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Long service life or cascading? The environmental impact of maintenance of wood-based materials for building envelope and their recycling options
2018 - IRG/WP 18-50336
A major restraint in choosing bio-based materials (i.e. wood-based) for external use, is the lack of confidence that architects, designers and customers have toward these materials. In particular, the limit state of bio-based materials, which defines the frequency of maintenance operations, might be reached earlier for wood than for other materials (i.e. concrete). On the other hand, resource and ...
M Petrillo, J Sandak, P Grossi, A Kutnar, A


Declaring life cycle inventory of toxicity related emissions in environmental product declarations of preservative treated wood products
2018 - IRG/WP 18-50339
Life cycle assessment (LCA) including impacts on toxicity for preservative treated wood has been shown to have large uncertainties. With the growing demand for verified LCA in environmental product declarations (EPD), the need for reliable data is crucial for realistic assessment of wood products. Uncertainty is caused by several issues such as service life prediction, leaching rates and calculati...
L G F Tellnes, C Askham, P-O Flæte, M Klamer


Environmental protection and long term in-service sustainability of preserved wooden poles is secured by non-toxic barrier protection system – History and case studies in South Africa
2018 - IRG/WP 18-50340
Non-toxic flexible sheeting systems have been developed to encapsulate the ground contact regions of preserved wooden poles and prevent their premature failure in South Africa since 1992 but the technology also has a long history of resistance by individuals with vested interests in the built-in redundancies of such poles. The concept has, however, been simultaneously validated by many independent...
A A W Baecker


Exemplary aboveground hardwood protection from Coptotermes curvignathus under weathered conditions conferred by proprietary microemulsion-based cypermethrin (SARPECO®) and permethrin (AXIL®) biocides
2019 - IRG/WP 19-30749
SARPECO® (with cypermethrin) and AXIL® (with permethrin) solutions are water-based wood preservatives approved for dipping treatment providing 25 years of termite protection for solid wood and wood-based products in Europe and for more than 10 years in Indonesia. SARPECO® and AXIL® solutions are patented formulations based on concentrated microemulsions (ME) diluted with water as a dipping tre...
D Messaoudi, A H H Wong, C A D Tawi, N Bourguiba, O Fahy


Durability and climate change - implications for wood building structures
2019 - IRG/WP 19-50361
Sustainable building practices are rooted in the need for reliable information on the long-term performance of building materials; specifically, the expected service-life of building materials, components, and assemblies. This need is ever more evident given the anticipated effects of climate change on the built environment and the many governmental initiatives world-wide focused on ensuring that ...
M Lacasse


Moisture and temperature conditions in an old, highly moisture-loaded timber building in the Røros municipality, Norway
2020 - IRG/WP 20-10966
A 150 years old log building near Røros, Norway, has been in active use as a cowshed since its erection. The animals are kept inside the cowshed all winter and this causes a situation of a high moisture load on the wooden floor, wooden walls and ceiling. Logging of temperature and humidity over one year shows that there are favourable levels of moisture in the wood and air for development of moul...
M Sand Austigard, J Mattsson


Performance of resin-treated solid wood and laminated veneer lumber (LVL) under marine conditions
2021 - IRG/WP 21-10973
Wood is a traditional building material in the marine environment, where it is exposed to extremely harsh conditions. Most of the indigenous softwood and hardwood species in Europe are not durable against attack by marine organisms. Recently, wood modification has been considered as an alternative to protect non-durable wood species under use class (UC) 5 (EN 335, 2013) conditions. The present stu...
L Emmerich, C Brischke, S Bicke, H Militz


Aiming for eco-friendly log production and wooden construction!
2021 - IRG/WP 21-50365
In order to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to zero by 2050 in the fields of forest and forest products, it is necessary to promote appropriate management and renewal of planted forests, and development of wooden building materials and the wooden construction of mid-to-high-rise buildings with lower GHG emissions. Unless we also try to reduce the environmental loads other than GHG for such d...
N Hattori


DuraSoft Project: a multidisciplinary approach for softwood protection
2021 - IRG/WP 21-50367
Over the course of millennia, fishing and agro-pastoral activities have produced unique housing types in the Italian lagoons and in the Slovenian highlands where the use of wood is predominant. They are associated with wooden service infrastructures such as piers, moorings, piling and fences. However, the existence of these structures and the associated cultural heritage are subject to constant ...
I Guarneri, V Moschino, N Nesto, T Marceta, M Sigovini, E Borella di Torre, L Dametto, S Pasqual, M Humar, B Lesar, T Cibic, V Natali, E di Poi, F Cerino, D Formasaro, M Kralj, F Relitti, C Balestra, M Celussi, A Franzo, A Volpi Ghirardini, M Picone, G G Distefano, M Russo, D Marchetto, R Rakar, I Trobec, D Marinic, G Rep, N Thaler, T Galvan, R Lazzarini, F Gombac, D Tagliapietra


In Vitro Growth of the Basidiomycetes Physisporinus vitreus strains in various conditions in comparison with some white rot fungi
2022 - IRG/WP 22-10987
The paper has preliminary test results to select Pysisporinus vitreus fungal strains for further experiments in a large research project on copper tolerance of P. vitreus by chemotropic test, choice test, and agar plate toxicity tests and determination of the effect of various ions on oxalic acid secretion by these white rot fungi. In the project, it is also aimed to run fungal decay tests to dete...
E E Soytürk, S N Kartal


