IRG Documents Database and Compendium


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LCA examination of preservative treated timber products and alternatives; initial results
1995 - IRG/WP 95-50040-04
Co-operative development of an LCA methodology suitable for application to preservative treated products has been carried out, based on scoping assessments of two products, CCA treated fenceposts and creosote treated distribution poles. The general results of these scoping exercices are described, based on the CCA case study. These include the identification of critical stages in the life-cycle on...
W Hillier, R J Murphy, D J Dickinson, J N B Bell


The effects of pH on leaching of copper-chrome-arsenate (CCA) from pressure-treated Kenyan-grown Eucalyptus saligna and Acacia mearnsii: Initial findings.
2002 - IRG/WP 02-30298
The effects of pH on leaching of CCA from pressure-treated Kenyan-grown Eucalyptus saligna and Acacia mearnsii were tested under laboratory conditions. Small samples of the two species (100mm x 30mm x 40mm) were smooth sawn from 8-year old trees to represent equal amounts of both sapwood and heartwood, air-dried to 12% moisture content, end-sealed, and pressure-treated at a commercial treatment p...
R Venkatasamy


Comparative study of lignocellulolytic activities of Pleurotus spp. and white rot and brown-rot fungi
1997 - IRG/WP 97-10209
Field and fungal cellar trials have been set up to assess the biocontrol potential of a selected Trichoderma viride isolate in a situation representative of the end use of treated timber in ground contact situations. These trials are designed to give information about the efficacy of biological control as well as the suitability of existing chemical treatment methods for use with biocontrol fungi....
H L Brown, A Bruce


Chemical reactions involved in furfurylation of solid wood - An investigation by ATR-IR spectroscopy
2006 - IRG/WP 06-40347
Wood modification with furfuryl alcohol (FA) has gained renewed interest during the last five to ten years because of advances in process technology and because of increased focus on the environmental hazards of traditional wood impregnation. The reaction mechanisms involved in the furfurylation process are not yet understood in detail. In the work presented here, the chemical reactions and their ...
T Mark Venås, L Garbrecht Thygesen, S Barsberg


Wood decay fungi from New Zealand ‘leaky’ buildings: PCR identification and laboratory decay tests of wood preservative-treated Pinus radiata (Part 1)
2007 - IRG/WP 07-10620
Fungi colonising Pinus radiata D. Don framing timber of ‘leaky’ New Zealand buildings were isolated to produce pure cultures. Mycelia from these cultures on agar media were collected to extract DNA. To identify the fungi to the species level, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with primer pairs ITS1-F and ITS4 were performed followed by sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. ...
D Stahlhut, R L Farrell, R Wakeling, M Hedley


Wood decay fungi from New Zealand leaky buildings – PCR identification (Part 2) and aerial spore trapping
2008 - IRG/WP 08-10649
Prior to this study, it was not know which species of decay fungi caused decay in New Zealand leaky buildings. Use of molecular biology methodology, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and subsequent DNA sequencing, as well as classical mycological techniques based on morphology, has enabled identification of decay fungi and has provided insight into their relative importance based on isolation frequ...
D Stahlhut, R L Farrell, R Wakeling, M Hedley


Bi-oleothermal treatment of wood at atmospheric pressure: resistance to fungi and insects, resistance to weathering and reaction to fire results
2008 - IRG/WP 08-40418
Bi-oleothermal process is a simple treatment which has been developped by CIRAD in cooperation with FCBA. It allows a deep impregnation of wood with hydrophobic products using cheap facilities. The process includes two steps at atmospheric pressure. The first one is a dipping of wood samples in a hot oil bath (between 110 °C and 200°C) which creates an overpressure inside the wood. The second on...
L Podgorski, I Le Bayon, I Paulmier, J-D Lanvin, V Georges, D Grenier, H Baillères, J-M Méot


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


Chemical mediated depolymerization of cotton cellulose for the understanding of non-enzymatic fungal decay
2010 - IRG/WP 10-10731
Small, low molecular weight non-enzymatic compounds have been linked to the early stages of brown rot decay as the enzymes involved with holocellulose degradation are found to be too large to penetrate the S3 layer of intact wood cells. The most pronounced of these which were analyzed in this study are hydrogen peroxide, iron, and oxalic. The compounds related to the Fenton reaction: the combinati...
A C Steenkjær Hastrup, B Jensen, F Green III


The Use of Micro-Tensile Testing to Assess Weathering Decay and Oxidative Degradation of Wooden Items
2010 - IRG/WP 10-20433
This paper presents a method to study the weathering performance of wooden items and to assess the oxidative degradation of wood via the Fenton reaction. Weathering resistance and photo-stability of wood was tested using pine wood (Pinus sylvestris) veneer strips measuring approximately 60 µm in thickness. The veneer strips were treated using a reactive chemical to impart surface protection. The ...
C Mai, Yanjun Xie, Zefang Xiao, P D Evans, H Militz


Initial investigations into the spalting potential of Peruvian hardwoods
2014 - IRG/WP 14-10813
This study was performed to determine if several moderately-utilized Peruvian hardwoods had potential for spalting applications. We applied a modified decay jar methodology with six native Peruvian woods and three moulds, with a period of incubation of six weeks. Results showed that Nigrospora sphaerica and Marupa (Simarouba amara) resulted on the highest significant internal pigmentation (black),...
S M Vega Gutiérrez, S C Robinson


