Performances of white pine and white spruce treated with organic fungicides using an aqueous buffered amine oxide preservation system

Abstract

Wood is an environmentally friendly material for the construction of buildings, and it possesses great physical and mechanical properties. However, under certain circumstances, it needs to be protected from degradation. This can be achieved either by proper design or treatment. In this study, eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.) and white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) were impregnated with propiconazole and 3-iodo-2-propynyl butylcarbamate, which are two organic fungicides. Unlike most impregnation techniques, no pressure treatment was needed. Instead, an aqueous buffered amine oxide system was used to allow the fungicides to diffuse rapidly into the wood. Many combinations of fungicides and amine oxides, as well as different diffusion times were tested to study the effect of the treatment on the dimensional stability and resistance to decay fungi. It was found that only the amine oxide affected the dimensional stability of the treated wood, with anti-swelling and anti-shrinking efficiencies values up to 30%. Amine oxides and fungicides both had an impact on the weight loss caused by the brown rot fungi. The weight loss after 10 weeks of exposure to Rhodonia placenta was reduced by half when using amine oxides or fungicides, and it was completely inhibited when they were combined.