WaterAbsorptionandDurabilityofWoodPlasticComposites MarekGnatowski,Ph.D.,ResearchDirector,PolymerEngineeringCompanyLtd. Burnaby,BC,Canada Abstract Waterabsorptioninwoodplasticcomposites(WPC)isstillacontroversialbut importantissueassociatedwithcompositedurability. Inthispaper,waterabsorptionbyWPCboardsexposedtoexteriorconditionsin Vancouver,BCforaperiodofupto6yearsisexamined.Theboardsweremade usingdifferentmaterialformulationsthatmatchedthewaterabsorption characteristicsofavarietyofcommercialproductsavailableinNorthAmericain 20012002. Thetotalwaterabsorptionandwaterdistributionwithintheboardswasevaluated withthefocuson:(1)periodofexposure(2)woodcontentincomposite(3)exposure location(sunorshadow)(4)exposuregeographicallocation(5)woodspecies(6) presenceofUVstabilizers(7)presenceofzincborate.

e.Theeffectofwaterabsorption onbiologicalactivitywithintheWPCboardsaswellasmechanicalpropertieswillbe discussed. ItwasfoundthatWPCmayabsorbasignificantquantityofwaterduringprolonged exposuretoexteriorconditions,andthewatercontentinthematerialseemsto increaseduringtheexposureperiod.Thismaybeassociatedwiththelossofsome mechanicalpropertiesandthepresenceofbiologicalactivity,includingdecayfungi. Introduction Waterseemstobeanenvironmentalfactorthataffectspracticallyallmaterialsexposed toexteriorconditions.Waterispresenteverywhere,andevenondrysunnydayswe mayseelongperiodsofheavydewformationduringthenight,fromearlyeveningto latemorning.Itisexpectedthatwatermayalsoaffectperformanceandpropertiesof WoodPlasticComposites(WPC)includingmechanicalproperties,dimensionalstability, warping,andintensificationofbiologicalactivity.(117)Forthisreasonwaterabsorption byWPCshasbecomeourprimeinterestinresearchondurabilityofthesenew materials.Itiswidelyknownthatthereissomecontroversysurroundingwater absorptionbywoodplasticcomposites.Fromonesidethereisaperceptioninindustry thatwoodparticlesareeffectivelyencapsulatedinwaterimperviousplastic.While woodmayabsorbasmuchasabout25%watertofibersaturationpoint,polyolefins, includingpolyethylenewhichcreatesacontinuousphaseofthecomposite,mayabsorb only0.01%moistureafterimmersion.Therearehowever,signsthatcontradictthese optimisticexpectations.Thereispublisheddatathatindicatesexpansion,warpage, decay,andeventhepresenceoffruitingbodiesofdecayfungiontheWPCsurfacein thefield.(4,10,12,13,14)Thissuggestsaratherhighwaterpresenceintheevaluated materialsexposedtoweatherelements. 1

Toshedsomelightonthiscontroversy,in2000PolymerEngineeringCompanyLtd. undertookresearchonwaterabsorptionbyWPCexposedtoexteriorconditionsto gatherscientificdatainthisrespect.Theexperimentalsamplesusedinthiswork simulatedtheextremeperformanceofcommercialcomposites.Thesamplesdiscussed inthispaperwereexposedinthemild,temperateclimateofVancouver,BCforupto6 years,andalsoanevaluationwasdoneforboardsexposedlaterintropicalHilo,Hawaii. Theobjectiveofthispaperistosharewithyousomeourresults.Certainresultshave beendiscussedinpreviousWPCconferencesinMadison(15)andinToronto(17)andthey mayberepeatedhereforcomparisonpurposes. SamplePreparationandExposure Samplesusedforevaluationweremadeintwogroupsrepresentedbyformulations#5 and#12,containingnominalwoodcontentof50%and65%.(table1).Woodcontentof 50%and65%areshownforsimplicity.Further,samples#5and#12wereoptionally modifiedbytheadditionofaUVstabilizerpackagecontainingorganicUVabsorbers, freeradicalsscavengersandinorganicpigments,and/orzincboratebiocide.Also,for simplicity,thequantityofHDPEisgivenas45%and30%respectively.Acorrectionto accommodateadditiveswasdoneaccordinglywithoutdisplayingtherelativelysmall changesrequiredinwoodandresincontents. Formulations#5and#12wereestablishedsothatwaterabsorptioninequilibriumand kineticsresembledsomecommercialWPCwithextremeperformancewithrespectto waterabsorptioncollectedinNorthAmericaandtestedforthispurposeduringthe periodfrom2000to2002.(figures1and2)
45% W a te r A b s o rp tio n (% ) 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% A B C E F G H I J K L M N O 5 6 12 13 Commercial Experimental

Figure1.Waterabsorptioninequilibriumforcommercial(AO) andexperimental(5,6,12,13)WPC

40% 35% L W a t e r A b s o rp t io n ( % )

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Figure2.Kineticsofwaterabsorptionbyselectedsamplesof commercialandexperimentalWPC

WPCboardsusedfortestingwereextrudedatWashingtonStateUniversity,WoodMaterials andEngineeringLaboratoryunderwellcontrolledconditionsusinga55mmconicalcounter rotatingMillicrontwinscrewextruder. Sampleswerecollectedinthefieldbycuttingtheendoftheexposedboardtobecross sectionedinthelaboratory,asshowninfigure3.Carewastakentoavoidlossofmoisture duringmaterialhandling.

