Lanolin as a Natural Agent for Improving Hydrophobicity and Biological Durability of Wood

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Abstract

As a society, we are facing an environmental crisis, and as a result, nature-based and environmentally friendly solutions are gaining increasing popularity. The development of environmentally friendly wood-protection systems is an important challenge in materials science. In this study, lanolin-based emulsions were systematically evaluated as natural agents for improving the hydrophobicity and biological durability of wood. Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) samples were treated with four types of lanolin emulsions, including variants containing boric acid, and subsequently analysed in terms of contact angle, resistance to wood-decay fungi (Coniophora puteana and Pleurotus ostreatus), and susceptibility to mould and microfungi growth (Chaetomium globosum; and mixture of: Chaetomium globosum, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium, Paeciliomyces variotti, Alternaria tenuis, and Trichoderma viride). This study investigates whether, and to what extent, the application of lanolin affects surface hydrophobization and thus improves its resistance to fungi. The results demonstrate that lanolin treatments, like paraffin or carnauba wax, significantly increase surface hydrophobicity, with contact angles rising from approximately 58° for untreated wood to 85–105° for treated samples. This effect is associated with reduced biological degradation, as evidenced by lower mass loss in treated samples compared to controls. Depending on the formulation, mass loss was reduced by up to approximately 30 percentage points for Coniophora puteana and up to approximately four percentage points for Pleurotus ostreatus. The incorporation of boric acid further enhanced resistance to wood-decay fungi, while slightly reducing contact angle values. The results indicate that lanolin-based emulsions can effectively improve both the moisture resistance and the biological durability of wood. The study provides a comprehensive experimental assessment of lanolin as a sustainable alternative to conventional hydrophobic agents and demonstrates its potential for application in wood-protection systems.

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