Wood Preservation Damage Prevention from Fungus and Insects

Chemical Wood Preservation

Chemicals used in wood preservation are coming under environmental and health related  attacks... and this overview from the FPL about new approaches for a greener chemical approach to wood preservation summarizes the status of green chemistry research in wood products for home building, etc.:

Formulating new, sharply targeted inhibitors to protect wood products in service and prevent economic and resource losses that result from biodeterioration.

Chemicals used to protect wood from deterioration by fungi and insects have generally been broad-spectrum biocides that are facing increasing environmental regulatory pressure. FPL researchers are taking a new approach to wood preservation that focuses on developing selective biocides that protect against specific threats to wood. Developing targeted preservative systems offers a way to control wood-degrading organisms in an environmentally responsible manner.

With this approach, wood product researchers study the mechanisms by which a particular fungus or insect is able to degrade wood, enabling them to develop an inhibitor based on that particular mechanism. Researchers also study how specific organisms tolerate various wood preservatives and use that knowledge to design preservative systems that neutralize, block, prevent, or counteract that tolerance.

There are additional preservation application approaches to building that can reduce the amount of chemicals that need to be used.  Some of these alternative wood preservation strategies to chemicals include:

Extending the service life of residential and non-residential buildings through proper design and operation of the structures.

Improving the fire safety of forest products to ensure personal safety and forest health.

Developing wood treatments that improve durability of wood products without adversely impacting the environment.

Wood preservation testing methodologies are needed to keep pace with new advances in the wood industry.

The voluntary withdrawal of chromated copper arsenate (CCA) from residential applications in 2004 was a historic change for wood preservation, and other preservative systems may soon face similar environmental scrutiny.

FPL wood preservation researchers are developing new, environmentally preferable wood preservation technologies, including heavy-metal- free formulations. They are also studying methods for reducing the levels of preservatives needed for effectiveness and evaluating the natural durability of some species as an alternative to treated wood in appropriate applications.

Wood preservation researchers are assessing the environmental impact of existing preservative treatments to ensure that treated wood can be safely disposed of and does not adversely affect water quality. Studies include investigating the leaching of preservatives from treated wood into the surrounding environment and identifying current treatment practices or exploring alternative treatment methods that reduce leaching.

It is difficult for wood preservation researchers to respond quickly to societal pressure for environmentally compatible preservatives because it takes many years to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of new preservatives.

FPL researchers are working to develop improved wood preservation accelerated test methods to more rapidly assess the potential for a wood preservative to provide long-term protection, and reduce the time needed for the development and acceptance of new environmentally preferable preservatives.