There is vinegar, charcoal in bamboo

There’s vinegar in bamboo, and charcoal, too.

This was found in preliminary studies done by the Los Baños-based Department of Science and Technology-Forest Products Research and Development Institute (DOST-FPRDI) and Kenji Ueyama, a Japanese scientist.

The researchers noted such species as "bayog", "kauayan tinik" and solid bamboo are capable of producing good quality bamboo charcoal and light distillate (vinegar).

To promote the technology in the country, the DOST-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD), Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (DENR-FRDB), and FPRDI have packaged a proposal on the production and use of industrial bamboo charcoal and light distillate.

Belen Besana, an FPRDI engineer, has already developed a specialized equipment for the production of charcoal and vinegar. However, she said, the equipment is still on an experimental basis.

A report by PCARRD’s Vella Atienza stated that bamboo charcoal can be used for cleaning the air and purifying water. It also absorbs odors in refrigerators.

Ueyama also said that the vinegar produced from destructive distillation of bamboo in charcoal making can be used in the treatment of allergies and sore throat as antiseptic, skin and hair conditioner, and cleaner.

The vinegar produced as a by-product of carbonization can keep pants and lowers last longer and deodorize bathrooms. – Rudy A. Fernandez