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Decay Resistance Properties of Hemicellulose-Extracted Oriented Strand Board
2008 - IRG/WP 08-10644
There is increasing interest in using cellulosic biomass as the basis for a renewable source of energy. Although the traditional focus has been on cellulose, researchers are also exploring the possibility of using hemicelluloses because they can be removed with hot water leaving the wood product intact for other applications. However, there is concern that removing hemicelluloses from the precur...
C Howell, J Paredes, S Shaler, J Jellison


Inducing and Stimulating Spalting in Sugar Maple
2008 - IRG/WP 08-10652
Spalted wood has gained popularity in recent years as consumer preference has shifted towards unique and custom products. The process by which spalting is induced in clear lumber has evolved over time, and now involves much more than beer drinking and outdoor burial. Our work on the process of reliably producing spalted wood began in 2004 and involved testing a wide variety of white rot fungi on...
S C Robinson, D L Richter, P E Laks


Natural durability of different wood species in above ground applications - Weight and MOE loss
2008 - IRG/WP 08-10667
In Norway, exterior wood structures have traditionally, nearly exclusively been made of untreated Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst) and pressure treated Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). In recent years there has been a tendency that other wood species, like various Norwegian hardwoods or imported species, have been used in exterior above ground applications, often not surface treated. For se...
F G Evans, P-O Flæte, G Alfredsen


Antifungal activity of different molecular weights of a biopolymer chitosan against wood decay fungi
2008 - IRG/WP 08-30456
In recent years chitosan has been investigated as a natural polymer for wood preservation against fungal decay. From an environmental point of view, chitosan seems to possess a potential approaches as wood protecting agent. In this study, three different molecular weights of chitosan compounds (with approximately the same degree of deacetylation 83 ± 2 %) were evaluated as in vitro and in vivo as...
A S O Mohareb, M E I Badawy


Accelerated weathering of nine tropical wood species from Cameroon
2009 - IRG/WP 09-10705
The natural durability of tropical species for building components has been a subject of recent concern and questioning, mainly the resistance to weathering. Weathering resistance of nine tropical species from Cameroon, namely Azobe, Bilinga, Bubinga, Teak, Dousie, Moabi, Musanga, Sipo and Padauk were evaluated using an accelerated weatherometer for 2016 hours. Measurement of moisture fluctuation,...
S Pankras, Jinzhen Cao, D P Kamdem


Degradation of wood veneers by Fenton’s reagents: effects of low molecular weight phenolic compounds on hydrogen peroxide decay and tensile strength loss
2009 - IRG/WP 09-20400
Pine wood (Pinus sylvestris) veneers strips were incubated in acetate buffer containing hydrogen peroxide and iron to mimic mechanisms of brown rot decay and assess the degradation of cellulose through analysis of the tensile properties of the decayed wood. The tensile properties of thin wood strips treated with Fenton system reagents or precursors were determined and correlated to weight loss as ...
Yanjun Xie, R Well, Zefang Xiao, B Goodell, J Jellison, H Militz, C Mai


Termite Resistant Properties of Wood and Natural Fiber Plastic Composites - AWPA E1 Test Data
2009 - IRG/WP 09-40466
This paper deals with resistance properties of wood plastic composites against Formosan Subterranean Termites (FSTs) based on the AWPA E1 test standard. Sixteen laboratory WPC formulations, four WPC commercial materials, and southern pine (Pinus sp.) wood control were tested for termite mortality, sample weight loss, and sample damage rating. The results show that FSTs did attack WPC products in ...
Q Wu, T Shupe, J Curole, K Ragon, M Voitier, M Freeman, D Ring


Fungal Attack on Lignin and Cellulose: Elucidation of Brown- and White-Rot Mechanisms Comparing Biomimetic and In-Vivo Degradation Patterns
2010 - IRG/WP 10-10714
This paper examines research and hypotheses that have been developed over several years on wood degradation mechanisms. This information is combined with new data and analyses to explain why wood decay patterns caused by brown-rot fungi and specific types of white-rot fungi are different. New data, including work with both biomimetic studies on low molecular weight compounds, degradative enzymes, ...
V Arantes, B Goodell, A M F Milagres, Yuhui Qian, T Filley, J Jellison, S Kelley


