**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** DEMAND FOR WOOD PRODUCTS IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION HAS GROWN SIGNIFICANTLY BECAUSE OF SUSTAINABILITY OF WOOD AS A NATURAL STRUCTURAL MATERIAL (E.G., LOW GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION AND LOW PRODUCTION ENERGY). ORIENTED STRAND BOARD (OSB) AS ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL WOOD COMPOSITES FINDS NUMEROUS APPLICATIONS IN BUILDINGS AS SHEATHING PANELS OF WALL AND FLOOR SYSTEMS. HOWEVER, INHERENT VULNERABILITY OF WOOD AGAINST BIOLOGICAL DECAY HAS HAMPERED THE USES OF THE STRAND-BASED WOOD COMPOSITE IN BUILDING APPLICATIONS. MOREOVER, CONVENTIONAL WOOD PROTECTION PRACTICES (COPPER, ZINC, AND BORATE COMPOUNDS) SUFFER FROM POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL/HEALTH RISKS AND PREMATURE LEACHING. THUS, THERE IS A CRITICAL NEED FOR DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL WOOD PRESERVATIVE BEING EFFECTIVE AND COMPATIBLE WITH WOOD COMPOSITE PRODUCTS. OUR PROJECT AIMS TO DEVELOP A MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY FOR A STRAND-BASED WOOD COMPOSITE INCORPORATING AN ESSENTIAL OIL (EO) BASED NATURAL WOOD PRESERVATIVE SYSTEM. BY ENCAPSULATING EOS IN BETA-CYCLODEXTRIN (ΒCD), THE EOS-ΒCD NATURAL PRESERVATIVE WILL CONFER ANTIFUNGAL AND ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES WITHOUT PREMATURE LEACHING OF OTHERWISE VOLATILE EOS. THE EOS-ΒCD PRESERVATIVE WILL BE PRODUCED BY AN ULTRASOUND SYNTHESIS METHOD TO ENSURE HIGH YIELD AND VOLUME RELEVANT TO WOOD PRODUCTS. MANUFACTURING PROTOCOLS OF OSB WITH THE APPLICATION OF THE NATURAL PRESERVATIVE WILL BE DEVELOPED TO PROVIDE MEANINGFUL GUIDELINES TO INDUSTRIAL WOOD COMPOSITE PROCESSES. FABRICATED OSB CONTAINING EOS-ΒCD WILL BE EVALUATED ON MECHANICAL, BIOLOGICAL, AND WEATHERING DURABILITY PERFORMANCE. RETENTION AND VOLATILE EMISSION OF EO IN OSB WILL BE QUANTITATED. PROJECT OUTCOMES WILL EXPAND MARKET FOR ENGINEERED WOOD PRODUCTS IN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION, WHICH WILL BENEFIT FOREST-BASED PRODUCTS AND FOREST RESOURCES.

Mississippi State University, Mississippi State MS

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