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Canada

  • Introduction to Soil Science

    Introduction to Soil Science
    T.S. Tollefson, University of Saskatchewan, CA SCSR Open Courseware 41/240

    This course is designed for students in the Diploma in Agriculture program and first and second year students in the B.S.A. program. Graduate students in the Soil Science may also find the course useful background for their qualifying or comprehensive exams.

China

  • Training Manual of Bamboo Charcoal for Producers and Consumers

    Training Manual of Bamboo Charcoal for Producers and Consumers
    JIANG Shenxue, Bamboo Engineering Research Center, Nanjing Forestry University, May 2004

    Abstract

  • Bamboo charcoal

    Bamboo charcoal
    123Bamboo Lin'an City, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, www.123bamboo.com

    Bamboo charcoal is manufactured by carbonizing dried bamboo in a kiln under controlled temperature and humidity. Bamboo charcoal is a good air purifier as it has the property of absorbing odor, moisture and harmful gases. It is also a good water purifier as it filters and absorbs pollutants, chlorine, pesticides and poisonous materials. It has an extremely porous structure and is a better and eco-friendly option to wood charcoal.

  • Preliminary study of application effect of bamboo vinegar on vegetable growth

    Preliminary study of application effect of bamboo vinegar on vegetable growth
    Forestry Studies in China, 2006

    Mu Jun 1 Contact Information, Yu Zhi-ming 1, Wu Wen-qiang 2 and Wu Qing-li 3
    (1) College of Materials Science and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, P. R. China
    (2) Beijing Soil and Fertilizer Station, Beijing, 100029, P. R. China
    (3) Beijing Forestry University Forest Science Co., Ltd, Beijing, 100083, P. R. China

  • Biochar Trials in Hangzhou,China

    Biochar Trials in Hangzhou, China (pdf)
    Robert Flanagan, Saffe China, July 10, 2007

    Select image below to see in Gallery
    [G2:754]

    This is a small trial I'm doing for some farmers just outside Hangzhou to show them the benefits of Biochar. I've 48 plots in all so 24 with rice husk charcoal addition at 20Kg per plot. This trial is not for scientific data collection we have that in another trial a little further outside town.

  • Biochar and Charcoal Videos by SAFFE, China

    Biochar and Charcoal Videos by SAFFE, Huangzhou, China
    Robert Flanagan, SAFFE, Huangzhou, China, July 2007

    Video: Renewable carbon negative energy

    Video: Plot trial to show the effects of charcoal in soil

  • Charcoal and Wood Vinegar Reactors

    Charcoal and Wood Vinegar Reactors
    Robert Flanagan, SAFFE, Huangzhou, China, July 31, 2007
    Full of BambooFull of Bamboo

  • Bamboo Biochar Trial 2006 China

    Bamboo Biochar Trial 2006 China
    Robert Flanagan, SAFFE, China, July 2007

    This is a trial we started last year using bamboo charcoal as a soil amendment. Last year we sent Cornell University soil samples last year and hope to continue this research with them in the future.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7-cq_w1VVY

  • Update on Biochar Trials in Hangzhou, China

    Update on Biochar Trials in Hangzhou, China

    Robert flanagan, SAFFE, Hangzhou, China, August 28, 2007

    Ready to eat after 59days

    Ready to Eat in 59 Days

     

  • The new "Black Gold" is already on sale in Indonesia!

    The new "Black Gold" is already on sale in Indonesia!

    Robert Flanagan, SAFFE, China, August 31, 2007

    Black GoldBlack Gold

  • The Charcoalab Project: Charcoalab Pot Trials

    The Charcoalab Project: Charcoalab Pot Trials

    Robert Flanagan, SAFFE, China, Christelle Braun, Naomi, September 4, 2007

    Charcoalab Pot Trials<br /> The Charcoalab Project<br /> September 2007

    Select image to access album of photos.

  • Robert Flanagan's Biochar Stove: Carbon Negative Cooking

    Robert Flanagan's Biochar Stove: Carbon Negative Cooking
    David Yarrow, TERRA: The Earth Restoration & Renewal Alliance, October 30, 2007

  • The Charming Bamboo Charcoal in Taiwan

    The Charming Bamboo Charcoal in Taiwan
    Taipei Municipal Daan Vocational Industrial High School, Taipei, Taiwan, Taiwan, Cyberfair 2008, February 2008

    Bamboo Charcoal Fertilized VegetablesBamboo Charcoal Fertilized Vegetables

    The Care for the Environment

    The Project

    Description of Our Community

    In this community there are consumers like us who are interested in environment-friendly products, local business people who are trying to make use of natural resources, and research institutes who are helping make the economy and the environment better. Our project hopes to connect these three kinds of people so that we can know each other better and care more about our environment.