Evaluation of ecotoxicological effects of different coniferous wood treatments on two marine bioindicator species
2022 - IRG/WP 22-10999
Coniferous wood panels (Picea abies) were treated with two concentrations of copper-based impregnating agent to increase its durability in marine and brackish environment. In order to assess the environmental compatibility of the treatments a laboratory experiment was conducted with two marine invertebrate species: bivalve Mytilus galloprovincialis and a gastropod Steromphala albida. The bioindica...
T Marčeta, N Nesto, I Guarneri, D Tagliapietra, V Moschino


Joints design considerations in indoor high humidity conditions
2022 - IRG/WP 22-40950
In recent years, a number of cases of degradation by wood destroying fungi have been detected in covered timber structures such as pools, wineries, bathrooms, etc. – in fact, any building where indoor air may reach high humidity values during certain periods of time. The origin of this kind of decay was not related to water leaks, but to the condensation of the water vapor over the steel connec...
A Lozano, D Lorenzo, M Alonso, F Álvarez, J E Martínez


Simulations of microclimates for wood-decaying fungi in the built environment using environmental analysis
2023 - IRG/WP 23-20703
Simulations of fungal decay risk were run on two similar building geometries exposed to typical annual climate conditions of two different geographical locations, Brunswick (Germany) and Cairns (Australia). The simulations were conducted to capture the effect of wind-driven rain and solar irradiation exposure over nodes of the common building geometry. The moisture content and temperature variatio...
P B van Niekerk, J Niklewski, S H Hosseini, B N Marais, I Frimannslund, T Kringlebotn Thiis, C Brischke


Long-term field performance of a carbon-based preservative in ground contact test conditions
2023 - IRG/WP 23-30781
Carbon-based preservatives have demonstrated reasonable long-term field performance in above ground testing. This study examines the performance of a carbon-based preservative formulation containing quaternary ammonium compounds and tebuconazole as a treatment for three softwood species exposed in ground contact at two sites in Canada. The treatment was associated with improved decay resistance an...
C Wilson, J Zhang, R Stirling


Longitudinal tensile shear properties of polyurethane-bonded preservative-impregnated Eucalyptus grandis laminates subjected to varied simulated climatic conditions
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40967
Bonding process adaptations have yielded improvements in the adhesive bonding of Eucalyptus grandis wood for manufacturing hardwood laminates. However, there are still concerns over the adhesive-bond performance, particularly preservative-impregnated E. grandis laminates, under exposure to varying climatic conditions. These concerns could limit the implementation of E. grandis laminates, especiall...
A A Alade, C B Wessels


CIOL Wood - towards industrial scale production
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40980
CIOL® is a new, low cost, non-toxic wood modification system, needed to replace traditional and non-sustainable alternatives with great potential. It’s important to find sustainable, environmentally friendly replacements to heavy metals and biocides. In the new European Bauhaus, Ursula Von der Leyen, president of the European commission, talks about how new living environment should be beautifu...
E Larnøy, J Biørnstad


Environmental Benefits of Wood Preservation
2023 - IRG/WP 23-50377
Over the past decade or two, many people have become significantly more aware and concerned about the global environment and the health of our planet. Building with wood products from sustainably managed forests carries significant environmental benefits. The ability of a growing tree to absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) and sequester the carbon is beneficial in the role of combating rising CO2 levels...
A Siraa


How personality traits influence the perception of fungal decay in a wooden cladding – A survey in three Modelling wood moisture content in outdoor conditions from measured data
2024 - IRG/WP 24-41002
This study examined perceptions of fungal decay damage on wooden cladding across Norway, Sweden, and Germany. The majority of respondents across all countries did not find the fungal decay damage in question acceptable, with the least acceptance in Norway. This could be due to Norway having the highest frequency of wooden residential buildings and the most experience with maintaining wooden claddi...
G W Gustavsen, G Alfredsen, P B van Niekerk, J Niklewski, C Brischke


Modelling wood moisture content in outdoor conditions from measured data
2024 - IRG/WP 24-41005
Sustainable use of wood requires an understanding of expected service life, particularly when the material is exposed to outdoor conditions and, thus, fungal decay. Since moisture is the primary vector for fungal decay, accurate moisture prediction is a key component in service life assessment. For this purpose, the present study leverages existing measured data for linear regression of in-field m...
J Niklewski, P B van Niekerk, L Meyer-Veltrup, J Sandak, C Brischke


Changes in decay risk of wood in ground contact over Europe, from analysis of historic climate conditions
2024 - IRG/WP 24-41008
Changing climate conditions will affect global temperature and precipitation patterns, shifting some geographical areas into states that are more suitable for fungal wood decay. Climate normals, which are taken over a 30-year period, capture vast spatial and temporal variations in these conditions and comparing these can show changes over time. Importantly, being able to identify locations that ha...
P B van Niekerk, B N Marais, G Alfredsen, C Brischke


Quantifying metal migration from a deck constructed with copper-azole-treated lumber
2024 - IRG/WP 24-50391
Soluble copper or micronized copper wood preservatives are the most common available wood preservative systems for residential applications in the United States. Copper containing wood preservatives have been scrutinized for their potential negative impacts on the environment, across many jurisdictions. Concerns arise from the potential for preservatives to migrate out of treated wood upon water e...
G Presley, M Konkler


Quantitative assessment of wood preservative emissions to waterways
2024 - IRG/WP 24-50393
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Emission Scenario Document (ESD) for Wood Preservatives provides methods to quantify the release of active substances from treated wood for various scenarios including sheet pilings in a flowing waterway (OECD 2013). The ESD is used for environmental risk assessment of wood preservatives according to the Biocidal Products Regulation...
K J Rader, R Carbonaro, C Mackie


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