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Targeted inhibition of wood decay (Using everything but the kitchen sink)
1997 - IRG/WP 97-10203
Low molecular weight oxidative decay agents have been implicated in the degradation of wood by brown-rot decay as evidenced by chemical analysis of brown-rotted wood and detection of oxalic acid and hydroxy radicals. Fenton chemistry (H2O2 / Fe++) is often proposed as the mechanism for generating hydroxy radicals. Previous authors have shown iron to enhance the brown-rot hydrolysis of wood, while ...
F Green III, T A Kuster, T L Highley


Mechanisms of Protection by NHA Against Fungal Decay
2002 - IRG/WP 02-10429
Treating wood with the water-borne sodium salt of N'-N-naphthaloylhydroxylamine (Na-NHA) protects wood against decay and termite damage. Initial testing indicated little or no inhibition of sapstain fungi, molds, or soft-rot fungi by Na-NHA, suggesting that the mechanism by which this compound protected wood was complex and not that of a broad-spectrum biocide. Previously, we (Green et...
F Green III, W Henry, T Schultz


The role of oxidation in wood degradation by brown-rot fung
1992 - IRG/WP 92-1562
Brown-rot fungi are suggested to degrade cellulose by oxidation with hydrogen radicalsformed eg. in the conversion of hydrogen peroxide in the Fenton type reactions. The stuctural changes in the holocellulose in wood induced by Fenton's reaction on wood components are very similar to those caused by brown-rot fungi. In this work the effect of the Fenton reaction on wood components was stu...
A-C Ritschkoff, J Pere, J Buchert, L Viikari


Assessing the importance of degradation mechanisms on the loss of effectiveness of wood preservatives
2000 - IRG/WP 00-20193
Accelerated ageing systems developed for application to samples in the laboratory prior to biological tests, should reflect those natural deterioration processes that are likely to occur in the hazard classes defined in EN 335-1. Losses through evaporation or the effects of leaching have been recognised, however their importance, relative to other mechanisms has not been quantified. Degradation me...
E D Suttie, R J Orsler, T Dearling


A diffusion and reaction model for the leaching of Cr-VI from unfixed CCA-treated wood
2001 - IRG/WP 01-50169
A physical model applicable to the leaching of any substance undergoing a first-order fixation reaction with wood is presented. Using this model and a laboratory leaching experiment with small wood samples immersed in water, the radial and tangential diffusion coefficients and the reaction rate constants of Cr-VI in unfixed CCA-treated red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.) are measured. Reaction rate con...
L Waldron, P A Cooper


Hydrolysis of bordered pits during colonization of conifers by brown-rot fungi
1995 - IRG/WP 95-10103
Brown-rot decay results in rapid reduction in degree of polymerization (DP) of holocellulose with concomitant strength loss (MOR) without removing lignin. Development of new methods of wood protection will require focusing on early events in the sequence of depolymerization. Bordered pit membranes (sapwood) represent a readily available source of non-lignified carbohydrate, ie. pectin and cellulos...
F Green III, J L Tschernitz, T A Kuster, T L Highley


Evaluation of tropolone as a wood preservative : activity and mode of action
2002 - IRG/WP 02-30282
The fungicidal activity of 2-hydroxy cyclohepta-2,4,6-trienone (tropolone) analogue of b-thujaplicin a natural product responsible for the durability of heart wood of several cupressaceous trees was investigated in vitro on growth of white and brown rot fungi. Results obtained show that tropolone, easily prepared from commercially available products, possesses strong fungicidal activity similar ...
P Gérardin, M Baya, N Delbarre, P N Diouf, D Perrin, P Soulounganga, E Gelhaye, J P Jacquot, C Rapin


Amine copper reaction with wood components: acidity versus copper adsorption
1997 - IRG/WP 97-30161
The bonding sites for copper in wood from CCA, as well as ammoniacal/amine based systems, has long been a topic of investigation. Both phenolic and carboxylic functional groups have been discussed as potential bonding sites for copper. However, no consensus on the adsorption mechanism has been realized. Thus, the selective adsorption of copper in southern yellow pine from ethanolamine-copper solut...
S M Thomason, E A Pasek


Copper based wood preservative - A new approach using fixation with resin acids of rosin
2000 - IRG/WP 00-30249
Copper soaps with carboxylic acid groups of resin acids of rosin were shown to be potential long-term wood preservatives. The principle involved is the attachment of copper to the network formed by the inorganic part of the preservative (rosin) through the -COOH groups. The mechanisms of fixation have been studied, and it has been shown that this association could be obtained : (1) by forming the ...
C Roussel, J P Haluk, A Pizzi, M-F Thévenon


The identification of the carbohydrate degrading enzymes from the crude extract of brown-rot fungus Gloeophyllum trabeum
1991 - IRG/WP 1483
The brown-rot fungus, Gloeophyllum trabeum, produces a pattern of carbohydrate degrading enzymes during the wood decay. In liquid sawdust media the activities of endo-b-1,4-gluganase and endo-b-1,4-xylanase were at the maximum after 5-6 weeks cultivation. The production of enzymes started immediately after inoculation suggesting that the degradation of hemicellulose and easily degradable parts of ...
A-C Ritschkoff, J Buchert, L Viikari


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


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


Protection mechanisms of modified wood against decay by white and brown rot fungi
2010 - IRG/WP 10-10713
The resistance of beech and pine wood blocks treated with 1,3-dimethylol-4,5-dihydroxyethylene urea (DMDHEU) against T. versicolor and C. puteana increased with increasing WPG. Full protection (mass loss below 3%) was reached at WPGs of approximately 15% (beech) and 10% (pine). Metabolic activity of the fungi in the wood blocks was assessed as heat or energy production determined by isothermal mic...
C Mai, P Verma, Yanjun Xie, J Dyckmans, H Militz


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


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


A survey of factors affecting decay resistance of wood modified with acetic anhydride
2012 - IRG/WP 12-40594
From the range of information published, acetylation appears well suited to provide adequate protection against biological attack for materials derived from typically non-durable wood species. Acetylated wood is now commercially available both in Europe and in the USA. But still there are a lot of unanswered questions related to fungal decay mechanisms in acetylated wood. The paper summarize exist...
G Alfredsen, P O Flæte, H Militz


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


The Chelator Mediated Fenton System in the Brown Rot Fungi: Details of the Mechanism, and Reasons Why it has Been Ineffective as a Biomimetic Treatment in some Biomass Applications – a Review
2014 - IRG/WP 14-10828
The chelator-mediated Fenton (CMF) reaction requires the action of two types of chelating compounds. The first chelator, oxalate, solubilizes and then sequesters iron, and the second chelator reduces iron. Iron reduction must be controlled near the fungal hyphae to prevent damaging Fenton chemistry from occurring in that location. Similarly, iron reduction must be promoted within the wood/plant ce...
B S Goodell, M Nakamura, J Jellison


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


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