Wood vinegar

[barney]

Hi
Anyone here have any experience with making/using wood vinegar.
I Have produced some raw wood vinegar i have filted it through crushed charcoal to clean up the light oil layer on top and also the thick wood tar,but it is still a little cloudy.
Is there any way of cleaning this up,or do you just wait for it to settle out.
To use wood vinegar on plants you have to dilute,but to use on soil in garden or as a activator for compost do you dilute or use neat,if dilution is required what ratio should i use.
Cheers
Barney

[barney]

Is there no one using Wood vinegar out there ?.

[freeztar]

Originally Posted by barney

Is there no one using Wood vinegar out there ?.

I didn't even know you could until just now! Here's a good page on it that I found:

Leave the raw wood vinegar for 3 months to become silted. The vinegar will turn yellow like vegetable oil. After which, it will turn light brown and the tar will become silted. The top content will be a light, clear oil. Remove the tar and light oil, as well as the dark brown translucent oil and the remainder will be sour vinegar (Fig. 3).

Wood Vinegar

[Essay]

Originally Posted by freeztar

I didn't even know you could until just now! Here's a good page on it that I found:
Wood Vinegar

I hate to admit, I was clueless.... Musta missed that day....

...oh no! Another thing to learn all about....

...from your vinegar link:

Originally Posted by FFTC

Wood vinegar is a byproduct from charcoal production. It is a liquid generated from the gas and combustion of fresh wood burning in airless condition. When the gas is cooled, it condenses into liquid. Raw wood vinegar has more than 200 chemicals, such as acetic acid, formaldehyde, ethyl-valerate, methanol, tar, etc.

Thanks Barney, for bringing this up!

...~

[freeztar]

Yeah, the formaldehyde part threw me for a loop. I wonder how much is in one liter of wood vinegar??

[Essay]

Originally Posted by freeztar

Yeah, the formaldehyde part threw me for a loop. I wonder how much is in one liter of wood vinegar??

Many of these chemicals will be, like CH2O, very volatile.

Originally Posted by In My Garden Blog

National Gardening Association :: Regional Reports
Plants absorb pollutants through their leaves, where naturally occurring microorganisms break down the chemicals. Some absorption and breakdown also occurs in common potting soil.

The original research on plant filtering began with NASA, when they needed to find ways to reduce the high amount of pollutants emitted by equipment in the confined environment of the space shuttle. Happily, the National Space Technology Lab found that many common houseplants significantly reduced the amounts of pollutants, particularly nitrogen and formaldehyde.

In fact, a single spider plant in a closed chamber containing formaldehyde removed 85 percent of the pollutant in 24 hours. As few as fifteen plants can significantly reduce pollutants in the average house. This study recommends that we use one potted plant for every 100 square feet of floor space for pollution control.

Hey! We need a trillion indoor plants! ...hmmmm

~

[Essay]

I also wonder how much acetic acid is in this "vinegar."
Wood vinegar may be a misleading term, but whatever....
===

I was thinking acetic acid had some plant hormone activity, but ultimately I think the "wood vinegar" is feeding the wee beasties of the soil; which then feed the plants!

re: Indole-3-Acetic Acid [The plant-growth hormone indole 3-acetic acid (I3-AA) or heteroauxin is structurally similar to tryptophan and serotonin. (jn.nutrition.org/cgi/reprint/65/2/199.pdf) ]

Activation of the Indole-3-Acetic Acid-Amido Synthetase GH3-8 Suppresses Expansin Expression and Promotes Salicylate- and Jasmonate-Independent Basal Immunity in Rice -- Ding et al. 20 (1): 228 -- THE PLANT CELL
IAA induces the expression of expansins, proteins that loosen the cell wall. Loosening the cell wall is key for plant growth but may also make the plant vulnerable to biotic intruders. Here, we report that rice GH3-8, an auxin-responsive gene functioning in auxin-dependent development, activates disease resistance in a salicylic acid signaling– and jasmonic acid signaling–independent pathway.

...also:

SpringerLink - Journal Article
Journal: World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
Title: "Plant growth hormone (IAA) production from olive oil mill and alcohol factory wastewaters by white rot fungi "

~Yum... white rot fungi

[barney]

Links to information on Wood Vinegar also called Pyroligneous acid & Charcoal Vinegar & Bamboo Vinegar.
Busy, busy, busy...: Charcoal and wood vinegar
Cuka Kayu @ Wood Vinegar: Typical Consumption and Dilution
Wood Vinegar Ppt Presentation
Charcoal and Wood Vinegar Reactors | BioEnergy Lists: Terra Preta (Biochar)
http://www.inbar.int/Upfiles/200877162939764.pdf
Forest Energy Forum No 9
http://graduate.cs.buu.ac.th/proceed..._005_2008I.pdf

Cheers

[pamela]

Barney, just a heads up on the formaldehyde aspect

from Wiki
Occupational exposure to formaldehyde by inhalation is mainly from three types of sources: thermal or chemical decomposition of formaldehyde-based resins, formaldehyde emission from aqueous solutions (for example, embalming fluids), and the production of formaldehyde resulting from the combustion of a variety of organic compounds (for example, exhaust gases). Formaldehyde can be toxic, allergenic, and carcinogenic. Because formaldehyde resins are used in many construction materials it is one of the more common indoor air pollutants. At concentrations above 3 ppb in air formaldehyde can irritate the eyes and mucous membranes, resulting in watery eyes. Formaldehyde inhaled at this concentration may cause headaches, a burning sensation in the throat, and difficulty breathing, as well as triggering or aggravating asthma symptoms.

Formaldehyde - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Michaelangelica]

There is a local Chinese Guy who imports it and charcoal.