Figure3.Specimencuttingpatternandpresentationofmoisturecontent(MC) andwaterabsorption(WA)intestedsamples

 BydryingsectionB,theaveragewaterabsorption(WA)forthetestedboardwas established.Withtheknowledgeoftheexactwoodcontentinthesamples,moisture content(MC)inwoodforeachspecimenwasthencalculated.Thismoisturecontentin wood,asanimportantfactorincompositeperformance,isshowninbargraphs(figure 3)inthispaper.Furthermore,bywaferingsectionCofthesample,wewereableto findthemoisturecontentdistributionwithintheexposedboardsasafunctionofthe boardthicknessasshowninfigure3.Allgraphsclearlyindicatethemoisturecontent requiredtoinitiatedecay,whichisabout25%. Thetestedsampleswereexposedinsunandshadowintwogeographicallocations; Vancouver,BCandHilo,Hawaii.Thelocationswereselectedinsuchawaythatthey representedamoderate,temperateclimateaswellasatropicalclimatethatcouldbe expectedtobemoreaggressive.Thisaggressivenesswithrespecttobiologicalactivity couldberepresentedbytheSchefferIndex:Hilo331,andVancouver(Seattle)49. Resultsanddiscussion Theevaluationoftheexposedsamplesallowedforthecollectionofinformationabout waterabsorption,takingintoconsiderationthefollowingfactors: Periodofexposure Woodcontentincomposite Exposurelocation(sunandshadow) Exposuregeographicallocation Woodspecies PresenceofUVstabilizers Presenceofbiocide(zincborate)

 Ascanbeseeninfigure4,duringthefirst4yearsmoisturecontentinthetested samplesgrewrapidly,andlateron,betweenthe4thand6thyears,aplateauseemedto beachieved.However,lookingatwaterdistributionwithintheboardswecouldseea constantincreaseinmoisturecontentinthecenterofthesamples,withadecreasein MCnearthesurface.Thiscouldbeduetoclimaticvariabilitypriortosampleharvesting. Aportionofthespecimensexceededthemoisturecontentrequiredforinitiationof decay. Thiscanalsobeseenonthemajorityofthegraphs.

Figure4.MoisturecontentanditsdistributioninsamplesofWPCexposedin Vancouver,BC(sunnylocation)for70months

 Woodcontent,asexpected,seemstobeanimportantfactorinwaterabsorptionby WPC.Justanincreaseinpineflourcontentfromabout50to65%,causedanincreasein moisturecontentofabout100%regardlessoftheexposureperiod(figure5).Therewas alsoasignificantdifferenceinmoisturedistributionwithintheboard,particularlywith increaseddistancefromthesurface.

Figure5.MoisturecontentanditsdistributioninsamplesofWPCcontaining50and65%wood exposedinVancouver,BC(sunnylocation)for70months

 Surprisingly,therewererelativelysmalldifferencesinmoisturecontentforsamples exposedinsunandshadow.Samplesexposedinsunseemedtohaveevenhigher moisturecontent,particularlyinthecaseofcompositeswithlargerwoodcontentas showninfigure6.

Figure6.MoisturecontentanditsdistributioninsamplesofWPCexposedinVancouver,BC insunandshadowfor70months

 Evenmoresurprising,wastheperformanceofoursampleswhenexposureina moderatevs.tropicalclimatewascompared.SamplesexposedinVancouvershowed significantlyhighermoisturecontentthanthoseexposedinhotandverywetHilo, Hawaii(figure7).Thismaybeexplainedbythehigherevaporationrateintropical Hawaii,andthefactthatsampleswerealwaysharvestedinVancouverattheendofthe wetterwintermonthsofFebruaryorMarch.

Figure7.MoisturecontentanditsdistributioninsamplesofWPCexposedfor46months inVancouver,BCand51monthsinHilo,HI

 Woodspeciesalsoseemstoinfluencethewaterabsorptionofcomposites.Samples containingthesamequantityoftheoakflouralwaysshowedlowerwaterabsorptionin comparisontopinewhenexposedatthesamelocation(figure8).

