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Influence of the thermo-hydro-mechanical treatments of wood on the performance against wood-degrading fungi

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Abstract

Hybrid poplar (Populus deltoides × Populus trichocarpa) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) wood specimens were densified with three variations of thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) treatment. The THM treatments differed in the steam environment, including transient steam (TS), saturated steam (SS), and saturated steam with 1-min post–heat treatment at 200 °C (SS+PHT). The bending properties, FTIR spectra, and colour of the THM wood specimens were studied before and after exposure to two different wood decay fungi, brown rot Gloeophyllum trabeum, and white rot Trametes versicolor. The results showed that the performance of densified hybrid poplar wood was considerably poorer than the performance of Douglas-fir heartwood. The FTIR spectra measurements did not show changes in the densified hybrid poplar wood, while some changes were evident in densified Douglas-fir specimens. After fungal degradation, the most prominent changes were observed on the SS+PHT specimens. Colour is one of the most important parameter predominantly influenced by the wood species and the intensity of the densification process for both wood species, while after fungal exposure, the colour of all densified Douglas-fir specimens obtained more or less the same appearance, and densified hybrid poplar specimens resulted in lighter colour tones, indicating that the pattern of degradation of the densified and non-densified specimens are similar. The 3-point bending test results determined that the THM treatment significantly increased the modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE) of the densified wood specimens, while fungal exposure decreased the MOE and MOR in hybrid poplar and Douglas-fir specimens.

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Acknowledgments

The project was supported by the National Research Initiative of the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, grant number 2006-35504-17444 and USDA Wood Utilization Research Center Special Grant number 2008-34158-19302. The authors would like to thank the Slovenian Research Agency for financial support within the frame of project P4-0015-0481. Technical support of Mr. Simon Eržen is appreciated as well.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Wood Science and Technology, University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, SI 1001, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Boštjan Lesar & Miha Humar

  2. Department of Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State University, 119 Richardson Hall, Corvallis, OR, USA

    Frederick A. Kamke

  3. Andrej Marušič Institute, University of Primorska, Muzejski Trg 2, 6000, Koper, Slovenia

    Andreja Kutnar

  4. ILTRA d.o.o, Celovska Cesta 268, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Andreja Kutnar

Authors
  1. Boštjan Lesar
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  2. Miha Humar
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  3. Frederick A. Kamke
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  4. Andreja Kutnar
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Correspondence to Andreja Kutnar.

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Lesar, B., Humar, M., Kamke, F.A. et al. Influence of the thermo-hydro-mechanical treatments of wood on the performance against wood-degrading fungi. Wood Sci Technol 47, 977–992 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00226-013-0553-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00226-013-0553-8

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