Knotweed as Biomass

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Knotweed as Biomass
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dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Tue May 27, 14 9:54 am Post subject:

a place to start with digesting it if it either kills normal digester bugs or refuses to ferment might be mince it and try various bacteria ,fungi,yeasts to give a "soup" ready for the methane producing bacteria

iirc part of it's toxicity is oxalic acid so either making that insoluble chemically or denaturing it by some means or reducing it by leeching might help.leeching would have issues of a lot of oxalic acid solution

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Tue May 27, 14 12:05 pm Post subject:
some ingredients this might give you some ideas as to how to overcome the problems of digesting the stuff

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16004

Posted: Wed May 28, 14 8:38 am Post subject:
That's very interesting Dpack. Looks like it might be useful. The acid could be neutralised by using an alkali such as bicarbonate or carbonate of soda (washing soda), or small amounts of sodium or potassium hydroxide. That should produce an oxalate which perhaps won't be as harmful to the bugs.

Hairyloon

Joined: 20 Nov 2008
Posts: 15425
Location: Today I are mostly being in Yorkshire.

Posted: Wed May 28, 14 8:55 am Post subject:

Mistress Rose wrote:

The acid could be neutralised by using an alkali such as bicarbonate or carbonate of soda (washing soda), or small amounts of sodium or potassium hydroxide.

Throw in some biodiesel waste: it is mostly a mix of glycerol and hydroxide. The glycerol is known to be beneficial to the digestion already and there is no shortage of it.

oldish chris

Joined: 14 Jun 2006
Posts: 4148
Location: Comfortably Wet Southport

Posted: Wed May 28, 14 8:55 am Post subject:

Its a definite non-starter. For industrial scale production there are other plants, e.g. willow, that can be propagated, for ad-hoc small scale, any old plant will do, and can be composted using the existing municipal schemes.

Japanese knot-weed isn't particularly productive, it uses the same old photosynthesis as all the other plants. Just, unlike all the other plants, it doesn't get chomped by the myriads of insects that eat everything else (starting with my cabbages

). (A sycamore next to your house would do as much damage.)

Hairyloon

Joined: 20 Nov 2008
Posts: 15425
Location: Today I are mostly being in Yorkshire.

Posted: Wed May 28, 14 9:07 am Post subject:

oldish chris wrote:

Yes, but the point is, if you already have a patch of knotweed, then why not put it to good use?

What do those who's business it is to get rid of it do with it currently?

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