By: OLUFEMI B. .; OLANIRAN O. S.;
Abstract:
Liquefied biomass preservative was examined for its potential to resist termite attack on wood. Wood species of Hevea brasiliensis and Pterocarpus milbraedii were prepared in dimension 20 × 20 × 60 mm blocks. Wood samples were oven-dried at 103±2oC to a constant weight, treated with preservatives using cold-soaking method for 24 hr and conditioned for 72 hr in the laboratory before exposure to termites for 12 weeks. Creosote oil and CCA were used as standards for measuring effectiveness of liquefied biomass because result of their long history of performance as termicides. Results showed that liquefied biomass had the highest retention of 2.42 kg/m3 compared with CCA (2%) and creosote oil with mean retention of 0.35 kg/m3 and 1.60 kg/m3 respectively. The result of 12 week exposure to termites however showed that wood samples treated with liquefied biomass attained a visual rating of 0 and mean weight loss of 95.13%. This showed that the active ingredients in liquefied biomass were not as toxic as those of CCA and Creosote oil that were not attacked throughout the exposure period.
Keywords: Liquefied biomass, Hevea brasiliensis, Pterocarpus milbraedii, Termites.
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