The Wood Preservative Potentials of Valonia, Chestnut, Tara and Sulphited Oak Tannins

Abstract

This study investigated antifungal properties of four different tannins as potential environmentally friendly wood preservatives. Scots pine wood samples were impregnated with 3, 5, 10, and 15% valonia, chestnut, tara, and sulphited oak tannins, and then were exposed to brown rot fungi Coniophora puteana and Postia placenta, and white rot fungi Trametes versicolor and Pleurotus ostreatus attack to determine the best tannin type and the optimum concentration level for sufficient decay resistance. Leaching test was conducted in order to evaluate any loss in effectiveness in decay resistance due to possibility of tannin leaching. Tannins were found efficacious in suppressing brown rot fungi attacks when no leaching prior the decay test was used, however, they seemed to be ineffective against white rot fungi attacks. The lowest weight losses were obtained with valonia and chestnut tannins both for brown and white rot fungi probable related with their high ellagic tannin content.

KEYWORDS:

• Brown rot fungi
• decay resistance
• leaching
• tannin
• white rot fungi
• wood decay

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Authors would like to thank Dr. Mahmut Ali Ermeydan and graduate students Omur Ahmet Yazici and Nur Sarialan at BTU for their assistance in the experiments.

FUNDING

This study was financially supported by Directory of Scientific Research Projects of Bursa Technical University under the project number of 2015-01-013.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher's website at https://doi.org/10.1080/02773813.2017.1418379.

Additional information

Funding

Directory of Scientific Research Projects of Bursa Technical University(2015-01-013)