Petrified Wood - Home style can it be done?

[DIYJono]

My first post hope I do not get shot down in flames.

 

I recently read an article about the roughly short time needed to petrify wood given the right mixtures of silca and a few other chemicals along with heat.

 

Could this be done by using household equipment along with some safe chemical purchases and if so what would be needed?

 

Cheers in advance

DIYJono

[insane_alien]

Okay i looked up the process of artificial petrification:

Soak in a bath of acid for 2 days(can be done at home, although arguably not safe)

Soak in silica solution for 2 days(can be done at home)

Cook in 1400*C oven with argon atmosphere for two hours(would be very very difficult and expensive to do at home)

 

The biggest problem here is the oven. i made a smallish furnace for making lava and it only reaches about 1050*C(as near as i can tell its higher than 1000 but less than 1100) and its not so easy to keep it that hot for very long. its also not exactly safe either.

[big314mp]

I don't know...I would think 1400C wouldn't be too hard to achieve for a small furnace.

 

You could rig a ceramic dish type crucible (i.e. flat bottom), and heat from bottom with an acetylene or MAPP gas torch. You could get the stuff from a welding supply company, including the argon gas supply. It would probably be expensive though. Fiberglass insulation (with the paper bit removed, obviously) could decrease your temperature delta across the dish, and reduce the chances of cracking. An IR based thermometer could be used to tell you the temperature, although I have no idea if they can go that high.

 

If you live in the US, small MAPP gas and oxygen cylinders can usually be found in the tool sections of various hardware stores (I know Home Depot carries them). Those aren't too expensive. And you could substitute a flow of helium for argon (think balloon cylinder). Some kind of covering would be needed to trap the gas, as it will readily float away. You could build a miniature then scale up if it works.

 

Wow...and that's what you call rambling, folks!

[insane_alien]

I don't know...I would think 1400C wouldn't be too hard to achieve for a small furnace.

 

if i could have buried the furnace in the ground like i intended i could probably have got higher temps.

 

You could rig a ceramic dish type crucible (i.e. flat bottom)...

 

ie flowerpot

 

... and heat from bottom with an acetylene or MAPP gas torch.

 

doesn't provide enough heat. tried that and while it worked for my really small proof of concept model it did not scale very well. the number of torches needed would have been prohibitive.

 

Fiberglass insulation (with the paper bit removed, obviously) could decrease your temperature delta across the dish,

 

doesn't work. it'll melt. use fire bricks and wrap them in fibreglass insulation. partially burying the furnace helps a LOT.

 

An IR based thermometer could be used to tell you the temperature, although I have no idea if they can go that high.

 

i have no idea either i used the approach of 'i know what temperature these things melt at, lets see if they melt in there'

 

Some kind of covering would be needed to trap the gas, as it will readily float away. You could build a miniature then scale up if it works.

 

i don't think it would be practical to contain the gas, what you'll want to do is just have a constant stream going over it(some enclosure is necessary so you displace the air, sit another flowerpot on top of it or a dish).

 

I use charcoal and coke as a fuel. it is more than capable of reaching the desired temperature if you pump air into it.

[big314mp]

Now I want to build one

 

I am quite surprised that the torches wouldn't provide enough heat. Maybe natural gas would work, as 100,000+ btu burners aren't that rare around here. Any thoughts?

 

Perhaps a large arc welder could get to higher temperatures, as you would not have as much gas (no combustion, so no need for air) passing through the furnace, so you could have lower heat loss. Not to mention that the arc itself is higher temperature.

 

That would be a serious amount of current though.

 

How big is the furnace that you built, and what do you use it for?

[insane_alien]

the furnace has a volume of just over a litre and i use it to make lava for my model volcano(okay, i haven't fired it up in while though but thats what i built it for)

[Flashman]

Does one need to fully melt the silica or silicates? My first thoughts are that pottery kiln range temps for vitrification would suffice.