METHOD OF PRODUCING AGARWOOD RESIN

Abstract

A method of producing agarwood resin includes: Step (a): forming 4 to 8 first injection holes on an agarwood tree toward a pith of the agarwood tree, wherein each of the first injection holes has a starting end and a terminal end opposite each other, the starting ends of the 4 to 8 first injection holes are evenly distributed around a tree circumference of the agarwood tree, and the terminal ends of the 4 to 8 first injection holes are connected to the xylem of agarwood tree; and Step (b): supplying a gas with a pump into the 4 to 8 first injection holes under pressure to damage the xylem of the agarwood tree in order to produce agarwood resin.

Claims

1. A method of producing agarwood resin, comprising: Step (a): forming 4 to 8 first injection holes on an agarwood tree toward a pith of the agarwood tree, wherein each of the first injection holes has a starting end and a terminal end opposite each other, the starting ends of said 4 to 8 first injection holes are evenly distributed around a circumference of the agarwood tree, and the terminal ends of said 4 to 8 first injection holes are connected to xylem of the agarwood tree; and Step (b): supplying a gas with a pump into said 4 to 8 first injection holes under pressure to damage the xylem of the agarwood tree in order to produce agarwood resin.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the starting ends of said 4 to 8 first injection holes are evenly radially distributed on a first cross-section of the agarwood tree, wherein the terminal ends of said 4 to 8 first injection holes are spaced from each other.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said 4 to 8 first injection holes are formed from around the circumference of the agarwood tree downward toward the bottom of the pith slopingly.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said Step (a) further comprises: forming 4 to 8 second injection holes on the agarwood tree toward the pith of the agarwood tree, wherein each of the second injection holes has a starting end and a terminal end opposite each other, the starting end of said 4 to 8 second injection holes are evenly distributed around the circumference of the agarwood tree, and the terminal ends of said 4 to 8 second injection holes are connected to the xylem of the agarwood tree; and the Step (b) further comprises: supplying a gas with a pump into said 4 to 8 second injection holes under pressure to damage the xylem of the agarwood tree in order to produce agarwood resin.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the starting ends of said 4 to 8 second injection holes are evenly radially distributed on a second cross-section of the agarwood tree.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the amount of said 4 to 8 injection holes is 6.

7. The method according to claim 2, wherein said 4 to 8 first injection holes comprise at least one deep hole and at least one shallow hole, and said at least one deep hole and said at least one shallow hole are formed alternately.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the deviation value of the angle between projections of said 4 to 8 first injection holes along their extension direction on the first cross-section compared to an ideal angle of their evenly distribution is within 5%, said ideal angle is obtained by dividing 360 by the amount of said 4 to 8 first injection holes.

9. The method according to claim 2, wherein the deviation value of the angle between projections of said 4 to 8 first injection holes along their extension direction on the first cross-section compared to an ideal angle of their evenly distribution is within 5%, said ideal angle is obtained by dividing 360 by the amount of said 4 to 8 first injection holes.

10. The method according to claim 3, wherein the deviation value of the angle between projections of said 4 to 8 first injection holes along their extension direction on the first cross-section compared to an ideal angle of their evenly distribution is less than 5%, said ideal angle is obtained by dividing 360 by the amount of said 4 to 8 first injection holes.

11. The method according to claim 4, wherein the deviation value of the angle between projections of said 4 to 8 first injection holes along their extension direction on the first cross-section compared to an ideal angle of their evenly distribution is within 5%, said ideal angle is obtained by dividing 360 by the amount of said 4 to 8 first injection holes.

12. The method according to claim 5, wherein the deviation value of the angle between projections of said 4 to 8 first injection holes along their extension direction on the first cross-section compared to an ideal angle of their evenly distribution is within 5%, said ideal angle is obtained by dividing 360 by the amount of said 4 to 8 first injection holes.

13. The method according to claim 6, wherein the deviation value of the angle between projections of said 4 to 8 first injection holes along their extension direction on the first cross-section compared to an ideal angle of their evenly distribution is within 5%, said ideal angle is obtained by dividing 360 by the amount of said 4 to 8 first injection holes.

