Combustion and Decay Resistance Performance of Scots Pine Treated with Boron and Copper Based Wood Preservatives

Abstract

Boron compounds in the form of boric acid, borax or disodiumoctaborate tetrahydrate have been used as insecticide, fungicide and fire retardant in wood preservatives industry for decades. Also, copper is the most commonly used component in most of relatively modern preservatives as it is highly effective against fungi. The objective of this study was to investigate the combustion and decay resistance of boron-copper based solutions which were developed by our group. These solutions contain boric acid, sodium borate decahydrate, copper hydroxy carbonate, ethanolamine, quaternary ammonium compound (benzalkonium chloride), and/or organic acid (octanoic acid). Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) woods were treated with the preservatives according to ASTM D1413-07 standard by vacuum-pressure impregnation system, which was developed by our group. Decay resistance performances against white and brown rot fungi were determined according to EN 113 standard and combustion tests were performed with respect to ASTM E160-50 standard. All the impregnated wood samples were found highly resistant to both white (Trametes versicolor L.) and brown (Coniophora puteana L.) fungi. Besides, they gave better results than the control samples in terms of combustion tests.