smokin’
Two days ago, I started with the laboratory work for my thesis, which involves me and a furnace. Yesterday, due to my impatience I decided to have about 350 grams worth of bamboo plant parts ashed in the furnace. The result was something I would never repeat for the entire duration of my thesis project.
The laboratory where I was in (along with my dad) was covered with smoke and a few escaped outside. There were students lounging along the hallway, waiting for their next class and seeing the smoke near them I can’t help but wince at the sight. Some were already fanning themselves and others were covering their noses.
My dad and I did various things to contain the smoke like closing the laboratory itself trapping me and my dad inside along with the smoke (resulting for my eyes to sting so badly and my dad telling me to get out of the lab, but I refused…at first), the technician had opened windows and I closed the vent by the door of the lab. In the end, two male techs brought an electric fan to drive out the smoke.
Let’s say after that my dad and I smelled like smoke. Even when I came back earlier this morning, the room still smelled strongly of smoke. I was apologizing to the technicians and one of them said: “Furnace kasi ‘yan eh.” (It’s a furnace that’s why.) He reassured me that it happens all the time especially when pharmacy students subject plants to ashing and when they’re taking their pharmacology classes. I just hate for this incident to reach the dean because I would be screwed especially if one of the faculty complains about it.
The tech even added that the smell of bamboo being ashed was preferable over the smell of meat or plants being subject to chemical tests, which is what the Natural Sciences Research Unit is famous for. The smell inside was…indescribable to say the least.
Ashing is a process where a plant (most of the time) is placed inside a furnace and burned until it is reduced to ashes. The purpose of this is to determine what elements are present in a plant or a compound. In my case I’m looking for carbon content in bamboo.
I learned my lesson and I would never do it again. It scared the crap out of me.