A Unique Fungicide for Wood-Filled Plastic

摘要

The agrichemical, folpet, is shown to be an effective fungicide for use in a broad range of plastics including wood-filled plastics. Performance is evaluated through a tiered product development program utilizing: 1) Petri dish and environmental chamber accelerated laboratory testing of weathered samples and 2) the exterior exposure of panels or full-scale constructs (e.g., test decks). The mechanism of action of folpet, a trichloromethylthio-adduct, trichloromethylthioph-thalimide, is discussed. The folpet active ingredient is additionally compounded into several physical forms that include resin and lubricant-pellet concentrates and granules for ease of processing into plastics and wood-filled plastic composites based on polyolefins, polyvinyl chloride, and other resins. Data are presented that demonstrate protection from microbial defacement and deterioration at use-levels of 0.3 to 0.5 percent and treatment costs of cents per board-foot of composite without significant impact on physical properties. In addition, thermostability data for folpet and flexural properties of the finished wood-plastic composite are presented. Air monitoring during extrusion operations shows that folpet-based products are easily handled safely in the work environment. A manufacturing case study is presented.