This is Scientific American's 60 Second Science.

I'm Christopher Intagata.

Given much thought to the afterlife of your Christmas tree,

your city might recycle it into compost or mulch or it might rot in a landfill

releasing methane a potent greenhouse gas but seen through the eyes of a chemical

engineer I thought okay this could be a good resource.

Cynthia Kati of the University of Sheffield.

She says the needles are 85% lignocellulose, tough woody material.

But using heat and cheap solvents, Kati says she can transform pine needles into a liquid product called bio oil, which contains glucose, ascetic acid, and phenols.

Useful stuff.

Glucose is used as sweetener in the food industry.

Acetic acid is mainly used for the manufacture of paint and adhesives.

It is also used for the manufacture of vinegar.

So basically the vinegar you use in your home is diluted

aesthetic acid and phenol is also used in the manufacture of certain medicines.

Breaking down pine needles also yields a solid byproduct called biochar which Kati says can be used

to drive other chemical reactions.

And although Christmas trees are only available seasonally, she says the same techniques could

be used year-round on other agricultural waste like

corncobs and sugarcane stocks. The goal she says is ultimately zero waste.

It would be an interesting way to decorate your house for Christmas and also get some paint from the aesthetic acid that you could use again to paint your house that is to decorate it while Christmas is over.

Which could give a whole new meaning to deck the halls.

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