14. The method according to claim 7, wherein the deviation value of the angle between projections of said 4 to 8 first injection holes along their extension direction on the first cross-section compared to an ideal angle of their evenly distribution is within 5%, said ideal angle is obtained by dividing 360 by the amount of said 4 to 8 first injection holes.

15. The method according to claim 8, wherein said Step (b) is supplying the gas with the pump by using 15 psi to 30 psi into said 4 to 8 first injection holes under pressure to damage the xylem of the agarwood tree in order to produce agarwood resin.

16. The method according to claim 13, wherein said Step (b) is supplying the gas with the pump by using 15 psi to 30 psi into said 4 to 8 first injection holes under pressure to damage the xylem of the agarwood tree in order to produce agarwood resin.

17. The method according to claim 14, wherein said Step (b) is supplying the gas with the pump by using 15 psi to 30 psi into said 4 to 8 first injection holes under pressure to damage the xylem of the agarwood tree in order to produce agarwood resin.

18. The method according to claim 15, wherein before said Step (b), the method further comprises forming vents on a tip of the agarwood tree.

19. The method according to claim 16, wherein before said Step (b), the method further comprises forming vents on a tip of the agarwood tree.

20. The method according to claim 17, wherein before said Step (b), the method further comprises forming vents on a tip of the agarwood tree.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] FIG. 1 is a flow chart of the method of producing the agarwood resin of the first embodiment.

[0038] FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a processed agarwood tree of the first embodiment.

[0039] FIG. 3 is a schematic top view of a first cross-section of the agarwood tree as shown in FIG. 2.

[0040] FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the projection on the first cross-section of the extension direction of the deep holes and the shallow holes of FIG. 3.

[0041] FIG. 5 is the schematic side view of the processed agarwood tree of the second embodiment.

[0042] FIG. 6 is the schematic top view of first cross-section of the agarwood tree of FIG. 5.

[0043] FIG. 7 is the schematic side view of the processed agarwood tree of the third embodiment.

[0044] FIG. 8 is the schematic side view of the processed agarwood tree of the fourth embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

First Embodiment

[0045] As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 4, the first embodiment of the method of producing agarwood resin of the present invention is accomplished in the following steps.

[0046] Firstly, as shown in FIG. 1, 4 to 8 first injection holes were formed on an agarwood tree toward its pith. Each of the first injection holes has a starting end and a terminal end opposite each other, the starting ends of said 4 to 8 first injection holes are evenly distributed around the circumference of the agarwood tree, and the terminal ends of said 4 to 8 first injection holes are connected to the xylem of the agarwood tree.

[0047] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, an agarwood tree 10 to be drilled has a trunk 11. The body of the trunk 11 has a pith 111, xylem 112, and a circumference 113 sequentially from the inside out. The top of trunk 11 is a tip 114 of agarwood tree.

[0048] Six first injection holes 20 are formed toward the pith 111 of the agarwood tree 10 in evenly radial distribution. The first injection holes 20 are connected to the xylem 112 of the agarwood tree 10. In the present embodiment, said six first injection holes 20 consist of three deep holes 20A and three shallow holes 20B. Each deep hole 20A has a starting end 21A and a terminal end 22A opposite each other, while each shallow hole 20B has a starting end 21B and a terminal end 22B. Said deep holes 20A and shallow holes 20B are formed from around the tree circumference 113 of the agarwood tree 10 downward toward the bottom of its pith 111 slopingly. In this manner, supplying the gas would be easier.

