Exploratory Research on Silver Chemicals as Wood Preservatives

摘要

Silver metal and silver compounds have been used dating back to ancient times for their antimicrobial properties. It is employed as a bactericide and algaecide in an ever increasing number of water purification systems in hospitals and, more recently,domestic households. Silver ions have been used to purify drinking water and swimming pool water for generations. Developing the capability to use silver chemicals for wood preservation in soil and water is important to achieve the goal of preventing environmental contamination by wood preservatives containing arsenic. Current knowledge of silver chemicals for wood preservation is not sufficient to predict their effectiveness against wood destroying and disfiguring organisms. The overall objective is to determine the effectiveness of commercial silver formulations as wood preservatives in soil and water. We have evaluated 11 silver formulations of liquid and solid chemicals from nine companies and the results are discussed below. To our knowledge, weare the first to carry out this exploratory research and report the possibilities for alternative wood preservation by silver formulations.