Durability of heat-treated Paulownia tomentosa and Pinus koraiensis woods in palm oil and air against brown- and white-rot fungi

• Published in: Scientific reports 2023-12, Vol.13 (1), p.21929-21929, Article 21929
• Main Authors: Suri, Intan Fajar, Purusatama, Byantara Darsan, Kim, Jong Ho, Hidayat, Wahyu, Hwang, Won Joung, Iswanto, Apri Heri, Park, Se Yeong, Lee, Seung Hwan, Kim, Nam Hun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 639/166; 639/301; Brown rot; Fourier transforms; Fungi; Heat treatment; Heat treatments; Humanities and Social Sciences; multidisciplinary; Palm oil; Paulownia tomentosa; Pine trees; Pinus koraiensis; Polysaccharides; Saccharides; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Weight; White rot; Wood
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48971-z

This study aimed to evaluate and compare the effects of oil- and air-heat treatments on the durability of Paulownia tomentosa and Pinus koraiensis woods against Fomitopsis palustris and Trametes versicolor . The wood samples were treated in palm oil and air at 180, 200, and 220 °C for 2 h. The weight loss, morphology, crystalline properties, and chemical compounds of untreated and heat-treated wood after fungal attack were investigated. The significant difference in weight loss between oil- and air-heat-treated samples was shown at 220 °C. Heat-treated wood exposed to white-rot fungus showed a lower weight loss than that exposed to brown-rot fungus. The cell components in the untreated- and heat-treated Paulownia tomentosa and Pinus koraiensis at 180 °C were severely damaged due to fungal exposure compared to those at 220 °C. A fungal effect on the relative crystallinity was observed in heat-treated wood at 180 °C, whereas the effect was not observed at 220 °C. Following brown-rot fungus exposure, untreated- and heat-treated wood at 180 °C showed a notable change in the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) peaks of polysaccharides, whereas no noticeable change in lignin peaks was observed. Heat-treated wood at 220 °C showed no noticeable change in the FTIR spectra owing to brown-rot fungus exposure. Exposure to white-rot fungus did not noticeably change the FTIR spectra of untreated and heat-treated wood.