Wood treated with copper-based preservatives to be used in ground contact may fail to inhibit soft rot fungi if penetration of copper into the cell wall is insufficient. Preservatives containing soluble copper are known to penetrate the cell wall; however, it is not known whether preservatives containing particulate copper will also migrate into the cell wall in sufficient quantities to control soft rot decay. A method was developed to accelerate and detect re-distribution of copper into the cell wall. Copper was found to re-distribute into the cell wall, presumably from cell lumen deposits, in both ACQ- and micronized copper quat-treated samples after exposure to high temperature and relative humidity. In a non-accelerated test, copper was not found to re-distribute into the cell wall in either ACQ- or micronized copper quat-treated samples after exposure in soil at 15°C for eight weeks.

Download document (520 kb)
free for the members of IRG. Available if purchased.

Purchase this document