Figure8.MoisturecontentanditsdistributioninsamplesofWPCmadefromdifferentwoodspecies(pine oroak)exposedinVancouver,BC(sunnylocation)for70months

 AdditivesusedinourUVstabilizerpackageseemedtoincreasethewaterabsorptionof thesamplesascanbeseeninfigure9.Thisappliedtobothformulationswithlowerand higherwoodcontent.Alargeincreaseinmoisturecontentoccurredallacrossthe boards,includingtheareaneartheboardsurfaceandalsointhecentre.

Figure9.MoisturecontentanditsdistributioninsamplesofWPC,withandwithoutUV stabilizerpackage,exposedinVancouver,BC(sunnylocation)for70months

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 Interestingandunexpectedwastheadditionofzincborate,knowntobeeffectiveasa fungicide.Thepresenceofzincborateseemedtodecreasewaterabsorptionin practicallyallofthetestedformulationsasshowninfigure10.

Figure10.MoisturecontentanditsdistributioninsamplesofWPC,withandwithout zincborate,exposedinVancouver,BC(sunnylocation)for70months

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 WaterabsorptionaffectedthedurabilityoftheWPCboards.Duringtestingofthe flexuralpropertiesofboardsexposedtoexteriorconditionsinVancouverforalmostsix years,wefoundthattheMOEwasreducedbyabout30%,regardlessofsunorshadow exposure(figure11).BoardsexposedinshadowseemedtohaveaslightlyhigherMOE buttherewasonlyarelativelysmallvariationinMOEbetweenthedifferentexposure conditions.Itmaybepointedoutthatthepresenceofzincborateonceagainaffected theboardperformance.Whileunexposedreferencesamplescontainingzincborate showedlowerMOE,alloftheexposedsampleswithzincboratehadstatistically significanthigherMOEasshownbycapitallettersonthegraph.

Figure11.ChangeinMOEofWPC,withUVstabilizerpackage,andwithandwithout zincborate,exposedinsunandshadowinVancouver,BCfor70months

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Moisturecontentwasalsomeasuredinthetestedsamplesdirectlyafterremovalfrom thefield.Inallsamplestested,theaverageMCwaswellbelowthedecaypoint.The averageMCwasinitiallyabout15to20%anddecreasedduring6dayconditioning(75F, 50%RH)onlytoabout10to15%.Moisturecontentinthetestedsamplesisshownin figure12.Thereferencesamplesused,whichwerestoredforoversixyearsina shelteredlocationthatwasheatedduringthewinter,hadonlyabout3%MC,evenafter conditioning.Moisturewastypicallysignificantlyhighernearthesamplesurface,which likelyaffectedthetestingresults.

Figure12.MoisturecontentanditsdistributionforsamplesofWPCexposedin Vancouver,BCfor70monthsandtestedformechanicalproperties(figure11)

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 Anotherconsequenceoftheobservedhighmoisturecontent,whichoftenexceeded 25%inmanysamples,seemedtobedecay.Decaywasfoundafterathorough inspectionofthesamplesafteronly28monthsexposureinHilo.Atthispoint,Iwould liketorepeatwhatwasmentionedearlier,thatHiloisaveryaggressiveplacewith respecttodecayandhasaSchefferindexofabout330,versusonlyabout50expected inVancouver.Aninitialbrieflookatthesampledidnotshowanythingunusual,onlya furthercarefulinspectionusingamagnifyingglassshowedsomestrangesurface topographyinthecentre,andsomedarkerthanusualsegmentsofwood.Further examinationofthesample,withopticalandSEMmicroscopes,revealedwhatseemed tobeadvanceddecaywithevidenceoffungalmyceliainsomeplaces(figure13).Ithas tobementionedthatthedecayregionwashardtothetouchandwaslimitedtothe internalportionofthesample.Theexternalpartoftheboardwasundamaged. Samplescollectedmorerecently,inHiloandVancouver,arestillunderevaluationinthis respect.

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Figure13.MicroscopicinspectionofinteriorofWPC(sample#8)exposedinHilo,HI (sunnylocation)for28months(A)digitalphotomicrography(BandC)optical microscopy(DandE)SEMmicroscopy.Pleasenotethedecayedwoodintheboard centre,andfungimyceliumfillingthecavitywithremainsofthewood.FiguresCandD showtheidenticalsampleareausingopticalmicroscopyandSEMrespectively.

