Alternative wood preservatives for use in Indonesia

In Indonesia, the wood preservative chromated copper arsenate (CCA) was recently banned. Within the United States and Indonesia, a search for alternative wood preservatives is underway. Collaborative research was initiated to evaluate alternative preservatives for protection of several temperate and tropical wood species. Soil-block decay tests were conducted on southern yellow pine 19-mm cubes. Results would be indicative of the probable performance of preservatives in Pinus merkusii Jungh and de Vriese, which in Indonesia, is an important species used for cooling towers. This study showed that preservatives other than CCA can be used to protect pine sapwood from decay fungi of importance in Indonesia. Furthermore, it is possible to achieve with other preservatives a level of protection that is equivalent to that achieved by treatment with CCA to a target retention of 8.0 kg/m.