    Summary of Our Project

    Our project is about bamboo charcoal, its characteristics and functions in terms of environmental protection and applications to daily life. With its high utility, it is seen as a valuable natural resource for our future life.

  • How to Make Charcoal

    How to Make Charcoal
    Robert Flanagan, SAFFE, January 30, 2008

    I've just been playing around with my natural draft stove to see how easy it would be to use it for cooking and making charcoal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5OAkmum7gU&feature=channel_page .
    I fed some extra fuel in the side so show the pyrolysis reaction taking place.

  • Energy Cost of Charcoal

    Energy Cost of Charcoal
    Bryce Nordgren, (Rev) March 26, 2009

    Because I really had no idea about how much energy it takes to make
    charcoal, I made a table from the specs of the Chinese equipment posted by
    gordon eliot. Then I calculated the "Energy Cost" of each component in
    (MJ/kg). Finally I aggregated the energy costs from the "suggested
    charcoal plants" to get an idea of the energy cost of the entire system.
    Note that all of their plants use the new high efficiency coal bar
    machine. This should represent a best case scenario: maximum rated
    charcoal production at rated power. If you make less charcoal and consume
    the same power, the energy cost goes up.

    Consider this a first step in understanding the energy efficiency of the
    entire process. To complete the analysis, we would have to know the energy
    content (MJ/kg) of the produced charcoal. The big question is: can you
    power a 30kW generator with the syngas in order to take the small charcoal
    plant off the grid?

    I hope this comes thru. I'm pasting the tables as html into the mail
    message. I'm also attaching the spreadsheet from whence these tables came
    in OpenDocument format. I exported the OpenDocument spreadsheet into excel
    (attached). This retains the equations so people can plug in their own numbers?
    The "source" of the numbers is the Gongyi Sanjin Charcoal Machines Factory:
    http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/biochar/message/5534.

    Charcoal Plant Proposals
    # Description Components (MJ/kg) Total
    Crusher Drier Coal-bar
    1 25-30MT per month 0.00 0.05 0.17 0.22
    2 80-100MT per month 0.09 0.03 0.17 0.29
    3 180-200MT per month 0.14 0.02 0.17 0.32

    Note that the bigger crushers have a higher energy cost than the small
    crushers. I would have expected the reverse. Also, the high-efficiency
    energy saving coal bar machine is less efficient than the multi-function
    coal bar machine. The net result is that larger charcoal plants appear to
    be less efficient (have a higher energy cost) than smaller plants. As the
    table shows, inefficiencies in the crusher overpower the efficiency gains
    by the drier. The most efficient small scale plant would include the 11kW
    coal bar machine instead of the "high efficiency" 15kW one.

    This message is intended to give ballpark figures for the energy cost of
    producing biochar using a sample of COTS equipment specifications. It
    does not represent an endorsement or criticism of the vendor by any
    agency, department, or program of the United States Government.

    Bryce Nordgren
    bnordgren@fs.fed.us

Colombia

  • Cornell University: Bio-Char Projects 2007

    Cornell University: Bio-Char Projects 2007

    Bio-char Projects

    Currently (January 2007) we conduct experiments to evaluate the effects of bio-char on nutrient adsorption, nutrient leaching, water percolation, soil water availability and carbon cycling as well as the stability and mobility of bio-char itself with research in our Ithaca lab, in Colombia, Brazil, Zambia and Kenya.

Costa Rica

  • Saving The Planet While Saving The Farm, How soil carbonization could save the planet while it saves the family farm

    Saving The Planet While Saving The Farm
    How soil carbonization could save the planet while it saves the family farm
    Scott Bidstrup, Arenal de Tilaran, Guanacaste, Costa Rica, 2004

    Introduction:
    For a long time, soil geologists and archaeologists faced a mystery.

    The mystery was a nagging one, but not an urgent problem that impelled soil scientists to travel to the Amazon jungles to solve. But it was an intriguing problem which was finally solved by an archaeological survey - a survey which involved soil geology.

    For many years, it had been known that among the extremely weathered and infertile soils of the Amazon basin, some of the least-fertile soils on the planet, there are large, widespread patches of highly fertile soil. Soil that is not just fertile, but extremely fertile - so fertile and so valuable that for many years it has actually been mined and exported. What was the difference? The only visible difference was that the fertile soil is black, pitch-black, and grew just about anything with ease, and the infertile soils, just a few meters away, are a pale yellow color, and are so infertile that almost nothing except native weeds can grow in them.

Denmark

Europe