Establishment of regularities of the influence of polymeric shell on wood biodegradation

The analysis of the process of biological degradation of wood is carried out. It is established that neglect of environmentally friendly safe biosecurity products leads to the destruction of wood structures under the influence of microorganisms. The study of wood protection conditions allows creating new types of protective materials that help reduce water absorption and the amount of substances that are a medium for the development of wood-destroying fungi. In this regard, an analytical-experimental method for determining the proportion of destroyed material under the action of microorganisms using an antiseptic has been developed. Analysis of the results shows that the maximum mass loss in the case of biodegradation of untreated wood samples was from 7.6% to 16%, and the mass loss of samples of thermally modified wood did not exceed 3%, in those treated with an antiseptic water repellent – was less than 2%. It was determined that the protection in the case of treatment of thermally modified wood with wax oil and lasur increases in comparison with untreated wood by more than 4 times in terms of biodegradation, and in the case of treatment of non-thermally modified wood – by more than 8 times. Notably, the presence of wax oil and lasur leads to blockage of the wood surface, which prevents the penetration of moisture and microorganisms. Therefore, the intensity of development of wood-destroying fungi on the surface of different samples varies. Obviously, such a mechanism of influence of the protective coating is the factor in regulating the process, due to which the integrity of the object is preserved. Based on experimental data and modelling equations, the dynamics of the microbial population in the volume of material and the function of increasing the number of dead organisms are derived. In particular, a polymer shell was created on the surface of the sample, which significantly reduced the penetration of microorganisms into the wood, and the loss of wood mass during biodegradation did not exceed 2.5%. Additional application of protective substances on the surface increases the level of protection of untreated pine wood by 72%, thermally modified at 190°C – by 25%, at 220°C – by 37%. Similar results are obtained for hornbeam wood – 60%, 37%, and 28%, for oak – 50%, 37%, and 37%, respectively