Abstract
The decay resistance of wood-plastic composites composed of chips of Eucalyptus grandis W. Hill ex Maiden and low density polyethylene (LDPE) was evaluated according to ASTM D 2017-81 (1994AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TESTING AND MATERIALS. ASTM D 2017-81: Standard method for accelerated laboratory test of natural decay resistance of woods. Annual Book of ASTM Standards. Vol. 04.10. Philadelphia. pp. 324-328, 1994). The samples with plastic wood ratios of 40/60, 50/50, 60/40 e 100/0 were exposed to laboratory decay test using white-rot Trametes versicolor (Linnaeus ex Fries) Pilát and brown-rot Gloeophyllum trabeum (Persoon ex Fries) Murrill fungi. All composites were graded as “highly resistant” to the fungi attack, except the one made with 40% of plastic and exposed to the brown-rot fungus, which was graded as “resistant”. The decay susceptibility index (DSI) was calculated as well and showed that the composites were more resistant to fungi attack than the wood used as reference.
Key words
Gloeophyllum trabeum; Trametes versicolor
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