Communities of mold fungi on flooded building materials
2013 - IRG/WP 13-10799
A small building built to residential code was flooded using farmland pond water to a depth of two feet at Tuskegee University. The building was drained and left enclosed for an additional three weeks. A total of 168 material samples were removed either immediately after opening (wet) or seven months after flooding (dry). Wall materials sampled included fiberglass batt insulation, gypsum wallboard...
F Skrobot III, H Aglan, S V Diehl


A screening of factors that might influence the result of laboratory decay tests
2014 - IRG/WP 14-20548
Laboratory fungal decay tests provide important tools for performance testing of wood materials. But they are also hampered with some uncertainties regarding reproducibility. In addition to variation between fungal species and strains the test conditions are also believed to have some influence. The aim of this study was to screen the effect of a selection of test parameters that might influence t...
E Larnøy, G Alfredsen, A Treu, S Kolstad


Borate treatment of green ties: An initial report on the effects on mechanical properties
2014 - IRG/WP 14-40686
Borates are increasingly used as components of wood preservative systems for railway cross ties (“sleepers”) in the USA. A variety of methods exist for incorporating the borate component; however, the so-called ‘two-step’ treatment, which involves treating the green tie in borate, followed by a pressure treatment with creosote or copper naphthenate after drying (‘seasoning’), offers th...
A M Taylor, J D Lloyd


Durability of reaction to fire performance of FRT wood products in different end use applications – Methods and results
2015 - IRG/WP 15-40705
Fire retardant treatments (FRT) may considerably improve the reaction to fire properties of wood-based products and the highest fire classifications for combustible products can be reached, but the maintained reaction to fire performance e. g. in exterior applications needs to be addressed in order to form a basis for new and reliable wood products with improved fire performance. A European Techn...
B Östman, L Tsantaridis


Fire protection of wooden facades in Norway
2015 - IRG/WP 15-40710
Wood products are experiencing a renaissance as construction material in Europe due to their environmental benefits. In Norwegian building design however, timber has always played an important role but has had its limitations in urban architecture. One of the reasons is a high demand to fire safety in dense house building and multi-story buildings. Though novel construction methods and fire safety...
U Hundhausen, K-C Mahnert


Fire retardant treated wood products – Properties and uses
2016 - IRG/WP 16-30701
Wood is combustible, but can still perform very well in fire, especially for load bearing structures. However, visible wood surface may not fulfil the fire requirements in building codes and fire retardant treatments may be an option. The highest reaction to fire classification for combustible products may then be reached. However, the excellent fire performance of the virgin fire retardant treate...
B Östman, L Tsantaridis


An examination of the potential for the use of the Maillard reaction to modify wood
2018 - IRG/WP 18-40829
Finding efficient ways to decrease wood decay caused by fungi and increasing its dimensional stability is an important issue in the timber construction. A possible way to avoid wood decay by fungi is by reducing the water content of wood, since water is a primary condition for fungal growth. Bulking of the wood cell wall by chemical reagents occupies the space where water normally occurs. At the s...
K Peeters, E Larnøy, A Kutnar, Č Tavzes, C A S Hill


The use of bicine and tricine as possible Maillard reagents in a combined thermal/chemical modification of beech
2019 - IRG/WP 19-40852
The effects of thermal modification have been well established, particularly in terms of reductions in mechanical performance. In recent years, there has been an increase in studies related to the Maillard reaction. More commonly associated with food chemistry, it involves the reaction of amines and reducing sugars during cooking procedures. This paper has attempted to combine the use of amines an...
D Jones, C-M Popescu, D Krzisnik, M Hocevar, M Humar, M-C Popescu


Antifouling wood matrix with natural water transfer and micro reaction channels for water treatment
2019 - IRG/WP 19-40853
Wood with abundant nutrition transport channels could be considered as a kind of natural water purifier due to quick and effective passages for separation. Nevertheless, microporosity as main porous structure of initial wood are not enough to effectively separate small molecular, such as organic dye pollutants. Meanwhile, like most filters the fouling resulting in blocking and poor water flux will...
G Liu, D Xu, S Chang, J Hu, Xianjun Li5, Y Liu


Different levels of acetylation lead to groupwise upregulation of non-enzymatic wood degradation genes of Rhodonia placenta during initial brown-rot decay
2020 - IRG/WP 20-10958
Rhodonia placenta, often used as a model fungus to represent brown rot fungi, uses a two-stepped degradation mechanism to degrade wood. Regarding the overcoming of wood protection systems the initial degradation phase seems to be the crucial point. A new laboratory test enables the separation of the non-enzymatic oxidative and the enzymatic degradation phases, which has previously been proven chal...
M Kölle, R Ringman, A Pilgård


The iron reduction by chemical components of wood blocks decayed by wood rotting fungi
2021 - IRG/WP 21-10979
Brown-rot fungi, a group of wood rotting fungi, is well known to be one of major microorganisms that cause the deterioration of wooden buildings in Japan and have been considered to use chelator-mediated Fenton (CMF) reaction in concert with hydrolytic and redox enzymes for degradation of wood cell wall. CMF can be described as a non-enzymatic degradation system that utilizes hydroxyl radicals pro...
R R Kondo, Y Horikawa, K Ando, B Goodell, M Yoshida


Green approach in wood mineralization for improvement of fire properties
2022 - IRG/WP 22-30769
Various treatments have been developed in order to improve fire properties of wood. Because the use of some flame retardants can release toxic compounds in the event of a fire, leading to poisoning or even death of people from smoke inhalation, the use of no-toxic and more ecologically acceptable flame retardants is preferable. Mineralization of wood with the incorporation of carbonates has proven...
A Pondelak, R Repič, L Škrlep, N Knez, F Knez, A S Škapin


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