>The odor was definitely that of acetone and not of acetic
>acid. I still have a sample.
>Now the question is whether there is a market for organically
>produced acetone. :)

        An interesting mixed microbial liquid culture has been used on an
industrial scale to produce a fuel enhancer consisting mainly of acetone &
butanol.  Such mini-breweries can be operated to criteria satisfying
'organic' principles.
        No market has yet been differentiated for such product, but surely
could be cranked up, given enough expenditure on mercenary deceit (PR).
After all, the fuel-improver ethanol has been successfully marketed from
agricultural systems which absorb more energy as dieseline than they
produce as ethanol.
        The much commoner fermentation of honey is by yeast to ethanol, and
_Acetobacter_ will often get in (e.g. on fruit-flies' feet) to oxidise the
ethanol thru to acetic acid.  I'm not aware of any reason why the odd
fermentation shouldn't occur to acetone.  Some of these microbes exert a
quasi-monopoly (by mechanisms largely unknown) e.g. once a good yeast brew
gets going other microbes that may drift in are unable to proliferate.
Perhaps some acetone-producing microbes show up in honey and, rarely,
dominate.

R

-
Robt Mann
consultant ecologist
   P O Box 28878  Remuera, Auckland 1005, New Zealand
                (9) 524 2949