<Original>Resistance of Acetylated Wood to Attack by Subterranean Termites

Abstract

Softwood veneers treated with acetic anhydride, in the presence of sodium acetate as a catalyst, were found to be resistant of attack by subterranean termites. Coptotermes formosanus was able to attack acetylated wood, but loss in volume of the wood decreased according to the increase of weight gain during acetylation. Acetylated wood was hardly ingested by the other kind of termite, Reticulitermes speratus. Resistance of acetylated wood was assumed to be due to the inability of symbiotic protozoa to utilize wood as a result of stable chemical bonds in water-accessible regions of the cell wall components.