Wood preservatives

DE-C 34 47 027 describes wood preservatives which are comprised of copper and boron compounds and contain for each gram-atom of copper, 0.5 to 2.5 gram atoms of boron and 2 to 10 moles of an alkanol amine. According to DE-A 35 20 394, a copper salt solution is adjusted with an alkanol amine and potentially an alkali metal base to a pH-value of at least 8. Such agents can additionally contain a boron salt and another water-soluble fungicide, particularly up to 25 percent by weight of the finished agent, of quaternary ammonium salts. The copper salts are fixed through neutralization with wood constituents or CO from the atmosphere. In spite of the additional use of the quaternary ammonium salts, the effect of these agents, particularly the long-term effect, is not sufficient to achieve the protective effect desired by the consumer. A chromium-free wood preservative consisting essentially of 1 to 35% by weight of a mixture of 25 to 75 parts by weight of a fatty amine ethoxylate and 75 to 25 parts by weight of at least one member of the group consisting of an unsaturated fatty acid of 3 to 25 carbon atoms and their copper and zinc salts and water.