Performance of Copper-Ethanolamine-impregnated Scots Pine Wood during Exposure to Terrestrial Microorganisms

Abstract

Copper-ethanolamine-based wood preservatives are still the most important solutions for protecting wood in ground applications in Europe. Wood in the ground is exposed to a variety of organisms that can act synergistically. In order to simulate these conditions in the laboratory, Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) specimens impregnated with copperethanolamine preservative of three different concentrations (c Cu = 0.125%, 0.25%, and 0.5%) were exposed to three different soils according to procedure ENV 807, for periods between 12 and 32 weeks. After the relevant period of exposure, samples were isolated, and their mass loss, bending strength, and modulus of elasticity were determined. In the final step, the remaining copper in the samples was determined. The results showed that, in spite of significant copper leaching, the tested copper-ethanolamine-treated wood exhibited good performance in ground applications. Furthermore, a good correlation was found between the mechanical properties and mass loss, regardless of the chemical treatment applied.

Influence of Natural and Artificial Weathering on the Colour Change of Different Wood and Wood-Based Materials

“…All copper (II) ethanolamine impregnated samples, i.e., copper-and waxtreated Norway spruce (PA-CE-NW; 0.67), copper-treated Norway spruce (PA-CE; 3.25), and coppertreated thermally-modified Norway spruce (PA-TM-CE; 4.66), were among the materials with the lowest absolute ΔL*. The reason for the observed phenomena was mentioned previously and is assigned to the presence of copper-based active ingredients with a clearly proven fungicidal effect [51]. Acrylic-coated Norway spruce (PA-AC) stood out from all other materials with the highest a* values, but the Δa* value after four years of weathering was the lowest (0.92), because of the pigments in the acrylic coating.…”