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Wood Colorization Through Pressure Treating: The Potential Of Extracted Colorants From Spalting Fungi As A Replacement For Woodworkers’ Aniline Dyes, Sara C. Robinson, Eric Hinsch, Genevieve Weber, Kristina Leipus, Daniel Cerney

Michigan Tech Publications

The extracellular colorants produced by Chlorociboria aeruginosa, Scytalidium cuboideum, and Scytalidium ganodermophthorum, three commonly utilized spalting fungi, were tested against a standard woodworker’s aniline dye to determine if the fungal colorants could be utilized in an effort to find a naturally occurring replacement for the synthetic dye. Fungal colorants were delivered in two methods within a pressure treater—the first through solubilization of extracted colorants in dichloromethane, and the second via liquid culture consisting of water, malt, and the actively growing fungus. Visual external evaluation of the wood test blocks showed complete surface coloration of all wood species with all colorants, …