BioEnergy Lists: BioChar (or Terra Preta)

Nikolaus Foidl, September, 2009

Some Photos which prove that normal 450 degree Saligna char for barbequu use is quite bug friendly, housing demand for three different bugs is high and the bugs are still alive after digging through and forming there pupae. So high toxicity of the volatiles or the char it self seems to be an issue to overcome by some bugs. ( or its an other urban myth to be busted?) If a swiss cheese would look like this the would advertise him as an aerogel.
Please add the photos to your collection in the bio char list.
With my best regards Nikolaus

Al Latham, September, 2009

I have a pdf (download the attached file) showing a simple biochar retort that I put together, that
might be of interest to your viewers.

If you'd like to add it to the Making BioChar.

Paul Anderson, 2009 SeaChar Stoves Workshop

The efforts at SeaChar (Seattle Biochar Initiative) produced a 5-gallon (22-liter) TLUD.

"On Saturday, August 1, Seachar hosted Dr. Paul Anderson (Dr. TLUD) for an all-day workshop in the construction of Top-Lit Up Draft (TLUD) cookstoves. The stoves can quickly be constructed from commonly available materials, and produce charcoal while providing heat for cooking (or other uses). Paul’s TLUD stoves have been tested and shown to produce very low emissions of CO and particulates. The stoves can provide benefits wherever people rely on biomass for cooking. TLUD stoves use a wide variety of small pieces of biomass for fuel. The clean burn greatly improves indoor air quality compared with open burning and many other types of stoves. In addition, the charcoal can be used as biochar to improve soil fertility, sequester carbon, and potentially provide a source of income through carbon credits."

For More See: http://seachar.org/wordpress/?p=176

The focus was for making biochar, but this size of TLUD will be highly appropriate of institutional-size cookstoves in the developing countries.

From the Economist Print Edition August 27, 2009

A new growth industry? Biochar could enrich soils and cut greenhouse gases as well

Coverage North American Biochar Conference, and a good short summary of biochar.

Field Trials;
 I am field testing for the 09 corn season with JMU and consultation  Dr. Hepperly at Rodale Institute.

Ten research priorities were identified at the IBI conference, The following priorities I hope to address:
• 1- Economy research/market research
• 2- plant+soil research depending on biochar
• 5- field trials
• 8- application to soil (depending on agricultural or other
systems/remediation`)

Planting date: June 24th.
Two split plots , which each are split into a 20% (27 tons/Ac) & 5% (7 tons/Ac) application rates,
All chars soaked in tarps for 1 month, all chars were mixed 1:2 by volume with finished poultry litter compost and roto-tilled to 5 inch depth.

3 treatment groups with 3 replications
Char+ Compost
Char+ Compost + soluble NPK (soaked in char)
MYC+Char+Compost ("Dr. Mike's" Mycorrhiza corn inoculent)
Charcoal #1: Alterna Energy Biocarbon
Charcoal #2: Cowboy Hardwood Lump Charcoal

Soil Testing:
Dr. Mike Amaranthus of Mycorrhiza Applications ( http://www.mycorrhiza.com/ ) has  supplied his granular corn MYC , applied at planting, and lab support for harvest root analysis.
Dr. Kristine Nicoles of ARS, their head glomalin researcher, will also run soil test at Harvest
Lynn Rogers of Microbial Matrix will be testing for functional microbe groups

Total wet weight of corn biomass will be collected for each treatment group.

Much Thanks to:

 James Madison University / I.S.A.T., Dr. Wayne Teal - for providing a student for work and help in publication.

Local farmers Keith Sheetz and Andy & Jack Dixon

Dr. Paul Hepperly of Rodale Institude in PA. for consultations and his sister study in cow-peas.

Special thanks to Ecotechnologies Group for funding both of our studies.  http://www.ecotechnologies.com/index.html

The soil carbon bond can lead to an integration of organic and commercial agriculture practices. Biochar is a tool for both, for organic to increase its already-sustainable credentials, for chemical agriculture to at least halt soil carbon mining and seriously reduce nutrient runoff. The carbon sequestration bond can lead to a marriage of the best practices from both systems of agriculture to build soil into a biologically vital synergistic organism.