[0049] In this embodiment, the starting ends 21A of the three deep holes 20A and the starting ends 21B of the three shallow holes 20B are evenly radially distributed on a first cross-section (as shown in FIG. 3) of the agarwood tree 10. As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the deviation value of the angle between the projections of the deep holes 20A along their extension directions 23A and of the shallow holes 20B along their extension directions 23B on the first cross-section compared to an ideal angle of their evenly distribution is within 5%. Said ideal angle means 360 divided by the number, 6, of the first injection holes 20, resulting in 60. According to this structural design of evenly radial distribution, the amount and the manner of distribution of the injection holes provide the effect of maximal damage of the xylem 112 of the agarwood tree 10 after the gas is supplied, while the tree circumference 113 of the agarwood tree 10 is damaged minimally.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal ends 22A of the deep holes 20A and the terminal holes 22B of the shallow holes 20B are connected to the xylem 112 of the agarwood tree 10. The terminal ends 22A of the deep holes 20A and the terminal ends 22B of the shallow holes 20B are spaced from each other without contacting each other. The deep holes 20A and the shallow holes 20B are formed alternately. This reduces the damage of appearance of the agarwood tree 10 and increases the utilization of agarwood tree, after the agarwood resin is removed. The length of deep holes 20A and the shallow holes 20B is adjusted according to the diameter of the agarwood tree 10. In the present embodiment, the length of the deep holes is 6 cm and the length of shallow holes is 3 cm, while the diameter of the agarwood tree 10 is 15 cm.

[0051] Besides forming the first injection holes 20 on the trunk 11 of the agarwood tree 10, two vents 30 are further formed on the tip 114 of the agarwood tree 10 in the present invention of the method of producing agarwood resin, in order to reach the purpose of pressure relief through the vents 30. This avoids the explosion of the trunk 11 of the agarwood tree 10 due to extremely high pressure.

[0052] Lastly, as shown in FIG. 1, a gas is supplied with a pump under 20 psi into said six first injection holes 20 to damage the xylem 112 of the agarwood tree 10 in order to produce agarwood resin. In the present embodiment, the supplied gas is air. In other implementations, the gas may be, but is not limited to, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen, argon, or the mixture thereof.

[0053] Because the first injection holes 20 and the xylem 112 of the agarwood tree 10 are connected to each other, the xylem 112 of the agarwood tree 10 is stricken by the supplied gas while the gas is supplied into the first injection holes 20 under the pressure by the pump intermittently. In this manner, the xylem 112 is stricken by the force intermittently, and the xylem 112 is damaged, so that the agarwood tree 10 is injured. Since the gas strikes the surrounding parts of the xylem 112 connected to the first injection holes 20 with the same direction after the gas being introduced from the first injection holes 20, the xylem 112 is extensive injured. This is beneficial to promote the production of the secretion, with a special aroma, from the agarwood tree 10, so that the agarwood resin is largely produced by the agarwood tree 10, and the agarwood is further formed by the combination of agarwood resin and xylem from the agarwood tree 10.

[0054] In the present embodiment, the first injection holes 20 are formed 15 cm away from the root (which means the surface of the earth) of the trunk 11 of the agarwood tree 10. That is to say, the distance H1 from the surface of the earth to the top of the starting ends 21A of the deep holes 20A or to the top of the starting ends 21B of the shallow holes 20B is 15 cm. Generally, the density of xylem close to the root is higher, while the density of xylem away from the root is lower. Additionally, water is transported upwards by the xylem 112 from the root. Therefore, a fungal suspension fed by injecting is difficult to contact the xylem 112 close to the root, so that the effect of damaging the xylem 112 close to the root is difficult to reach. However, the xylem 112 is extensively damaged in the present invention by supplying the gas under pressure, which would not be effected by the variations of density of the xylem 112 and the transportation direction of the xylem.

[0055] In other implementations, the injection solution can be collocated together while supplying the gas into the first injection holes 20 under pressure, so that the effect of damaging the xylem 112 fiber and increasing the area of injection solution in contact with the xylem 112 fiber are both reached at the same time. The injection solution would contact the xylem 112 close to the pith 111, because the flowing direction of the injection solution is toward to the pith 111 after induction. Furthermore, the water is transported by the xylem 112 upwards from the root. Therefore, the majority of the injection solution would go upper along the water-transported direction and extensively contact the xylem 112, so that the agarwood resin is produced massively. The injection solution is prepared in accordance with the prior art. Among others, the injection solution comprises water, peptone, yeast extract, Melanotus flavolivens, Botryodiplodia theobromae, acetic acid, and sucrose. The injection solution can induce the production of secretion with a special aroma from the agarwood tree 10 and the production of the agarwood resin.

