Fire performance and leach resistance of pine wood impregnated with guanyl-urea phosphate/boric acid and a melamine-formaldehyde resin

Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) wood impregnated with guanyl-urea phosphate/boric acid and a melamine-formaldehyde resin exhibited considerably increased resistance to leaching, while sustaining superior fire retardancy as tested by the limiting oxygen index (LOI) method. It was found that guanyl-urea phosphate has been well trapped in the wood structure by the cured resin network as evidenced by FTIR spectroscopy. Markedly, weight percentage gain (WPG) losses of fire retardant as low as 7.4% were achieved after excessive leaching of treated wood (EN 84). This was attributed to the effect of melamine-formaldehyde resin. Overall, this type of treatment could be a reliable method for producing fire-resistant pine wood for exterior uses.