[Terrapreta] volatile matter and char

[Kevin Chisholm]

Dear Greg

Very good point!

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hormesis
and
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/tandf/bher/2001/00000007/00000004/art00016

This latter reference


  Analysis of a Hormesis Effect in the Leukemia-Caused Mortality Among
  Atomic Bomb Survivors


 confirms the existence of the hormesis effect.

Best wishes,

Kevin
Greg and April wrote:
> 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 <mailto:mantal at hawaii.edu>
>     *To:* 'Terrapreta Preta' <mailto:terrapreta at bioenergylists.org>
>     *Cc:* 'Gabor Varhegyi' <mailto:varhegyi at chemres.hu>
>     *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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