Scientists • Engineers • Technologists May 31, 2013 Beneficial Alcohols Alcohols in RainDrops are beneficial in providing soil-root systems with moisture for plant respiration and nutrient transport1. These alcohols are beneficial to the soil-root system in a number of ways, as described elsewhere2. Although the generic term alcohol includes certain specific types of alcohol that could be detrimental, there are many beneficial alcohols that find application in agriculture, cosmetics, foods, and medicines.3,4 The specific alcohols used in RainDrops belong to this beneficial group. For example, polyalcohol hydrogels are beneficially used in agriculture; sugar alcohols are used in Atkins diet shakes, and are used as substitutes for sugars in chewing gums and baked goods; polyalcohols (PEG) are used as pharmacologically inactive ingredients in medications; the waxy alcohols such as cetearyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol are used in cosmetics5. These are referred to as ‘fatty alcohols’ and are waxy types of alcohols commonly used as emulsifiers and thickeners in skin creams. They are non-drying and moisturizing on the skin, as opposed to other alcohols, such as ethyl and isopropyl alcohols that cause drying of the skin. Thus, it is clear that the term alcohol is positive or negative as a function of the type and use. The dynamic efficiency of RainDrops derives from the fact that, at use-dilution, so few alcohol molecules are required to carry, hold, and then transfer as required, relatively large amounts of water in close proximity to the plant-root system. Small numbers are efficacious due to the quasi- catalytic nature of the specific alcohol molecules. A single oxiranyl alcohol molecule can slip down through the soil carrying a few trihydric alcohol molecules and water to the root zone. The trihydric alcohol molecules hold water via hydrogen bonding and release water molecules and Page 2 of 5 1 Parkin TB, Doran JW, and Franco-Vizcaíno E. 1996. Field and Laboratory Tests of Soil Respiration. In: Doran JW, Jones AJ, editors. Methods for assessing soil quality. Madison, WI. p 231-45. 2 Raindrops descriptive literature. 3 http://www.idosi.org/aejaes/jaes3(5)/16.pdf Use of hydrogel in agriculture. 4 http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120326222358AA671Pw Active transport into root system. 5 http://www.paiskincare.com/blog/2010/02/14/do-you-avoid-alcohol-in-your-skin-care- products-not-all-alcohols-are-bad-for-you/ Waxy, non-drying alcohols used in cosmetics. PO Box 1901 1081 Greywood Dr. Van Alstyne, Texas 75495 Cell/Txt 940 704 6707 Fax 903 482 9453 [email protected] WaterMax May 31, 2013 dissolved nutrients to plant roots on demand. Such transfer processes are energetically driven by osmotic pressure or active transport.6 Plants transport soluble nutrients across cell membranes against concentration gradients to create a low water potential, i.e., active transport produces a cell deficient in water. Water then moves from soil into the root due to this osmotic potential to dilute the cellular concentration of soluble nutrients. The same molecules repeat this process many times, explaining the low dosage requirement for RainDrops to provide its beneficial role. In summary, the alcohols in RainDrops are beneficial to soil-root systems by utilizing very small numbers of oxiranyl and trihydric alcohol molecules to penetrate the soil, carrying, holding, and transferring water and nutrients to the root system on demand. Submitted by, KeyAssociates Morris Key, PhD Director Page 3 of 5 NOTES: 6 www.thefreedictionary.com/active+transport KeyAssociates 13765 US Hwy 75 N Van Alstyne, Texas 75495 Phone (903) 482 9455 Fax (903) 482 9453 Cell (940) 224 6257 [email protected] WaterMax May 31, 2013 Alcohol Notes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol ...alcoholic beverages, and in common speech the word alcohol refers specifically to ethanol. The suffix -ol appears in the IUPAC chemical name of all substances where the hydroxyl group is the functional group with the highest priority; in substances where a higher priority group is present the prefix hydroxy- will appear in the IUPAC name. … soil aeration and ethyl alcohol accumulation in xylem … low oxygen penetration causes accumulation of alcohol in xylem. Can accumulate to toxic levels. http://soils.usda.gov/sqi/assessment/files/respiration_sq_biological_indicator_sheet.pdf Carbon dioxide (CO2) release from the soil surface is referred to as soil respiration. This CO2 results from several sources, including aerobic microbial decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM) to obtain energy for their growth and functioning (microbial respiration), plant root and faunal respiration, and eventually from the