Micronized wood preservative formulations comprising boron compounds

Abstract

The present invention provides wood preservative and flame retardant compositions having low leachability comprising micronized boron compounds and, optionally, one or more organic biocides which may be micronized. Also provided is a method for applying the composition to wood and wood products comprising impregnating the wood with the composition.

Description

[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Nonprovisional application Ser. No. 11 / 126,839, filed on May 11, 2005, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 570,659, filed on May 13, 2004. This application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. Nonprovisional application Ser. No. 10 / 970,446, filed on Oct. 21, 2004, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 565,585, filed on Apr. 27, 2004, and which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Nonprovisional application Ser. No. 10 / 821,326, filed on Apr. 9, 2004, which in turn claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 461,547, filed Apr. 9, 2003, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 518,994, filed Nov. 11, 2003. The disclosures of all of these applications are incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention is related generally to the field of wood preservatives and wood flame retardants, and more particularly to such compositions which comp...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0014] The present invention provides compositions for improving the decay-, insect- and fire-resistance of wood, wood products and other cellulose-based materials. Other cellulose-based materials, include, for example, composite wood products, textile fibers, wood pulp, wool and natural fiber. Also provided are methods for preparing the compositions, as well as methods for impregnating wood and wood products with the compositions.

[0017] Also provided is a method for improving the decay-, insect- and / or flame-resistance of wood, and wood products. The method comprises the step of impregnating a wood or wood product substrate with a composition of the present invention. In one embodiment, the composition comprises one or more inorganic boron compounds. The impregnation can be performed by methods such as vacuum / pressure methods. Wood impregnated with such a composition generally exhibits minimal leaching of boron compounds. It has been observed for micronized particles that in most cases at least 10 wt % of the micronized particles present in the wood substrate after impregnation have penetrated to a depth of 0.3 millimeters or greater. In other embodiments, at least 20 or 35 wt % of the micronized particles present inside the wood substrate after treatment have penetrated to a depth of 0.3 mm or greater.

Problems solved by technology

As a result, they will decay, weaken in strength, and discolor.

Wood is also subject to destruction or degradation through other destructive agencies.

In particular, wood is generally highly flammable, which can limit its usefulness in applications involving high temperatures or proximity of flames or flammable materials.

However, a major limitation of these commercially available preservatives is that the boron compounds readily leach from wood when exposed to environmental moisture, resulting in a diminished bioefficacy, especially over extended time periods.

However, due to the incompatibility of the silicate and borate solutions, this method is likely to create a cross contamination problem in commercial wood treating plants.

In addition, the two-step treating process is expensive and time consuming.

However, current processes generally require the dissolution of the boron compound in a solvent, usually ammonia, which can be difficult and dangerous to work with due to its noxious fumes.

However, many organic biocides have limited water-solubility.

However, the solubilizing agents, surfactants, and wetting agents are costly and the use of these products can result in enhanced leaching of the biocides when the treated material comes into contact with moisture, giving rise to field performance problems and environmental issues.

Despite many efforts to address these deficiencies in existing wood preservatives, there is an unmet need for aqueous boron-based wood preservatives which, upon contact with moisture, exhibit only minimal leaching into the environment.

However, the above methods for incorporating flame retardant boron-containing compounds into wood or wood products is only applicable to composite wood products.

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