Resistance of modified polyvinyl chloride/wood flour composites to basidiomycetes

Aminosilane, melamine and acetic anhydride treated wood flour were added to polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and manufactured into wood-plastic composites (WPC) panels in order to investigate the influence of modification on the resistance to basidiomycetes of the composite. The composite consisted of 50 wt% wood and 50 wt% PVC dry blend. White rot (Trametes versicolor) and brown rot (Coniophora puteana) fungi were used to inoculate the composite. Test procedure was carried out according to ENV 12038 with an additional water pre-treatment of the composite. All tested formulations showed high resistance to basidiomycetes under the test conditions. With regard to the modifications used, only aminosilane treated composites showed slightly decreased weight loss values compared to the untreated reference.