IV.  Wood Treatability Studies

IV-1. Smith, W. B., Abdullah, N., Herdman, D., De Groot, R. C.  1996.  Preservative treatment of red maple.  For. Prod. J., Vol. 46(3), pp. 35-41.  CA: 124:263699

The treatability of red maple heart- and sapwood with water, toluene, chromated copper arsenate (I), ammonium Cu didecyldimethylammonium chloride, creosote, and toluene- and waterborne copper naphthenate (II).  The efficacy of I, and of water- and oil-borne II against a brown rot fungus (Postia placenta), a white rot fungus (Trametes versicolor), and a soft-rot fungus (Chaetomium globosum) was also determined using sapwood blocks in agar block decay tests.  There were substantial differences between heart- and sapwood treatability.  Full-cell impregnation resulted in sapwood samples being thoroughly penetrated and consistently treated to retentions of 30-40 lb/ft3.  Preservatives penetrated heartwood only approximately 3 mm transversely and 15 mm longitudinally.  Retentions ranged from 5 to 15 lb/ft3.  On an equiv. Cu loading basis, the oil-borne II was more effective than the waterborne formulation against white rot and soft-rot fungi.  I protected maple sapwood against brown and white rot fungi at low retentions, 0.1% Cu wt./wt.  However, as in previous work, higher loadings were needed for soft-rot protection.

IV-2. Forsyth, Paul G.; Morrell, Jeffrey J.  1992. Diffusion of copper and boron from a groundline wrap formulation through Douglas-fir heartwood.   For. Prod. J., Vol. 42(11-12), pp. 27-29  CA: 118:193817

The effect of grain orientation and moisture content (MC) on diffusion of Cu and B from a ground-line wrap paste was evaluated in small Douglas-fir heartwood blocks over a 1-yr period.  B diffusion was consistently greater than that found with copper naphthenate, reflecting the higher water solubility of the former compd.  Diffusion of both components was greatest in the longitudinal direction in blocks at 60% MC.  In general, chemical movement was affected more by wood orientation than by MC.  The results indicated that both components of the preservative paste were capable of significant diffusion through Douglas-fir heartwood.

IV-3. Grove, Scott L. 1989.  Treatment of Douglas-fir heartwood with copper naphthenate in AWPA P9 type A Solvents.  Proc. - Annu. Meet. Am. Wood-Preserv. Assoc. (1989), Vol. 85, pp. 151-169.  CA: 115:116590

Preliminary com. and pilot plant data indicated that the treatability of Douglas fir heartwood with copper  naphthenate was affected by the type of petroleum solvent used.  A test-treating schedule was developed and used to obtain data on small heartwood samples, and several AWPA P9 Type A solvents and solvent blends, both with and without Cu naphthenate, were evaluated.  The net preservative retention and penetration were measured for each heartwood sample.  Using an aloe solvent without copper naphthenate, there was little difference in the heartwood net solvent retention between several of the solvents used in this test.  Heartwood treatability differences were detected using different combinations of solvents and copper naphthenate.  Aliphatic solvents more frequently gave better preservative retention and penetration into the heartwood than more highly aromatic solvents.  The effects of other solvent properties are also reported.  These results indicated that specifications requiring treatment of Douglas-fir heartwood may be more easily met using an aliphatic solvent or a blend of aliphatic and aromatic solvents than using a straight aromatic solvent.

IV-4. Barnes, H.M. and Hein, R.W. 1988.  Treatment of Steam-Conditioned Pine Poles with Copper Naphthenate in Hydrocarbon Solvent.  British Wood Preserv. Assoc. Annual Conf. Proc. (1988), pp. 3-23.

This study focused on the treatment of steam-conditioned southern pine with copper naphthenate in #2 fuel oil.  The data have shown that steam-conditioned and air-dried pine poles can be treated effectively with this preservative/solvent system.  Injection curves and preservative gradients comparable to those found in other oilborne systems in current use were obtained.  Corrosion of mild carbon steel is negligible when using this preservative system.

IV-5. Krzyzewski, J.; Spicer, B. G. 1974.  34 years of field testing of fence posts - results of final inspection.  Report, Eastern Forest Products Laboratory, Canada, No. OPX95 E.

The results of examination of 2400 untreated and treated posts of a range of Canadian species after long periods of exposure are shown in tables.   The condition of the posts at the top and at the ground line was particularly studied. Posts pressure-treated with creosote were in good condition after more than 20 years; the hot-and-cold open-tank process was the most effective of the non-pressure treatments. The tests included treatments with pentachlorophenol and copper naphthenate, and diffusion and brush and dip treatments.

IV-6. Kamden, D.P., Zhang, J., Freeman, M.H. 1998. The Effect of Post-Steaming on Copper Naphthenate-Treated Southern Pine.  Wood Fiber Sci., Vol.30(2), pp. 210-217.

The reduction of cupric (Cu+2) to cuprous (Cu+1) form in post-steamed Cu naphthenate-treated southern pinewood was monitored.  The amount of Cu2O formed after the post-steam treatment was determined by x-ray diffraction (XRD).  About 50% of Cu was reduced from cupric to cuprous in post-steamed samples treated to a retention of 0.31-0.515 total Cu.  Less than 15% of the Cu was reduced to cuprous in the post-steamed samples containing 0.71% total Cu.  Environmental SEM (ESEM) was used to collect images of the crystalline Cu2O deposits on the wood cell walls.

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