[Terrapreta] Bloomin' Mystery

[geoff moxham]

Greetings list.
A question to anyone currently pyrolising dried green waste.

I have been pyrolising many samples, while running  the space heater a
lot lately, keeping dry, as we have already had 95% of last years
rain.

I can now replicate an amazing effect which is puzzling me: it is a
very attractive blue-ish purplish "bloom" that can be seen on the
surface of some samples, in the few minutes immediately after opening
the reactor vessel. The first sample it appeared on was some hemp
stalks from ag hemp, which I then walked across the room to view in a
shaft of sunlight. As I held it up, the blue faded before my eyes over
several minutes, back to the  dull grey of char/graphene.

Some friends said they wanted what I was smoking, but as it turned out
I could replicate  it before their eyes. Not only that, but replicate
it with Red Amarath stalk, so presumably other spp...and not some kind
of cannabinoid effect. I also found that if stalks are place in
bambusa sections (100mm dia) the effect is "thrown" onto the inside of
the bamboo wher it  is kept away from air turbulence well when opening
the reactor. The bloom then appears light straw gold as the sample is
cracked open. This then progresses through what I can only call the
"temper spectrum" from my smithing days, to dark gold, magenta, deep
purple, blue and ten minutes later...black. Perhaps it's Iron vapour
from the reactor wall?

My first take is, it is maybe a couple of atomic layers thick vapour
deposit of some rare earth similar to material used in the
oxygen-scavenging "getter" in the old vacuum tubes.?

I then killed that theory by jarring up some fresh samples for a week,
after flooding the jar with oxygen from my welding set.... and then
being able to repeat the disappearing act... but!

To add to the mystery if you blow on it fast, it disappears in
seconds. If you soft-wet-breathe on it, like fogging your glasses to
clean them...it stays there! Go figure!

I will try to give samples to Lukas Van Swieten to test.

My wife wants to market bloomin' drawing charcoal under the brand name
Purple Haze, so back off all you entrepreneurs!

Seriously.
Anyone out there seen this?
 Explain this with peer review?
Suggerst further Scientia?
Geoff
TDH