I hope to demonstrate this in my field trials with Roundup-ready corn, with the consultation of the Rodale Institute. Soil test for the full spectrum of food web organisms should ferret out the affinity of BioChar with these organisms in the context of standard chemical agricultural practices, and at Rodale with organic practice.

Erich J. Knight
Eco Technologies Group Technical Adviser
University of California Riverside advisory board member
Shenandoah Gardens (Owner)
1047 Dave Barry Rd.
McGaheysville, VA. 22840
540 289 9750

Gasifier Charcoal as a Substitute for Vermiculite in Container Growing Media
Tom Miles, August 22, 2009
P Pine Seedlings in 25% Biochar
Our second trial of biochar as a substitute for vermiculite in container media for growing tree seedling has proved successful. These tests are by a private nursery to determine if charcoal from a gasifier heating system can be used in container growing media.

Last year weathered charcoal was collected from forest fire burns, milled, and used as a direct substitute for vermiculite in up to 50% of the container mix. Some of those trees have been retained in containers for a second year and still look good. At that time the forest tree nursery concluded that the biochar could be used for up to 50% of the mix with some adjustments to plant nutrition.
http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org/charcoalmedia

This year the nursery filled a larger sample with media containing 25% biochar from a gasifier.

During gasification the char is made as wood (mixed Pine and Douglas Fir from the California Coast range) is subjected to temperatures of 1000 C (1832 F) in an oxidizing atmosphere and 850C (1562 F) in a reducing environment. Tars are volatilized and combusted to carbon dioxide and water. Tars are completely consumed in the process. The CO2 reacts with the devolatilized charcoal to form a gas rich in carbon monoxide and hydrogen. The gas will be used in place of propane to heat greenhouses.

Water is condensed from the gas. The recovered water (condensate) could probably be used to supplement irrigation. It is clear to light lemon colored and has a faint odor. It has a pH of 7.1 and is highly saline with an electrical conductivity (EC) of 5.1 mS/cm. It will be analyzed for composition.

Less than 5% of the dry fuel is recovered from the gasifier as a charcoal residue. The charcoal residue is still being characterized. It is small in size and puffy with powdery fines that are like a confectioner’s sugar. Due to the conditions of carbonization it is likely that it has very low labile (volatile) carbon, high surface area, high CEC and high pH. (High pH does not appear to have affected nutrient availability in previous trials even up to 50% charcoal in the container mix.) It was tested at the nursery as biochar.

Ponderosa pine seedlings grown in 25% gasifier charcoal since June were identical in root development and plant growth as those grown in the vermiculite mix. Two of each are shown in the attached image.

Future trials will use biochar in media to grow other tree species.
Condensate from Wood Gas

 These two posts may be of interest.  In any case, all comments and suggestions are welcomed.

1. A Path Towards Carbon Negative Heating

http://www.greaterdemocracy.org/archives/806

and 

2. A Path Towards Low Carbon Agriculture

http://www.greaterdemocracy.org/archives/799

The second link lists 5 possible policy options, with a 6th in the comments, that might be considered. Note: none mentions biochar, but agreement with more than a few pretty much eliminates all but Biochar.  The idea is not to pick winners and losers, nor to tell elected officials what they have to do, and not to give policy staff one word they do not understand but gives them an excuse to walk away from the entire idea.

Regards,

Jock

Third year results: Fourth Corner Nurseries Soil/Biochar Study
Richard Haard, Plant Propogationist, July 31, 2009

This study predates the coining of the term biochar and I claim grandfather rights to use the word charcoal.

Third year results, Fourth Corner Nurseries soil/biochar study

Summer 2009 Biochar plot studyresults are showing some trends I have had difficulty measuring with the last two years of cropping these plots. The use of buckwheat, a short season cover crop plant makes a visual view of performance reflecting nutrition, quite vivid. In spite of the dips in the plots due to deer browse.

