Characterization of acetylated wood decayed by brown-rot and white-rot fungi

Abstract

The objective of this study was to characterize the decay of acetylated wood due to brown-rot and white-rot fungi by analysis of chemical composition, X-ray measurements, and 13C-NMR spectroscopy. The decay by brown-rot fungus became inhibited at a weight percent gain (WPG) due to acetylation of more than 10%, and the mass loss (LOSS) due to decay became zero at a WPG of about 20%. The LOSS due to white-rot fungus decreased slowly with the increase in WPG, reaching zero at a WPG of about 12%. The losses of lignin by brown-rot decay increased initially with the decrease in LOSS owing to the progressing acetylation and then decreased at a LOSS of less than 60%. Polysaccharides were more easily decomposed than lignin during the decay of acetylated wood due to brown-rot fungus. The losses of both components due to white-rot decay decreased as the LOSS decreased with progressing acetylation. The white-rot fungus tended to preferentially decompose the lignin during the decay of acetylated wood. The brown-rot fungus decomposed the cellulose in the crystalline region to a large degree when the LOSS was more than 40%, whereas the white-rot fungus decomposed the crystalline region and the noncrystalline region in acetylated wood to the same degree. The brown-rot fungus preferentially decomposed unsubstituted xylose units in acetylated wood and partly decomposed the mono-substituted xylose units. It was suggested that the mono- and disubstituted cellulose were partly decomposed by brown-rot fungus. © The Japan Wood Research Society 1999.