Wood Vinegar

(Pyroligneous acid)

 Pyroligneous acid is obtained by the dry distillation of wood. This is a development of the traditional process of charcoal burning by which is meant the burning of wood in an airless condition so that it is reduced to charcoal, rather than to carbon dioxide, water vapour and ash.

What is wood vinegar?

Dark liquid produced by the destructive distillation of wood. Pyroligneous acid, also called wood vinegar, is a dark liquid produced through the natural act of carbonization, which occurs w hen wood is heated in an airless container during charcoal production. A dark-reddish-brown liquid that is composed mostly of acetic acid, but also contains methanol (wood alcohol), acetone, wood oils, and tars in varying amounts. Souce: wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wood vinegar is a by product from charcoal production. It is a liquid generated from the gas and combustion of fresh wood burning in airless condition Source: Agricultural Chemistry Group, Agricultural Production Sciences Research and Development Office, Department of Agriculture, Thailand

Wood vinegar is a by-product of a dry distillation-cooling down-condensation process of organic matters which include wood, coconut shell, bamboo, grass etc.
Source: Japan Agricultural Exchange Council (JAEC)

Benefits of using wood vinegar

Accelerates plant growth ( roots, stems, tubers, leaves, flowers and fruit.) Act as insect and pest repellents Promotes healthy and balanced plant growth Improves sweetness of fruits Increases shelf life of fruits and vegetables Control growth of harmful fungi and bacteria Crop produce is high quality and safe. Low cost of production attributed to savings from cost of chemicals. It can kill insects and fungus It controls microorganisms germination Serve as soil conditioner enhancing beneficial microorganisms Used as odor eliminator Use as foliar spray particularly for fungus Insecticide when mixed with hot pepper Enhancer for compost-making due to further decomposition Soil conditioner to improve the soil when mixed with charcoal Feed supplement or additives to livestock

External Benefits of wood vinegar

insect bites pink eye poison ivy infected wounds cellulitis diabetic ulcers ear infections snake bites gout prostatitis pain relief can kill antrax bacteria reduce swelling generally

References: Ransome, Arthur. Shallows and Amazons. San Diego: David R.GOdine Publisher 1985. Chamberlain, Jonathan. Cancer. N.Y: long Island P. 2008

 Proximate Analysis of Wood Vinegar By BSWM

N% 0.14 P% Trace Pot%0.026 Calcium% 0.53 Magnesium% 0.01 pH 4.5 Sodium % 0.01 Sulphur% trace Zinc ppm 16.07 Manganese ppm 0.62 Iron ppm 19.16

Content of Wood Vinegar

Content of Wood Vinegar = 200 chemical substances Organic acids = formic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid Phenol group: carbonyl group, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, etc) Alcohol ( ethanol , methanol, etc) Neutral materials ( levoglucosan, acetol, maltol, etc) Base ( acidic substances like ammonia, methylamine, dimethylamine)

How to use wood vinegar

1. Enriching the soil: Dilute wood vinegar with water 1:200 (1part vinegar and 200 parts water) and sprinkle it to the soil before planting. Application is 1 liter solution for every square meter of planting area 2. Applying to compost: Dilute 1part vinegar with 5o parts water and sprinkle to composting materials. Application rate 50 liters of solution to one ton compost 3. Fertilization: Dilute 1 part wood vinegar with 200 parts water and spray it onto the leaves once a month. Dilution can be increased to 300 parts water during the succeeding application 4. Seed Germination- dilute 1part wood vinegar with 200 parts water then soak the seeds for 24 hours 5. Pest Repellent or deodorizer/Odor Remover= dilute 1 part vinegar with 20 parts and spay it to the plant or to the substrate in the case of odor removal.
Source: 1M Agro-fuel development Ventures, Inc.

General Application
Blend with water in a ratio of 1:50 ( 1 liter wood vinegar and 50 liters water), OR UP TO A RATIO OF 1:800 ( 1LITER WV AND 800 LITER WATER) Spray it over plants shoots, Wood vinegar like hormones will be absorbed into twigs, trunks, or leaves. Plants will be stronger and leaves will be greener and resistant to pest and diseases.

Process done abroad

Cure wood that has heartwood and bark for 515 days Pile wood in the kiln and cover every hole with clay burn it at 120-430oC After 1 hr, put a tile at the top of the chimney. If brown or dark brown drops appear on the tile, allow smoke to flow through a bamboo pipe so the hot steam may be condensed into liquid Place a vessel to collect the vinegar drops from the bamboo pipe If wood is burned for 12-15 hours in a 200 liter oil drum kiln, it should produce 2-7 liters of wood vinegar. At this stage it is called wood vinegar. 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 light, clear oil. Remove the tar and light oil, as well as dark brown translucent oil and the remainder will be sour vinegar.

Figure 2 (a) Put Tile at the Top of the Chimney. (B) the Steam Is Condensed into Liquid. (C) Collect the Vinegar Drops from the Bamboo or Plastic Pipe.
Figure 3 The Wood Vinegar. Source: Food & Fertilizer Technology Center 5F.14 Wenchow St., Taipei 10616 Taiwan R.O.C. Tel: (886-2) 2362-6239 Fax: (886-2) 2362-0478 Email: info@fftc.agnet.org Copyright 1998-2007 FFTC. All rights reserved.

DA-TECHGEN The technology came from JAEC