Resistance of polypropylene-wood composites to fungi

In the present study, the composites of polypropylene and wood were prepared. The experimental material comprised two most common Polish timber species pine wood (Pinus sylvestris L.) as a softwood species and oak wood Quercus sp.) as a hardwood species. The size of wood sawdust ranged from 0.5 to 1.0 mm. Two types of lignocellulosic materials were used in the experiments described: wood without any previous chemical treatment and wood after its mercerization (i.e, activated with NaOH). In addition the polypropylene-wood composite containing a block copolymer, i.e. styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS) was also obtained. The objective of this study was to evaluate the resistance of different kinds of polypropylene-wood composites to fungal decay. Weight losses and temporary tensile strength of composite samples after the mycological test were determined.