| If the Bonner Biomass Plant
(Missouri) is Built - WOOD ASH valuable
June 14, 2003 By William Jud Fredericktown, Missouri Make provisions for reclaiming WOOD ASH. Many places that burn wood discard the ashes, usually by burial, out of fear that ashes may contain tiny traces of dioxin. That's wasteful, and is not a good strategy. Wood ash has as its major components, Calcium Oxide, Magnesium (usually carbonate, some oxide) and Potassium Carbonate. There are lesser components such as silica, which are of little value because of what they are and how much of them wood ash contains. Potassium, Magnesium and Calcium are valuable. Agriculture uses Potassium in fertilizer and Calcium in agricultural lime soil amendments. Magnesium also has agricultural uses. Calcium oxide, as recovered from the furnace, is a component of brick mortar and has other industrial uses. Potassium, Magnesium, and Calcium compounds are basic industrial chemicals. If there's no market locally for ash recovery products, at least return the ash to the forest where the thinning trees were cut. Potassium, Magnesium and Calcium are in wood ash because they are in trees and are necessary tree nutrients. |