This image is a merged sequence of pictures taken at same distance. Background may be confusing because of perspective. These plots are the first set, (south end), of treatments laid out in a systematic way. Results from the north set are similar and will be presented in a final poster

This plot study included: compost ( a wood based commercial compost of sewage solids)
charcoal 1 ( about 1/2 inch minus), charcoal 2 ( powder from John Flottvik's pyrolyser).
fertilizer: a complete, chemical fertilizer

These additives were only used once. In 2008 and 2007 all plots were given a light treatment of urea, none in 2009, although the early spring cover crop was legume.

Quirks shown in pictures: upper right dips in each of 3 plots due to deer browse. Bump in production in compost plot that is consistent with every year and a odd drop in plant height in fertilizer plus charcoal 2 plot. Also the soil analysis of the north set of plots is better than the south part, and this also shows in the charcoal 2 only plot at the north end of the south set.

This said there are some interesting trends showing in this third year of this experiment.

Compost is still showing benefit even after continuous cropping.

This year the strategy was to duplicate our farm soil management strategy of cover cropping after two years to build up organic matter and burn weed seed. First cover crop in March was vetch and fava bean. Buckwheat was planted immediately in May and will be tilled in within a few weeks to be replaced with another cover crop (oats or barley) before planting with transplanted native plants next spring.

The compost + charcoal and compost + fertilizer + charcoal plots are showing the best growth of all the plots. This to me is an indication of synergism or an additive effect of charcoal in combination with compost.

Fertilizer series. The first 2 years of cropping the benefit of fertilizer was shown. Now I am seeing a decline in production in these plots. The compost plus fertilizer plot mysteriously is not better than compost only.

Control set. Interesting that the growth in the charcoal 1 is less than the control. Perhaps indication the charcoal errr biochar is removing nutrients from the soil. As mentioned above charcoal 2 control set is in beginning of higher nutrition soil.

This image is original size that allows scrolling close up.
Here is an image that shows all plots full screen.

Rich Haard, Propagation Manager
Fourth Corner Nurseries
Bellingham, Washington

Biochar Notes Links and Pointers
Jock gill, Vermont

http://www.greaterdemocracy.org/archives/739

Here’s the question: If the maximum “safe” level of CO2 in the atmosphere is 350 parts per million, but today’s level is ALREADY 385 ppm, is it “good enough” to simply reduce the rate at which we are adding CO2 to the atmosphere? Simply put, is any policy option limited to a ‘reduction in the rate of increase’ merely a re-arranging of the deck chairs on the Titanic?

Or, as seems logical, must we reverse direction and start REMOVING CO2 from the atmosphere as rapidly as possible? Can we reduce CO2 in the atmosphere by at least 10% fast enough to prevent serious global climate disruption? Attempting anything less would seem to be akin to voting for a disastrous future.

In 2007, we were already at at CO2 level of 383 ppm. So we have known of this overshoot for at least two years. We have, however, yet to hear any serious talk of changing direction. Nor is there any action to remove CO2 from the atmosphere on a global scale in order to attempt to preserve a semblance of life as we have know it. History shows that overshooting limits and carrying capacities inevitably has dire results: die offs and collapses. Is this what we want for our future?

Is biochar, the subject of this note, one way to reverse direction, make the soils healthier and more productive, as well as make a profit with increased crop yields? A profit driven approach to removing CO2 from the atmosphere seems the most likely to succeed. How would we engineer this on a global scale to achieve the results we desire in the required time frame?

If you are unfamiliar with Biochar / Biocarbon / Terra Preta, you can start learning about it in the Biochar Notes.
Jock Gill
Pellet Futures
P.O. Box 3
Peacham, VT 05862
Live Green & Thrive!
O: +1 (781) 396-0492
C: +1 (617) 449-8111
VT: (802) 613-1444