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e application of bicine or tricine for limiting termite attack of thermally
modified wood
Dennis Jones 1, Lina Nunes 2, Sonia Duarte 3
1. Wood Science and Engineering Division, Department of Engineering Sciences and Mathematics, Luleå University of Technology,
931 87 Skellefteå, Sweden. E-mail: dennis.jones@ltu.se
2. Structures Department, National Laboratory for Civil Engineering, Structures Department, Av. do Brasil, 101, 1700-066 Lisbon,
Portugal. E-mail: linanunes@lnec.pt
3. ISA, Universidade de Lisboa and LEAF- Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food Research Centre, Tapada da
Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisboa, Portugal. E-mail: smpduarte@gmail.com
Construction with timber is increasing in popularity, driven by sustainability agendas, ease of construction,
aesthetics and human health. This increase in popularity coincides with European regulations, and
particularly the European Green Deal, which was adopted by the European Parliament in January 2020.
These new initiatives are seeing the use of wood in construction becoming more acceptable globally,
resulting in their use in regions susceptible to decay from fungi due to high moisture levels, or from
predating insects.
Termites (Blattodea; formerly Isoptera) are consumers of cellulose and lignocellulose found in dead
wood, grass, microepiphytes, leaf litter, and sometimes cultivated fungi. Some 3,000 species of termites
are recognised, most living in tropical and temperate regions in the USA, Central America, most of South
America, southern Europe, Africa, Middles East, Southern Asia, Japan and Oceania. Of these, the species
most responsible for structural damage are Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, Coptotermes gestroi
(Wasmann) and Cryptotermes brevis (Walker) (Rust and Su, 2012). Of these 3,000 species, only 83 are
considered to present a risk to wooden structures and furniture (Rust and Su, 2012). Europe lies on the
border of traditional termite presence, but global warming is recognised as widening their distribution,
particularly into more northerly areas.
The desire to incorporate wood in modern construction has led to a considerable increase in the use of
wood modification techniques, especially thermal modification. However, thermally modified wood has
poor performance against termites. The concept of using a combined chemical and thermal modification
has been undertaken through the impregnation with either bicine or tricine prior to modification. This
paper considers the effects of these chemicals on the activity of termites and considers their mode of
action in terms of termite survival and on their effects on the symbiotic protists present within the termite
gut.
Keywords: thermally modified wood, bicine, tricine, termites
Acknowledgement
The work described in the present paper was conducted under the LNEC P2I project ConstBio. SD’s work
was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) (SFRH/BD/84920/2012).
Samples were prepared under a Short-Term Scientific Mission funded to DJ in COST Action FP1407,
which is hereby acknowledged. Assistance in preparation and treatment of samples within the STSM
was provided by members of the University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, Ljubljana, Slovenia (Davor
Kržišnik, Miha Hočevar, Miha Humar, Nejc Thelar), without whom this study would not have been possible.
HEALTHY AND SUSTAINABLE RENOVATION WITH RENEWABLE MATERIALS
31
modified wood
Dennis Jones 1, Lina Nunes 2, Sonia Duarte 3
1. Wood Science and Engineering Division, Department of Engineering Sciences and Mathematics, Luleå University of Technology,
931 87 Skellefteå, Sweden. E-mail: dennis.jones@ltu.se
2. Structures Department, National Laboratory for Civil Engineering, Structures Department, Av. do Brasil, 101, 1700-066 Lisbon,
Portugal. E-mail: linanunes@lnec.pt
3. ISA, Universidade de Lisboa and LEAF- Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food Research Centre, Tapada da
Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisboa, Portugal. E-mail: smpduarte@gmail.com
Construction with timber is increasing in popularity, driven by sustainability agendas, ease of construction,
aesthetics and human health. This increase in popularity coincides with European regulations, and
particularly the European Green Deal, which was adopted by the European Parliament in January 2020.
These new initiatives are seeing the use of wood in construction becoming more acceptable globally,
resulting in their use in regions susceptible to decay from fungi due to high moisture levels, or from
predating insects.
Termites (Blattodea; formerly Isoptera) are consumers of cellulose and lignocellulose found in dead
wood, grass, microepiphytes, leaf litter, and sometimes cultivated fungi. Some 3,000 species of termites
are recognised, most living in tropical and temperate regions in the USA, Central America, most of South
America, southern Europe, Africa, Middles East, Southern Asia, Japan and Oceania. Of these, the species
most responsible for structural damage are Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, Coptotermes gestroi
(Wasmann) and Cryptotermes brevis (Walker) (Rust and Su, 2012). Of these 3,000 species, only 83 are
considered to present a risk to wooden structures and furniture (Rust and Su, 2012). Europe lies on the
border of traditional termite presence, but global warming is recognised as widening their distribution,
particularly into more northerly areas.
The desire to incorporate wood in modern construction has led to a considerable increase in the use of
wood modification techniques, especially thermal modification. However, thermally modified wood has
poor performance against termites. The concept of using a combined chemical and thermal modification
has been undertaken through the impregnation with either bicine or tricine prior to modification. This
paper considers the effects of these chemicals on the activity of termites and considers their mode of
action in terms of termite survival and on their effects on the symbiotic protists present within the termite
gut.
Keywords: thermally modified wood, bicine, tricine, termites
Acknowledgement
The work described in the present paper was conducted under the LNEC P2I project ConstBio. SD’s work
was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) (SFRH/BD/84920/2012).
Samples were prepared under a Short-Term Scientific Mission funded to DJ in COST Action FP1407,
which is hereby acknowledged. Assistance in preparation and treatment of samples within the STSM
was provided by members of the University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, Ljubljana, Slovenia (Davor
Kržišnik, Miha Hočevar, Miha Humar, Nejc Thelar), without whom this study would not have been possible.
HEALTHY AND SUSTAINABLE RENOVATION WITH RENEWABLE MATERIALS
31
