Popularization of professional knowledge about preservative wood

Preservative Wood Introduction

Wood is a biological organism and the most gentle and human-friendly natural material in garden landscaping. However, wood is very susceptible to natural environments, insects, and termites, which reduces its functionality. Preservative-treated wood completely compensates for this deficiency, extending the service life of the wood. In general outdoor environments, the service life can exceed 30 years.

Preservative wood is wood that has been treated with preservatives to prevent decay and biological damage.

Antique Preservative Wood

Although wood treated with preservatives extends its lifespan, due to its natural characteristics, discoloration and aging may still occur after a period of use. Our company, through long-term research and experimentation, has created a unique process for treating preservative wood – antique processing – which fully embodies the natural texture of wood, giving a sense of rustic elegance and natural beauty. Looking to the future, antique preservative wood will become a widely used garden building material.

Preservative Wood Materials. Currently, the two most common types of preservative wood in China are Russian Dahurian larch and Nordic red pine. Russian Dahurian larch preservative wood is mainly imported logs that undergo preservative treatment domestically, mostly using CCA preservatives.

Nordic red pine preservative wood is pre-treated abroad and imported directly to China for sale. Currently, they are all treated with ACQ preservatives and are often called "Finnish wood." Because the earliest preservative wood imported into China was from Finland, people are accustomed to calling preservative wood "Finnish wood." This is incorrect, however, and easily leads to misunderstandings among those unfamiliar with preservative wood.

Wood Preservatives

Currently, the main preservatives are CCA, ACQ, and CAB.

CCA's main components are copper chrome arsenic.

ACQ's main components are ammoniacal copper quaternary.

CAB's main components are copper azole.

The amount of preservative used for preservative wood is determined according to the conditions of use, and refer to the latest edition of the national standard "Preservative Wood".

Over the past few decades, the main method of wood preservation has been CCA. Its main chemical component is chromated copper arsenate (CCA). It is clean and odorless, and the treated wood surface can be painted. High-quality CCA preservatives have very stable characteristics, and their excellent preservative properties have led to their widespread use. Long-term experience tells us that CCA-treated wood can be used in various harsh outdoor environments, making it an ideal chemical wood preservative.

Due to the extremely small amount of arsenic in CCA, people have recently begun to worry about its health risks. The United States stopped using CCA-treated wood (except in industrial and special environments) on January 1, 2004. However, at the same time, authoritative US organizations have stated that there is no scientific evidence to prove that CCA is harmful to human health. China's upcoming industry standard for the application of preservative wood clearly states that CCA is one of the applicable preservatives. ACQ (Alkaline Copper Quaternary) has as its main chemical component alkyl copper ammonium compounds. It contains no arsenic or chromium and has no adverse effects on the environment and will not harm humans, animals, fish or plants. This treatment method is considered a possible effective substitute for CCA, but experiments show that ACQ is less stable than CCA and more easily lost. The current cost is also nearly 20% higher than CCA.

Therefore, from the perspective of the domestic market, these two treatment methods for preservative wood should coexist for some time. With the continuous improvement of relevant technologies, in the long run, ACQ may become one of the main methods for future wood preservation.

Preservative Treatment Methods

Currently, the main internationally accepted method for treating wood with preservatives is to use a water-based preservative that is not easily soluble and, under pressure in a sealed vacuum tank, inject the preservative into the wood fibers. After pressure treatment, the wood is more stable and the preservative effectively prevents mold, termites and insects from damaging the wood. This results in treated wood with excellent preservative properties for long-term use in harsh outdoor environments.