The Effect of Wood Preservative Uptake for Organic Wood Preservatives by Dipping Diffusion Method

Wood modification is a crucial practice for enhancing the durability of wood in various applications. Different types of wood preservatives are employed worldwide for wood treatment purposes. In the Sri Lankan context, inorganic wood preservatives are extensively used. However, a major issue is that these wood preservatives contain heavy metals and toxic contaminants, negatively impacting the ecosystem. The use of organic wood preservatives is considered a sustainable solution to minimize adverse effects. This study focuses on investigating the effect of wood preservative uptake for organic wood preservatives by dipping diffusion treatment by comparing two types of naval organic wood preservatives and two types of inorganic wood preservatives. For this study, five wood species were selected, namely pine (Pinus caribaea), alstonia (Alstonia macrophylla), mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), mango (Mangifera indica), and rubber (Hevea brasiliensis). Wood samples were treated using two types of industrial wood preservatives, namely ACQ (alkaline copper quaternary) and boron preservatives, and patented organic wood preservatives, namely FSWOM (Final Solution With Mud) and FSWM (Final Solution Without Mud). The dipping diffusion method was employed for all treatments, and samples were treated separately under the same conditions. The wood samples were dipped for 48 h in the preservative solutions and then collected and analyzed. As the results, high-density wood types showed minimum preservative uptake, while low-density wood types exhibited maximum preservative uptake for both organic and inorganic wood preservatives. The results indicate that there is no significant difference between the uptake of both organic and inorganic wood preservatives by the selected wood types (P < 0.05). Therefore, organic wood preservatives also function similarly to inorganic wood preservatives. These findings have significant implications for industries relying on wood materials, suggesting that using organic preservatives for the dipping diffusion method could enhance sustainable and efficient wood treatment practices in future.