[0056] The foregoing mentioned peptone is produced by the hydrolysis of vegetables, grains and root vegetables, milk and meat by enzyme. Among others, it includes peptide, free amino acid, mineral, vitamin, and essential growth factor for microorganism, which can provide the nutrition for supporting the survival of microorganism.

Second Embodiment

[0057] As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment. However, the amount of the first injection holes 20 is adjusted to four. Said four first injection holes 20 are formed perpendicular to the pith 111 of the agarwood tree 10. Said four first injection holes 20 consist of two deep holes 20A and two shallow holes 20B. Additionally, as shown in FIG. 6, said deep holes 20A and the shallow holes 20B are not formed alternately but distributed as two adjacent deep holes 20A and two adjacent shallow holes 20B.

Third Embodiment

[0058] As shown in FIG. 7, the third embodiment is similar to the first embodiment. The difference is described as follows. Besides the six first injection holes 20 on the agarwood tree 10, there are second injection holes 40 formed on the agarwood tree 10 toward the pith 111. Said second injection holes 40 are connected to the xylem of the agarwood tree 10. In the present embodiment, the construction of said six second injection holes 40 are almost the same as the six first injection holes in the first embodiment, and said six second injection holes 40 consist of three deep holes 40A and three shallow holes 40B. Each deep hole 40A has a starting end 41A and a terminal end 42A, while each shallow hole 40B has a starting end 41B and a terminal end 42B. Said deep holes 40A and the shallow holes 40B are formed from around the tree circumference 113 of the agarwood tree 10 downward toward the bottom of pith 111 slopingly. In this manner, supplying the gas would be easier. Forming the second injection holes 40 induces the extent of the damage to the xylem of the agarwood tree 10 in order to produce more agarwood resin.

[0059] Said six second injection holes 40 and said six first injection holes 20 are formed spacedly. The starting ends 41 A and 41B of said six second injection holes 40 are evenly radially distributed around the tree circumference on the second cross-section of the agarwood tree 10. The vertical distance H2 between the first cross-section and the second cross-section is 50 cm. This ensures the integrity of the agarwood tree 10 between the adjacent first injection holes 20 on the first cross-section and the second injection holes 40 on the second cross-section. Said the terminal ends 42A and 42B of said six second injection holes 40 are connected to the xylem of the agarwood tree 10. In another implementation, third injection holes and fourth injection holes are formed according to the height of the tree, in order to produce the agarwood resin maximally. Additionally, in Step (b), a gas is not only supplied into said six first injection holes 20 under pressure with a pump, but also supplied into said six second injection holes 40 under pressure with a pump, in order to produce more agarwood resin due to the increased damage of the xylem of the agarwood tree 10.

Fourth Embodiment

[0060] As shown in FIG. 8, the fourth embodiment is similar to the first embodiment. Said six first injection holes 20 are formed on the agarwood tree 10 in evenly radial distribution. Namely, the deviation value of the angle between the projections of the six first injection holes 20 along their extension directions on the first cross-section compared to an ideal angle, which is 60, of their evenly distribution is within 5%. The difference is that the starting ends 21A and 21B of the first injection holes 20 are not on the same cross-section.

[0061] In conclusion, through supplying the gas under pressure in order to damage the xylem of the agarwood tree, not only the xylem fiber of the agarwood is extensively damaged, but also the integrity of appearance of agarwood tree is preserved. This overcomes the problems of poor appearance or death of agarwood tree due to the knife cutting in the prior art. The present invention can also produce agarwood resin more rapidly compared to the method of injecting fungal suspension to the injection hole. The operation in the present invention can be collocated with an injection solution to accelerate the production of agarwood resin.

[0062] It is apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Although the present invention has been described in terms of specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention should not be unduly limited to those specific embodiments. In fact, the various modifications that are obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art are also encompassed within the scope of the following claims.