Mögeltillväxt på behandlad och modifierad furu

Sammanfattning: Mould growing indoors has been shown to cause health problems such as respiratory disorders, allergies and eczema. Since we spend most of our lives in indoor environments, it is important to find solutions to this problem. As mould spores are present in the air one cannot avoid getting them into buildings, but it is possible to prevent the spores from germinating. The purpose of this project was to investigate how different treatments and modifications of pine wood resist mould growth. We examined acetylated, furfurylated impregnated and heat treated wood that all are designed to make pine more resistant to biological attack. The treated and impregnated wood materials tested were inoculated with spores of selected moulds and placed in climate boxes with constant relative humidity and temperature. The temperature of the climate boxes was 25 °C and there were four relative humidities in the range of 85-98%. Incubation lasted five weeks and mould growth was checked and ranked each week. In the climate box with 98% RH heat treated pine was the material on which the mould developed quickest and which had the greatest spread of mould. As far as furfurylated and acetylated pine were concerned the amount of mould was similar. Fouling of the mould began later on these samples than on the untreated pine but then grew quicker and became more heavy than the untreated pine. On the untreated pine one could see fouling began after two weeks, but it did not grow as quickly as on the acetylated, furfurylated and heat treated pine. Impregnated pine seemed to resist mould the best during these five weeks.