dissolution of carbonates in soil solution. Soil respiration is one measure of biological activity and decomposition. The rate of CO2 release is expressed as CO2-C lbs/acre/day (or kg/ha/d). It can be measured by simple field methods (e.g. fig. 1) or more sophisticated field and laboratory methods. During the decomposition of SOM, organic nutrients contained in organic matter (e.g., organic phosphorus, nitrogen, and sulfur) are converted to inorganic forms that are available for plant uptake. This conversion is known as mineralization. Soil respiration is also known as carbon mineralization. ibid Chemical fertilizer may stimulate root growth and nourish microbes; however, at high concentrations, some fertilizers can become harmful to microbes responsible for soil respiration because of changes in pH and their potential toxicity. Similarly, organic amendments with high concentrations of heavy metals, as well as pesticides and fungicides, may be toxic to microbial populations leading to reduced microbial diversity, abundance, and respiration. ibid Soil respiration is measured using the Draeger-Tube® method described in the Soil Quality Test Kit Guide, Chapter 2, p 4 - 6. See Section II, Chapter 1, p 52 - 54 for interpretation of results. ibid educed soil respiration rates indicate that there is little or no SOM or aerobic microbial activity in the soil. It may also signify that soil properties that contribute to soil respiration (soil temperature, moisture, aeration, available N) are limiting biological activity and SOM decomposition. With reduced soil respiration, nutrients are not released from SOM to feed plants and soil organisms. This affects plant root respiration, which can result in the death of the plants. Incomplete mineralization of SOM often occurs in saturated or flooded soils, resulting in the formation of compounds that are harmful to plant roots, (e.g. methane and alcohol). In such anaerobic environments, denitrification and sulfur volatilization usually occur, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and acid deposition. References: Parkin TB, Doran JW, and Franco-Vizcaíno E. 1996. Field and Laboratory Tests of Soil Respiration. In: Doran JW, Jones AJ, editors. Methods for assessing soil quality. Madison, WI. p 231-45. Page 4 of 5 KeyAssociates 13765 US Hwy 75 N Van Alstyne, Texas 75495 Phone (903) 482 9455 Fax (903) 482 9453 Cell (940) 224 6257 [email protected] WaterMax May 31, 2013 Zibilske LM. 1994. Carbon Mineralization. In: Weaver WRW et al., editors. Methods of soil analysis. Part 2. Microbiological and biochemical properties. Madison, WI. p 835-63. Buchmann N. 2000. Biotic and abiotic factors controlling soil respiration rates in Picea abies stands. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 32:1625-35. Methane & ethyl alcohol formation occurs in soils with poor respiration. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_alcohol The more complex sugar alcohols are for the most part nontoxic. SuA sugar alcohol (also known as a polyol,[1] polyhydric alcohol, polyalcohol, or glycitol) is a hydrogenated form of carbohydrate, whosecarbonyl group (aldehyde or ketone, reducing sugar) has been reduced to a primary or secondary hydroxyl group (hence the alcohol). Sugar alcohols have the general formula H(HCHO)n+1H, whereas sugars have H(HCHO)nHCO. In commercial foodstuffs sugar alcohols are commonly used in place of table sugar (sucrose), often in combination with high intensity artificial sweeteners to counter the low sweetness. Of these, xylitol is perhaps the most popular due to its similarity to sucrose in visual appearance and sweetness. Sugar alcohols do not contribute to tooth decay.[2][3] gar alcohols as food additives [edit] Food Sweetness per Name Sweetness relative to sucrose energy food energy, relative to sucrose (kcal/g) Arabitol 0.7 0.2 14 Erythritol 0.812 0.213 15 Glycerol 0.6 4.3 0.56 HSH 0.4–0.9 3.0 0.52–1.2 Isomalt 0.5 2.0 1.0 Lactitol 0.4 2.0 0.8 Maltitol 0.9 2.1 1.7 Mannitol 0.5 1.6 1.2 Sorbitol 0.6 2.6 0.92 Xylitol 1.0 2.4 1.6 Compare with: 1.0 4.0 1.0 Sucrose Source: Antonio Zamora, "Carbohydrates" Page 5 of 5 KeyAssociates 13765 US Hwy 75 N Van Alstyne, Texas 75495 Phone (903) 482 9455 Fax (903) 482 9453 Cell (940) 224 6257 [email protected] WaterMax May 31, 2013 http://www.paiskincare.com/blog/2010/02/14/do-you-avoid-alcohol-in-your-skin-care-products- not-all-alcohols-are-bad-for-you/ Waxy, nod-drying alcohols used in cosmetics. http://www.idosi.org/aejaes/jaes3(5)/16.pdf Use of hydrogel in agriculture http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120326222358AA671Pw Active transport into root system KeyAssociates 13765 US Hwy 75 N Van Alstyne, Texas 75495 Phone (903) 482 9455 Fax (903) 482 9453 Cell (940) 224 6257 [email protected] .