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Occurrence of manganese deposits in test stakes exposed in groung contact situations
1996 - IRG/WP 96-10182
Dark spots and flecks were frequently recognized on the surface and within non-preservative treated hard- and softwood test stakes placed in soil contact. Energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis in conjunction with electron microscopy showed the flecks to be composed primarily of manganese dioxide. Detailed transmission electron microscopy observations indicated intrusion of manganese into the wood ...
G F Daniel, T Nilsson, J Volc


Effects of terpene compounds on the growth and peroxidase activity of Phellinus pini
1979 - IRG/WP 2130
The volatile compounds myrcene, limonene, a-pinene, a-terpineol, D-fenchol and 1,8-cineole, present in the oleoresin fraction of coniferous wood, were tested individually and as mixtures for their effect on the growth and peroxidase activity of cultures of six strains of Phellinus pini (Fr.) A.Ames and one strain of Phellinus chrysoloma (Fr.) Donk (Phellinus pini var. abietis (Karst.) Pilát). Phe...
L Väisälä


Polyflavonoid tannins - From a cause of CCA soft-rot failure to the "missing link" between lignin and microdistribution theories
1986 - IRG/WP 3359
Polyflavonoid tannins are proven to be fast-reacting with CCA solutions and hence, to be strong competitors of the structural wood constituents for fixation of CCA preservatives. The consequence of this effect is that even relatively small amounts of tannin cause severe undertreatment of the structural wood constituents which in turn badly affects the long term durability of CCA-treated timber. Th...
A Pizzi, W E Conradie, M Bariska


Sludge formation in timber treatment with CCA preservatives. Origin and elimination
1984 - IRG/WP 3276
The exact distributions between lignin and holocellulose and retentions on wood of copper, chromium and arsenic as a function of various sets of conditions in a factorial experiment in which combinations of three temperatures of treatment, three CCA solution concentrations, four pH's of the initial CCA solution and two timber species, namely Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus grandis, are repor...
A Pizzi, W E Conradie, A Jansen


The possible significance of the lignin content and lignin type on the performance of CCA-treated timber in ground contact
1988 - IRG/WP 1357
The lignin in wood samples of Alstonia scholaris, Octomeles sumatrana and a Simaruba species have been analysed. These timbers are characterised by a high lignin content and low syringyl:guaiacyl ratios. Decay tests with two soft rot fungi showed that the timbers were less susceptible than timbers with a low lignin content and higher syringyl:guaiacyl ratios. Numerous data for field performance of...
T Nilsson, J R Obst, G F Daniel


Practical consequences of the clarification of the chemical mechanism of CCA fixation to wood
1983 - IRG/WP 3220
Practical consequences derived from the chemical investigation of the mechanism of fixation of CCA to the wood constituents are discussed. Among these, formulas for the calculation of the time of hexavalent chrome fixation are presented. Furthermore, three parameters are shown to be important to the long-term effectiveness of CCA-treated timber: (i) the temperature of treatment, (ii) the initial p...
A Pizzi


UV-microspectrophotometry of lignin and accessory compounds in wood cell walls of conifers
1999 - IRG/WP 99-20171
The distribution of lignin in the cell wall of conifer tracheids was determined by UV-VIS microspectro-photometer. Wood sections of one micron thickness were measured between the wavelength 240 and 700 nm. Spectral analyses revealed that the conifer lignin associated with the tracheid secondary wall and middle lamella is composed of guiacylpropane units which exhibit a characteristic UV absorption...
G Kleist, G Koch, J Bauch


An electron spin resonance study of manganese changes in wood decayed by the brown-rot fungus, Postia placenta
1988 - IRG/WP 1359
Electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrometry was used to examine wood decay by the brown-rot fungus, Postia placenta. Wood slivers of Douglas-fir, white fir, redwood, sweetgum and yellow poplar were incubated for 4 weeks in custom-made quartz ESR tubes with or without Postia placenta. In all wood species without fungus, a weak partially resolved signal (about g=2, presumably due to manganese) was de...
B Illman, D C Meinholtz, T L Highley