Photostabilization of Wood with Higher Molecular Weight UV Absorbers
2010 - IRG/WP 10-30524
Higher molecular weight UV absorbers were created by reacting the epoxy-functionalized UV absorber 2-hydroxy-4(2,3-epoxypropoxy)-benzophenone (HEPBP) with maleic, phthalic or succinic anhydride. The ability of the UV absorbers to photostabilize wood was then examined. FTIR-spectroscopy confirmed that HEPBP reacted with phthalic anhydride to create a polyester that preserved the UV-absorbing benzop...
P D Evans, M J Chowdhury


Preliminary Observations of the Photostabilization of Wood Surfaces with Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles
2010 - IRG/WP 10-40504
Reactive transition metal compounds, wood modification and grafting of UV absorbers have all been used to photostabilize wood. Some of these approaches are promising, but the toxicity of certain reactive transition metal compounds and the cost of wood modification and grafting have restricted their commercial applications. Hence, more cost-effective and environmentally friendly methods of protecti...
Chunling Liu, A Ahniyaz, P Evans


Wood decay enzymatic ability of Fusarium circinatum
2012 - IRG/WP 12-10777
There exists pathogens that attack standing trees of forests, and do not usually thrive once the tree is felled. However, occasionally they can be present in a latent state in the wood and can spread and affect new areas with economic, ecological and social consequences. Fusarium circinatum is a fungus that causes “pitch canker” in pine species, and is considered a quarantine organism within t...
M T Troya, F Llinares, Y Serrano, M Conde


Smart hydrogels from low molecular weight amphiphilic compounds: toward a solution to decrease leachability and increase efficacy of boron preservatives?
2012 - IRG/WP 12-30589
A new catanionic system associating amphiphilic carnosine (AlaHisC8) and lauric acid forms supramolecular hydrogel at very low concentration. This gel was investigated and we have checked the validity of the concept of hydrogels utilization to reduce boron leachability and to develop new wood protection treatments. Impregnation with 5% aqueous borax solution (w/w) and 0.3% gelator agent (...
F Obounou Akong, P Gérardin, C Gérardin-Charbonnier


Hydrogels: a solution to reduce boron leachability without reduction of its biodisponibility to wood decaying fungi?
2012 - IRG/WP 12-30602
Products used today for wood protection must fulfill to more and more environmental constraints, such as being of low toxicity in answer to the Biocidal Product Directory, but also to involve waterborne treatments to limit rejection of volatile organic compounds in the atmosphere. Boron preservatives have been described as valuable alternatives for wood protection for non-ground contact applicatio...
F Obounou Akong, P Gérardin, M-F Thévenon, S Parant, C Gérardin-Charbonnier


Treating Bambusa vulgaris with neem seed oil against basidiomycetic biodegradation
2012 - IRG/WP 12-30608
Realising maximum benefits from bamboo stems/culms in Nigeria are presently constrained by their almost non-acceptance for applications in most structural and construction purposes, except in comparatively low quality and some temporary applications, such as scaffolding, owing to their susceptibility to easy destruction by agents of biodegradation as a result of their poor inherent natural durabil...
A A Erakhrumen


State of progress of utilisation of supramolecular gels for formulations of water-soluble wood preservation salts
2013 - IRG/WP 13-30630
This article is a compilation of the work done so far concerning the utilization of supramolecular hydrogels, built on low-molecular-weight amphiphilic molecules and containing boron salts conferring fungicidal properties. Mixing boron with thermoreversible hydrogels allows the formation of a supra molecular network incorporating boron and important amount of water upon gelification of the solutio...
F Obounou Akong, P Gérardin, M-F Thévenon, C Gérardin-Charbonnier


Preliminary Investigation into the Natural Decay Resistance of Nigerian Grown Hevea brasiliensis and Mitragyna ciliata wood to Phanerochaete chrysosporium White-Rot Fungus
2018 - IRG/WP 18-10919
Wood is an important and versatile structural building material that finds applications in numerous uses. However, wood is also a biological material vulnerable to degradation by microbial activities; this is especially true in the tropics. Following the scarcity of highly durable species from our natural forests and the introduction of so many lesser used/durable wood species into the booming tim...
J M Owoyemi, U O Emmanuel


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


Binder-free, fire-resistant, light-weight fiberboard materials encrusted with expandable graphite and borax
2024 - IRG/WP 24-20714
Despite abundant data on innovative fire protection technologies tailored for wood and lignocellulosic materials, the prevailing approach revolves around the formulation of fire retardant solutions employing water-soluble salts, e.g., phosphorus or boron compounds. On the other hand, additives fostering the formation of a char layer during the combustion of lignocellulosic materials as a non-leach...
W Perdoch, W Grześkowiak, B Mazela


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