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 Conclusions WoodPlasticComposites(WPC)boardsprogressivelyabsorbasignificant quantityofwaterduringexteriorexposure.Moisturecontentdistributioninthe boardcrosssectionshaveacharacteristicUshape,frequentlyexceedingthe concentrationrequiredfordecayinitiation. Waterabsorptionisalongprocess,andevenafter6yearsexposureina moderateclimate,equilibriumhaslikelynotbeenreached AmajorfactorinwaterabsorptionbyWPCwastheratioofwoodtoplastic binder;withtheincreaseofwoodcontent,moisturecontentprogressesvery quickly AnotherfactorinwaterabsorptionisthematerialcompositionofWPC.Certain additivesmaysignificantlyincreaseordecreasewaterabsorption(forexample zincboratedecreasedwaterabsorptioninthetestedformulations) Climateandsamplelocation(sunorshadow)maynotbeamajorfactorinwater absorption Itwasshownthatwaterabsorptioninexteriorexposuremostlikelyinfluenced MOEofselectedsamples(decrease~30%).Itwasobservedthatsome experimentalsampleswithasignificantamountofwaterabsorptionunderwent decayinexteriorexposure.
References:

1. Lopez,J,Sain,M.,andP.A.Copper,2004,DurabilityofNaturalFibrePlasticComposites forOutdoorApplications,ProgressinWoodfibrePlasticCompositesConference Proceedings,Toronto,Canada,May1011,2004 2. Ibach,R.E.,andC.M.Clemons,2004,FieldEvaluationsofExtrudedWoodfiberPlastic Composites,ProgressinWoodfibrePlasticCompositesConferenceProceedings, Toronto,Canada,May1011,2004 3. Ibach,R.E.ClemonsC.M.,andN.M.Stark,2003,CombinedUVandWaterExposureas aPreconditioningMethodinLaboratoryFungalDurabilityTesting,7thAnnual ConferenceonWoodfiberPlasticComposites,Madison(WN)May1920,2003 4. Morris,P.I.andP.A.Cooper,1997,Recycledplastic/woodcompositelumberattacked byfungi,ForestProductsJournal48(1):8688 5. Klyosov,A.,2004,NaturalandWoodfiberCompositesintheRealWorld,Progressin WoodfibrePlasticCompositesConferenceProceedings,Toronto,Canada,May1011, 2004 6. Rowell,R.A.,Lange,S.E.,andR.E.Jacobson,2002,EffectsofMoistureonAspen Fiber/PolypropyleneComposites,ProgressinWoodfibrePlasticComposites ConferenceProceedings,Toronto,Canada,May2324,2002 7. Verhey,S.A.,andP.E.Laks,2002,StrengthLossFollowingFungalAttackonWood Fiber/ThermoplasticComposites,ProgressinWoodfibrePlasticCompositesConference Proceedings,Toronto,Canada,May2324,2002 8. Sigworth,B.,2002,AdditivesforWoodfilledPolyolefinsCouplingAgents,Progressin WoodfibrePlasticCompositesConferenceProceedings,Toronto,Canada,May2324, 2002

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9. Gnatowski,M.andC.Mah,May2003,TestingofWoodPlasticComposites,7thAnnual ConferenceonWoodfiberPlasticComposites,Madison(WN)May1920,2003 10. Manning,M.,2004,CreatingValueinWPCProductswithAntiMicrobialsandStain ResistantAdditives,WPCConference,Baltimore,MD,October1112,2004 11. Zabel,R.A.andJ.J.Morrell.1992,WoodMicrobiology,DecayandItsPrevention 12. Morris,P.I.andP.A.Cooper,1997,ObservationsonPlasticLumberasaSubstitutefor PreservativeTreatedWood,18thAnnualMeetingoftheCWPA,pg117128,Vancouver, BC,November34,1997 13. Manning,M.,2006,FieldTestingofWPCsaCriticalComponentofDurability Evaluation,ProgressinWoodandBiofibrePlasticCompositesConferenceProceedings, Toronto,Canada,May12,2006 14. Manning,M.,Ascherl,F.,2007,WoodPlasticCompositeDurabilityandtheCompelling CaseforFieldTesting9thInternationalConferenceonWood&BiofiberPlastic Composites,Madison,WN,May2123,2007 15. Gnatowski,M.,2005,WaterAbsorptionbyWoodPlasticCompositesinExterior Exposure,8thInternationalConferenceonWoodfiberPlasticComposites,Madison, WI,May2325,2005 16. Gnatowski,M.,2007,RadiationInducedDegradationinWPCintheFieldandin LaboratoryConditions,9thInternationalConferenceonWood&BiofiberPlastic Composites,Madison,WN,May2123,2007 17. Gnatowski,M.,2008,WaterAbsorptionbyWoodPlasticCompositesFieldand LaboratoryChallenges,10thInternationalConferenceonProgressinBiofibrePlastic Composites,Toronto,Ontario,May1213,2008

Acknowledgements TheauthorofthispaperwouldliketothankthefollowingPolymerEngineeringstaffinvolvedinthis research:CeciliaStevens,Ph.D.,MathewLeung,B.Sc.,KateMao,B.Eng.,DavidLesewick,ChristineMah, B.Sc.,andBeverlyStart. IwouldalsoliketothankWashingtonStateUniversity(WoodMaterialsandEngineeringLab)fortheir supportinsamplepreparation.

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