The goal of this study was to investigate the impact of wood modification with polyethylene glycol (PEG) 400 and various carboxylic acids (citric acid (CA), malic acid (MA) and 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA)) on the biological durability of beech wood (Fagus sylvatica) and Scots pine sapwood (Pinus sylvestris). For the brown, white and soft rot experiments, mass losses (ML) were calculated according to the respective standards. Weight percent gain, bulking and anti-swelling efficiency were determined to determine the quality of the modifications. Modifying agents, fixed inside the wood, demonstrated anti-swelling efficiency after leaching cycles (beech wood: 9–46 %). The decay resistance against brown and white rot fungi was considerably improved, with PEG/CA and PEG/BTCA being more effective than PEG/MA. Beech wood modified with PEG/CA achieved durability class (DC) 1–2, PEG/BTCA reached DC 1 and PEG/MA fell into DC 2–4. For Scots pine sapwood, PEG/CA and PEG/BTCA reached DC 1, while PEG/MA only achieved DC 4.
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