NeutralIon - 1-9-2012 at 13:39
Saw a product called "BluApple" in the grocery store today. Intended to absorb ethylene gas to prevent over-ripening of fruits and veggies.
Also found a white paper on it here:
http://www.thebluapple.com/docs/API_White_Paper.pdf
This says the active ingredient is NaMNO4 which oxidizes the C2H4 (rather than absorbing it).
The product package also says the used product can be dumped on house plants as fertilizer -- but I don't see that as a good idea since the reaction
products are MnO2, NaOH and CO2.
[Edited to correct reaction product as MnO2, not MnO4]
[Edited on 9/2/2012 by NeutralIon]
bbartlog - 1-9-2012 at 15:37
Probably very little sodium permanganate in there. You don't need to neutralize a whole lot of ethylene in order to stop the fruit ripening effect. So
I could readily believe that it would be OK as a fertilizer. Also, if NaOH and CO2 are nominally being produced I would expect the actual result to be
NaHCO3 (sodium bicarbonate) which would even give you some nice odor-neutralizing capability.