Natural weathering of wood in a sunny climate effects on surface chemistry and paint adhesion
1997 - IRG/WP 97-20109
Radiata pine veneers and blocks were exposed to natural weathering under Australian summer conditions over a period of 30 days. Infrared spectroscopy revealed that there was perceptible surface delignification after 4 hours exposure, substantial surface delignification after 3 days exposure and almost complete surface delignification after 6 days. Viscometry determinations on holocellulose samples...
P D Evans, P D Thay, K J Schmalzl


Reaction of osmium tetroxide with a diphenolic compound as a model substance for demethylated lignin
1986 - IRG/WP 1303
By using caffeic acid as a model substance for diphenolic moieties of demethylated lignin it was found that electron dense particles called by the authors "osmiophilic particles" in former papers are reaction products of OsO4 with the model substance. By these products it is possible to indicate the enzymatic demethylation of lignin taking place during wood decay. The appearance of the electron de...
K Messner, E Srebotnik


A comparison of inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy and neutron activity analysis for the determination of concentrations in wood
1993 - IRG/WP 93-10048
As wood decays the ionic composition changes, with increases often being seen in the concentrations of Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn and sometimes K. The concentration of eight cations in red spruce sapwood and heartwood samples was determined independently by inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy (ICP) and by neutron activation analysis (NAA) as part of an effort to standardize our analytical procedures and c...
J Jellison, J Connolly, K C Smith, W T Shortle


Formation of soft rot cavities in relation to concentric layers in wood fibre walls
1983 - IRG/WP 1185
A large number of timber species attacked by soft rot have been examined using light microscopy. The S2 layers in a large number of the timbers exhibited special structural features in the form of thin concentric layers. Several observations indicate that these layers may be characterised as "weak" zones by being more easily degradable than the surrounding wall layers. The chemical structure of th...
T Nilsson, G F Daniel


Microbial breakdown mechanisms. Mini-Symposium at the 18th IRG meeting, Honey Harbour, Ontario, Canada
1987 - IRG/WP 1327
An understanding of how micro-organisms cause chemical alternation to wood is essential for effective wood preservation. Investigation of the Microbial Breakdown of wood is a very dynamic research field and is increasing in importance as several biocides are being examined as alternativesw to classic wood preservatives. These biocides often do not possess broad spectrum activity. It is esential th...
L E Leightley


Correlation between changes in colour and chemical composition during photo-degradation of wood surfaces
2005 - IRG/WP 05-40301
Changes in colour of wood (yellowing) during photo degradation or weathering reflect chemical changes in wood. Therefore, the relationship between changes in chemical composition and CIELAB colour parameters is very important to characterize photodegradation of lignocellulosic surfaces. In this study, the changes in chemical composition and yellowing due to photo-degradation was studied by expos...
K K Pandey


Controlling the sapstain fungus Ceratocystis coerulescens by metabolites obtained from Bjerkandera adusta and Talaromyces flavus
1993 - IRG/WP 93-10024
Sapstain causes severe damage to wood and wood products, posing a major economic problem for the wood industry. The purpose of this study was to determine if metabolites from Bjerkandera adusta and Talaromyces flavus would (1) decolorize stain in wood caused by Ceratocystis coerulescens and (2) prevent sapstain by Ceratocystis coerulescens. We studied the interaction of the sapstain fungus Ceratoc...
S C Croan, T L Highley


Effect of angle of exposure on degradation of radiata pine during weathering trials
1988 - IRG/WP 2301
The importance of angle of exposure on the degree of weathering of materials has not been adequately resolved. In conventional tests, specimens are exposed at an angle of 45° facing the equator, but more recently experiments on polymeric materials have suggested that an angle of 0° may be preferable since this angle maximises levels of received ultra-violet radiation. In this paper the degradati...
P D Evans


Distinguishing isolates of Aureobasidium on the basis of their ability to utilise lignin breakdown products as a sole carbon source
1996 - IRG/WP 96-10151
Wild isolates of Aureobasidium were obtained by dilution plating from a ca 20 year old painted pine window frame. Four isolates were obtained from the paint/wood interface region and four isolated from regions deep in the wood. The isolates were then used to inoculate liquid cultures containing ferulic acid, a lignin breakdown product, present as the sole carbon source. Ability of the isolates to ...
M W Schoeman, D J Dickinson


