Effect of Biodiesel on the Efficacy of Pentachlorophenol Treated Wood

IRG/WP 12-30584

S Keshani Langroodi, H Borazjani, D Nicholas, L Prewitt, S V Diehl

Pentachlorophenol (PCP) is widely used as a wood preservative for utility poles and other wood products. Recently, it has been proposed that a modified PCP carrier system based on a diesel/biodiesel mixture should be used in place of the conventional diesel/KB3 carrier, but there is some question as to whether or not this modified carrier system can provide the same service life for wood products treated with PCP. The main objective of this research was to evaluate the comparative decay resistance of wood treated with formulations containing either diesel/KB3 or diesel/biodiesel. A two year efficacy study using an accelerated soil contact decay test was initiated to compare the performance of southern yellow pine wood treated with the conventional diesel/KB3 carrier and a modified diesel/biodiesel carrier with biodiesel added, both with and without PCP. The residual hydrocarbon levels, PCP reduction, toxicity and leaching of PCP of the samples almost remained at the same level for treatments with similar PCP retention values for both of these carriers. For wood treated with PCP in these two different carriers, the rate of decay was generally greater particularly for the highest PCP retention level with the biodiesel/diesel formulation, but this difference was not statistically significant. Overall this study suggests that PCP formulated in a biodiesel/diesel carrier is not as effective as the conventional diesel/KB3 formulation against wood decay fungi. However, additional long term field stake tests will be required to determine the practical significance of these results.


Keywords: biodiesel, pentachlorophenol, diesel/KB3

Conference: 12-05-06/10 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia


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