Biotechnology and the

disposal of toxic
preservatives and
bioremediation of
wood treated with
preservatives
 Toxic Preservatives from Wood Processing
Operations
WOOD PRESERVATIVES:
1. WATER BORNE
 CCA – Chromated Copper Arsenate
 ammoniacal copper arsenate (ACA) and ammoniacal copper
zinc arsenate (ACZA)
2. OIL BORNE
 Creosote
 PCP -Pentachlorophenol
 Disposal of toxic preservatives

Reuse
Recycle
Combustion
Disposal in Landfill
Bioremediation
 BIOREMEDIATION

any process that uses microorganisms or their

enzymes to return the environment altered by
contaminants to its original condition
use of microorganismal metabolism to remove
pollutants
may be in situ or ex situ
 BIOREMEDIATION TECHNOLOGIES

Phytoremediation
use of plants to remove pollutants from soil and groundwater
or to assist in the degradation of contaminants to a less toxic
form
Bioaugmentation
 introduction of specially selected or genetically engineered
strains of microbes to a contaminated site
Biostimulation
 addition of oxygen and/or inorganic nutrients to indigenous
microbial populations in soils and groundwater
 BIOREMEDIATION TECHNOLOGIES

Bioreactors
  highly controlled methods of treating contaminated soils and
groundwater
Land-based Treatments
 solid-phase remediation, of contaminated soil usually
involves ex situ remediation methods
 Composting
 Land Farming
Fungal Remediation
 use of fungi to remediate organic soil contaminants, primarily
hydrocarbons
 Bioremediation of Preservative Treated Wood

Biodegradation
 degradation of organic contaminants in soil and/or
groundwater by indigenous or transplanted/acclimated
microorganisms, primarily bacteria and fungi. 

Composting
 controlled biological process to convert biodegradable
hazardous materials to harmless and stabilized by-products by
using microorganisms under elevated temperature
 Bioremediation of Preservative Treated Wood

Bacterial bioremediation
 Bacteria are often able to tolerate wood preservatives at
retention level usually employed to prevent fungal attack
 Members of Bacillus spp. and Pseudomonas spp.
 have the ability of attack wood treated with oil preservatives
(copper napthenate and pentachlorophenol)
 more resistant to copper than decay fungi
 Bacteria causes no structural damage to wood fibers
 allows for recycling of the preservatives and reuse of cleaned wood
fiber in a secondary application
 Bioremediation of Preservative Treated Wood

Bacterial bioremediation
 Pseudomonas creosotensis – decomposes creosote
 Arthrobacter sp. – degrades PCP
 Bacillus licheniformis – extensively sued bacteria for
bioremediating CCA treated wood
 Other Bacteria used for bioremediating CCA treated wood are:
 Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, Aureobacterium esteroaromaticum,
and Klebsiella oxytoca (removes Chromium from treated wood)
 Bioremediation of Preservative Treated Wood

Two-Step Bacterial bioremediation for CCA treated

wood
1. Acid extraction
 Enhances metal removal
 Oxalic acid extraction – chemically leaches copper, chromium and
arsenic
2. Bacterial fermentation
 Bioremediation of Preservative Treated Wood

Purpose of pretreating wood with oxalic acid:

 It partially solubilized CCA components so that the bacteria
could easily remove the metals
 Sanitizes the wood and processing equipment to reduce
contamination
 Bioremediation of Preservative Treated Wood

Mycoremediation
 Fungal bioremediation

 Waste management approach that reduces the volume of waste

wood and has the capacity to collect metals for reuse

 Rare strains of Basidiomycota and Ascomycota have been

shown to be tolerant to organopollutants and toxic metals
 Bioremediation of CCA Treated Wood

Wood Decaying Fungi that are Metal Tolerant and can

degrade ACQ and CCA treated wood:
Meruliporia incrassata
Antrodia radiculosa

White-rots were more tolerant to organic while

brown-rots were more tolerant to waterborne
preservatives (Illman, Young, & Ferge)