Tim Watts wrote:
Rusty Hinge
wibbled on Tuesday 06 April 2010 17:44

Tim Watts wrote:
I have a 6" stump left from a tree I just chopped down (threatening to
break the drain chamber in my garden that's all of a foot away from the
trunk).

No idea what the tree was, but I need to ensure its complete and
permanent demise.

Apart from the old drill-holes-in-stump and pour in diesel/old-sump-oil
trick (don't have any mouldy sump oil to hand anyway) what would be a
good product to use?
Sulphuric acid. (Battery acid.)


I've got 20% HCl - would that be any good?

Not as far as I know.

Sulphuric acid naturally absorbs any moisture it an find, and such that
it does, evaporates to some extent.

It also removes (chemically) the elements of water from many organic
substances, so hydrogen and oxygen are taken from the wood's cellulose
and dilute the acid. The cycle continues until all the acid is
neutralised by contact with bases and some mildly alkaline salts (in the
surrounsing soil and potassium carbonate amongst other salts in the wood.)

The wood is first rendered into a friable condition much like naturally
rotten wood, and if there's still enough acid left, the roots are
reduced mainly to carbon.

This does not happen with HCl.

--
Rusty