofibrils and tannic acid
2022 - IRG/WP 22-40957
Biocomposite films based on a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with the addition of cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) as a reinforcing component and with the addition of the biologically active tannic acid (TA) were prepared. The influence of different additions of CNF and TA in the polymer matrix PVA on the mechanical properties, improvement of hydrophobicity of the prepared films was studied. In all cases, the...
U Osolnik, V Vek, I Poljanšek, Poven


Sensitivity of copper indicators for detecting preservative penetration
2023 - IRG/WP 23-20701
Chrome azurol S (CAS), 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN), and rubeanic acid (RA) are the three copper indicators currently used by the timber industry to assess preservative penetration. Although only the American Wood Protection Association (AWPA) standards specify indicator sensitivity, it is unclear how those limits were developed. The sensitivity of each copper indicator was determined in solu...
T Yi, J Norton, S Meldrum, J J Morrell


Improvement of durability of Scots pine against termites by impregnation with citric acid and glycerol followed by in situ polyesterification
2023 - IRG/WP 23-30777
Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) sapwood samples were impregnated with solution containing citric acid (CA) and glycerol (Gly) followed by heating 140 °C according to already described procedure (L'hostis et al. 2018). The resulting modified woods were then used to evaluate the effect of chemical modification on the durability against termites. Two kinds of experiments were conducted for this purpos...
M Mubarok, J Damay, E Masson, E Fredon, Y S Hadi, I W Darmawan, P Gerardin


Biological durability and wood-water interactions of sorbitol and citric acid modified wood – Effects on the expected service life
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40960
A high level of research activities on sorbitol and citric acid (SorCA) modified wood has been recognized in Europe over the last few years. As this treatment is close to entering an industrial-scale production, it is of interest to investigate how such treated wood performs upon long-term outdoor exposure. Hence, in this study Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) sapwood was modified with aqueous sol...
K Kurkowiak, L Emmerich, H Militz


Investigating the fire properties of a composite material made of MDF-residues, citric acid and sorbitol
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40969
In times of climate change and a shortage of energy and raw materials, it has become apparent, that material reuse of wood in a cascade system can reduce the ecological impact of a material and be cost effective. A new composite material has been developed made from citric acid, sorbitol, water and waste MDF. Not only will there be a material reuse option for waste MDF but due to the small particl...
P T Lewandowski, W Perdoch, E Larnoy, H Militz


Suberinic acid from birch bark and its suitability in wood protection
2024 - IRG/WP 24-20708
This study investigated the effect of different concentrations of suberinic acid (SA) on the growth of two fungi species. Initial radial growth tests showed a slightly slower growth rate for brown rot, whereas white rot exhibited faster growth than the untreated reference. In contrast, a commercial wood preservative significantly reduced the radial growth of both fungi species. Evidence of cell wa...
A Treu, M Altgen, J Rizikovs


Effects of phosphoric acid and diammonium phosphate treatments on the physical and fire-retardant properties of five selected Nigerian wood species
2024 - IRG/WP 24-20713
Wooden products in buildings are major sources of fuel for fire outbreaks. Effects of phosphoric acid and diammonium phosphate treatments on the physical and fire-retardant properties of wood species commonly used in buildings were evaluated. The timber species utilized in this study were sourced from the sawmill sector located in Akure, Nigeria, encompassing Brachystegia laurentii, Khaya ivorensi...
J Owoyemi, T O Akinwamide, O M Ibrahim, E A Iyiola


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