Lignin–Propiconazole Nanocapsules are an Effective Bio-Based Wood Preservative

Abstract

In the modern forest industry, the need for bio-based, renewable, and environmentally-benign wood preservatives is increasing. The world harvests approximately 1700 million m 3 of wood annually for use in a variety of applications. Unfortunately, when exposed to moisture, wood products are at high risk of decay by wood degrading fungi. Preservatives are used to prevent or limit decay, and there has been an increasing interest in developing wood preservatives from renewable materials. For this work, the effectiveness of water-dispersible, double-shell, lignin nanocapsules encapsulating the fungicide propiconazole, as a sustainable wood preservative, was evaluated. The system was tested for its biocidal efficacy against brown rot decay by Gloeophyllum trabeum in southern yellow pine wood using both dip and pressure treatments. The preservative successfully penetrated the wood block during pressure treatment, and following 3 months of soil-jar incubation, only wood blocks pressure-treated with either the double-shelled-propiconazole nanocapsule system or the conventional exterior wood preservative, chromated copper arsenate (CCA), showed less weight loss (19.95 ± 2.05 and 16.40 ± 3.80%, respectively) compared to the control (41.58 ± 9.51%). Additionally, the novel preservative system exhibited enhanced antifungal resistance compared to its individual constituents, as confirmed with Kirby−Bauer disk diffusion tests. The double-shell lignin nanocapsule exhibited radical quenching activity against DPPH of 75.9 ± 4.2%, and this could have contributed to the enhanced antifungal activity of the double-shell lignin nanocapsule−propiconazole system. This novel preservative system can be considered as a potential bio-based antifungal wood preservative.

Novel and Green System for Protecting Wood against Gloeophyllum trabeum by Combining Biodegradable Isothiazolinone with Nontoxic Chelators

“…Five types of impregnation solutions, including DCOI (200 mg/L), DTPA (200 mg/L), IDS (200 mg/L), DCOI-DTPA (200 and 200 mg/L), and DCOI-IDS (200 and 200 mg/L), were prepared in deionized water. , Air-dried wood specimens with a size of 20 × 20 × 10 mm 3 were impregnated with different solutions at −0.1 MPa for 30 min, followed by a pressure treatment of 0.5 MPa for 60 min and oven-drying to a constant weight (60 °C) before use.…”

Lignin Smart Nanoparticles for Effective and Eco-Friendly Resource Recovery from Wastewater: Status, Challenges, and Opportunities

“…26,57,76,77 For instance, ball-milled softwood lignin polymer is suitable to produce high tensile strength bio-based plastics. 76 Other feasible applications for technical lignins include water purification (the interest of this perspective), 13,78 wood preservation, 79 cosmetic formulation, 80 sensory devices, 81 nanocarriers for drug delivery, 82 sustainable batteries, 83 biodegradable adhesives, 84 and carbon fibers 85 which may be used as electrodes in electrochemical processes. 86 3.2.…”

Recent Advances in Bio-Based Wood Protective Systems: A Comprehensive Review

“…These crosslinks also contributed to a reduction in water absorption. Likewise, lignin can be utilized in fungicidal applications, as emphasized in the research conducted by Andeme Ela et al [122]. They investigated the effectiveness of lignin nanocapsules containing the fungicide propiconazole as an environmentally friendly wood preservative.…”