Search

Pinewood was modified by vacuum impregnation with various aqueous lignin solutions of low concentration (0.5- 1.0%) and its decay resistance was tested by the standard procedure EN 113. Five lignin types were tested against three brown rot and one white rot fungi. The bio-durability of wood was considerably increased by the treatment. The highest effect of modification was for alkali, kraft, hydrolysis lignins and industrial lignosulfonate, when mass losses of wood for brown-rot fungi were negligible. The effect of the modification with certified lignosulfonates was insignificant. Chemical analysis revealed that phenols, which are leached from lignin and are adsorbed by wood in the impregnation process, could act as a biocide. The hydrophilic properties of wood either did not change (certified lignins) or were enhanced because of some change in the pore structure (industrial lignins). Further tests are needed to verify the positive effects of this technologically simple and environmentally friendly treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hot water extraction of pine wood was carried out after 10 days of exposure to brown-rot fungi ( Gloeophyllum trabeum, Coniophora puteana and Poria placenta) and a white-rot fungus ( Coriolus versicolor). The microstructure of the wood cell wall was analysed by the water vapour sorption method. The content and composition of monosaccharides in the extracts were determined by high performance liquid chromatography. Despite the absence of essential mass losses at the initial stage of the contact with the fungi, slight changes in the cell wall microstructure can be observed, namely, the hydrophobisation and the change in the character of porosity in the region of 1–10 nm pore sizes. After hot water treatment, the mass decreases considerably, i.e., to 25% for the control and brown-rot treated samples and more than 30% for the white-rot treated sample. The sorption-desorption isotherms for the washed control sample and brown-rot samples were not changed practically, but the isotherm was changed clearly in the case of the white-rot treated sample. The microstructure of the white-rot sample changed after hot water washing radically and was accompanied with the formation of wide mesopores in the range of 5–9 nm width. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]