Evaluation of Two Species of Soft Wood Decay Resistance for Heat-Treated Wood Using the Catalyst (H2SO4)

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the resistance of heat-treated wood using the catalyst to decay caused by fungi for sapwood and heartwood of two tree species, Korean red pine (Pinus densiflora) and Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi), respectively. Wood samples were immersed for 10 min in sulfuric acid (7.5%) and then heat-treated at 130℃ for 90 min. Fomitopsis palustris, a brown-rot fungus, was used to examine the decay re-sistance of Korean red pine and Japanese larch wood. Weight and density of wood from the all conditions in-creased after heat treatment using the catalyst. Weight loss after decay resistance test was also dropped with a heat treatment. The lowest weight loss indicated at heat-treated heartwood of Japanese larch. Heat treatment us-ing the catalyst effectively increased the resistance of wood to decay caused by fungi.