[Terrapreta] volatile matter and char

[Greg and April]

Just thinking out loud -

It occurs to me, that VM like methanol ( wood alcohol is considered a part of VM is it not? ) while toxic to some forms of life, is used as food by other forms of life, indeed many plants are able to use it to take up carbon at elevated temperatures when the stoma are normally closed to conserve moisture within the plant.

Further, many types of microbial life find methanol to be a feast of sorts, and even when high proof methanol is spilled, it's only the immediate area of the spill that is killed off, but, within a  few days microbes are moving back in to make use of the new food supply with fungi soon to follow.

Could it be, that what we believe to be a toxic VM, is just that when in concentration, but can actually be microbial food when diluted down, and all we have to do, is provide the right nutrients for the microbes to use the VM as food?    Nutrients that might be found in most any compost pile?


Greg H.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Michael Antal 
  To: 'Terrapreta Preta' 
  Cc: 'Gabor Varhegyi' 
  Sent: Friday, December 21, 2007 18:01
  Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] volatile matter and char


  There is no mystery associated with the chemical composition of volatile matter (VM).  As discussed in our publications and others, VM is composed of carboxylic, carboxylic anhydride, lactone, hydroquinone, phenolic, carbonylic, quinonic, ether, and pyrone functional groups attached to a carbon backbone.  At elevated temperatures (typically above 400 C) these groups undergo thermal cleavage and form CO2, CO, H2, H2O and CH4 and (at low temperatures) other organic compounds.  As Gerrit states below, the VM content of charcoal is largely a product of the pyrolysis process itself. 

   

  If Edward Someus were to take the trouble to read our publications, he would realize that his remarks below (concerning our work) are nonsense.

   

  Merry Christmas to all!   

   

  Michael J. Antal, Jr.

  Coral Industries Distinguished Professor of Renewable Energy Resources

  Hawaii Natural Energy Institute

  POST 109, 1680 East-West Rd.

  Honolulu, HI 96822

   

  phone: 808/956-7267

  fax: 808/956-2336

  www.hnei.hawaii.edu

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