PHYTIC ACID FOR DUAL WOOD PROTECTION AGAINST FUNGI AND FIRE

Authors

  • Lili Cai Mississippi State University
  • Liang Liang
  • Courage Alorbu
  • Armando McDonald

Abstract

Phytic acid (PA) is a natural compound derived from plant seeds and cereals with excellent antifungal properties and fire resistance. However, the potential of PA for dual wood protection is yet to be reported. This study aimed to investigate the antifungal properties and fire performance of phytic acid for wood protection. The antifungal properties of PA against common wood-decaying fungi, including two white-rot fungi, Trametes versicolor (T.v.) and Irpex lacteus (I.l.), and two brown-rot fungi, Gloeophyllum trabeum (G.t.) and Rhodonia placenta (R.p.), were studied for both in vitro and in vivo tests. The thermal stability and fire resistance of wood samples treated with different concentrations of PA by vacuum impregnation were also evaluated. For the in vitro test, it was found that PA can almost fully inhibit the growth of three of the four fungi tested at PA concentration of 0.25 wt% except for fungus R.p., which was less sensitive to PA and could still grow at a PA concentration of 4 wt%. The in vivo durability test results showed that PA significantly improved the fungal resistance of both pine and poplar wood blocks, as shown by a lower mass loss of 5-25% compared to the control group's 25-45%. The results from thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) under both air and nitrogen indicated that PA increased thermal stability of both pine and poplar samples, which was further confirmed by the results from the Mass loss calorimeter (MLC). Specifically, compared to the control, the peak heat release rate and total heat release rate of 10 wt% PA-treated samples were decreased by 39% and 48% respectively, at 148 kW/m2 and 34.6 MJ/m2 while the residual mass increased by 137% at 48.4%. Overall, this research demonstrates the potential of using PA to improve both fungal resistance and fire performance of wood products but the leaching of PA remains.  

Author Biography

Lili Cai, Mississippi State University

Lili Cai is a PhD student in Mississippi State University. She received her B.S. and M.S. degree in Wood Science and Engineering from Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University in China.  Her current PhD research involves using cyclodextrins as agents for improved protection methods of wood and wood composites.

Published

2024-06-03

Issue

Vol. 56 No. 2 (2024): Wood and Fiber Science

Section

Research Contributions

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