Wolfiporia cocos : a potential agent for composting of bioprocessing Douglas-fir wood treated with copper-based preservatives

Abstract

In laboratory experiments, Douglas-fir wood blocks that were treated with copper- based wood preservatives were challenged with two wood decay fungi known to be tolerant of copper. Factors influencing the amount of decay, as determined by loss of weight in the test blocks, were preservative, then fungus. Within those combinations, the relative importance of preservative retention, block thickness, or leaching depended upon the specific pairings of preservative and fungus. Low retention levels of some preservatives stimulated decay by Wolfiporia cocos but not Postia placenta. We conclude that the potential for commercial bioprocessing of spent wood that has been treated with copper-based preservatives is greater for some preservatives than others. Optimization of the process can be achieved through selection of specific fungi, comminuting wood furnish to a small particle size, and developing preprocessing leaching procedures.

Citation

De Groot, Rodney.; Woodward, Bessie. 1998. Wolfiporia cocos : a potential agent for composting of bioprocessing Douglas-fir wood treated with copper-based preservatives. Material und organismen. Vol. 32, no. 3 (1998).:p. [195]-215.