Soft rot decay in acetylated wood. Chemical and anatomical changes in decayed wood
2002 - IRG/WP 02-40231
Acetylated Beech (Fagus sylvatica) and Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) wood were studied in soil beds under laboratory conditions for longer periods. High mass losses and dynamic MOE losses were measured in non-acetylated wood and at lower weight percent gains (WPG). Rapid losses of lignin, holocellulose and ?-cellulose occurred in non-acetylated beech wood and no losses were detected at the highest...
B Mohebby, H Militz


Evidence for the participation of the osmiophilic particles in the enzymatic demethylation of lignin
1984 - IRG/WP 1239
Transmission electron microscopic observations of the white-rot fungi Trametes hirsuta and Phanerochaete chrysosporium grown on a series of wood pulp with a graded lignin content and mycelium from the clarified centre of an agar-medium containing lignin (E1-effluent from the bleaching process) showed that osmiophilic particles are only induced by native lignin. Taking into account that the osmioph...
K Messner, H Stachelberger


Degradation of lignin model compounds with coordinated copper in the presence of peroxide
1998 - IRG/WP 98-10282
A novel diffusible system capable of decomposing lignin model compounds with copper, coordinators and peroxides has been proposed. When pyridine was used as a copper coordinator, two synthetic dyes, Poly-R and RBBR were intensively decolorized with Cu(II) and H2O2 in aqueous solutions at room temperature. Although reactions with Cu(II) and H2O2 produce a strong oxidant, hydroxyl radical, via a Fen...
K Koller, K Messner, T Watanabe


Quantification of wood decay effects by HPLC analysis
1992 - IRG/WP 92-1576
The present work quantified the effects of the white rot basidiomycetes Coriolus versicolor and Phanaerochaete chrysosporium, and also those of the brown rot fungi Coniophora puteana and Lentinus lepideus, on Pinus patula and Eucalyptus grandis. Wood colonisation was quantified by Kjeldahl nitrogen determinations converted to biomass assays, and degradation was quantified by weight losses produced...
V Singh, M Tarin, G D Shelver, A A W Baecker


The rôle of lignin in the nutrition of several Australian termites
1983 - IRG/WP 1191
The ability of Nasutitermes exitiosus (Hill), Coptotermes acinaciformis (Frogatt), Coptotermes lacteus (Froggatt) and Mastotermes darwiniensis (Froggatt) to degrade 14C-lignin preparations was examined. The lower termites were unable to degrade lignin. Nasutitermes exitiosus was able to cause a 5-8% degradation of hardwood lignins and a synthetic lignin. It failed to degrade the lignin of Pinus ra...
L J Cookson


A technique for the rapid assessment of wood surface degradation during weathering
1987 - IRG/WP 2281
Radiate pine (Pinus radiata D. Don) sapwood samples taken from four trees were converted into thin strips 100 x 10 x 0.085 (85 µm) mm³, (longitudinal x radial x tangential) in size and exposed in preweighed hatches to the weather inclined at 45° facing equatorially for 10, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 days. Significant (P < 0.001) weight losses occurred with time over the exposure period. Differen...
P D Evans, D Abbott, S Thein


Pyrolysis GC-MS as a tool for lignin analysis
1987 - IRG/WP 2201
Pyrolysis-GC-MS is a rapid process for analysis of rather complex organic compounds. The method has great application to petroleum shale oil and wood lignin. Small powdered samples (several mg) are placed in silica capillary tubes and rapidly heated in an inert atmosphere such as He or N2. Breakdown products of the pyrolysis are then trapped and held for an allocated time in an injector attached t...
L Doimo


Lignin degradation by a non-enzymatic system supposed to be active in white rot fungi
2000 - IRG/WP 00-10340
Electron microscopic investigations have shown that ligninolytic enzymes of white-rot fungi are only able to penetrate the wood cell wall in late stages of degradation. Thus, the selective degradation of lignin of certain white-rot fungi can only be explained on the basis of a low molecular weight, highly diffusible system. A system, consisting of copper, a coordination compound and either H2O2 or...
P Lamaipis, W Gindl, T Watanabe, K Messner


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