BioEnergy Lists: BioChar (or Terra Preta)

Torrefaction: Picture - Machine #2 - 8/14/08
Joseph J. James, Agri-Tech Producers, LLC, August 15, 2008

Agri-tech Machine #2

Colleagues:

As most of you know, we are commercializing a unique form of torrefaction technology, developed by NC State University (NCSU). This process will densify, add value to, improve the characteristics of woody biomass, making it a much better feedstock for which to co-fire with coal, make superior pellets and briquettes and to use in gasifier operations. It also allows treated biomass to be shipped more economically and for greater distances.

Here's a picture of the 2nd-generation torrefaction machine. It is now operational and we are scheduling visits for a very limited number of additional individuals, on Friday, August 29th. Let me know if you wish to visit. Our horizon for having commercial units available is now sooner, rather than later, thanks to the hard work of our NCSU team and our strategic partners.

Regards,

JJJ

Joseph J. James
President
Agri-Tech Producers, LLC
116 Wildewood Club Court
Columbia, South Carolina 29223
Phone: (803) 462-0153
Cell: (803) 413-6801
Fax: (803) 462-9676
E-Mail:josephjjames@bellsouth.net

Exhaust Carbonization with 12/1 Listeroid
Rolf, Energies Naturales, August 15, 2008

Exhaust Carbonization: Exchanger screws into cyl. head left side, muffler comes on the right

-------------
Hallo friends of black magic,
just to make shure it works (or not) I made a little experiment in exhaust carbonization of granulated biomass .

It is a " quick and dirty " one ,I must admit but it gives a qualitative insight.

I run a 12/1 Listeroid on pure old veg oil. It puts out typically 2.5 kW el at 750 rpm, perhaps 1/3 load. The exhaust temp is around 360°C.The gas vol. of the 1.7 l engine should be around 10 l/s. I took the original muffler off and inserted a 1 1/2 steel pipe surrounded by a 50 mm square steel perfile.(pic ..28)All insulated with normal foam neoprene. The muffler went back on at the end of this exchanger

Beginning of carbonization

In the gap between the two pipes I filled almond shell bits and dust from a production line we run.(pic 36) it ranges from dust to 3 mm.

The engine runs and after a few min. the granulate begins to smolder.(pic 28) .I cover the upside, too and set a funnel fumes collector on top which leads the fumes into the engine´s intake(30)
Fumes to Engine Intake
Heavy fumes rise and the fuel pump rack moves in.

Temp. of the carbonizing biomass rises to 270 °C , measured with a thermopar. It eventually comes still higher since the whole granulate converts into fine black charcoal.(pic 35)

Charcoal
Compare the materials:(pic 33)

Charcoal and Shells

This was a crude experiment and not well prepared.
I measured the exhaust temp while on and it only dropped about 50 °C, which tells me that the exchange area is too small.

It is not hermetic, either.

I guess a properly loaded engine comes up to 420 °C and with a better xchanger we can heat the granulated biomass to 320 or more.

It won´t take much electrical energy in a ceramic(?) afterheater to raise the char , or just the fumes to a level where cracking of most long chain molecules occur.
Than cool it , take the dust out and feed it to the engine in dual fuel mode.

Who wants to make a quantitative experiment, since my time is too limited ?

Rolf
energiesnaturals@gmx.de

System

Invader Bush Namibia
Tom Miles, August 2008

Thorn bush is one of many invading bush species in Southern Africa. This bush is currently made into charcoal and in one location cleared to preserve habitat. The photo above is from the Chameleon Bush Encroachment Wiki created to help resource managers control the bush. Highlight the photo to see an album of photos showing the invader bush and chips recovered from clearing.

Principal species shown are sicklebush (Dichrostachys cinerea), blacktorn (Acacia mellifera), Mopane (Colophospermum mopane). Other principal species are yellow bark acacia (Acacia erubescens), red thorn or false umbrella thorn (Acacia reficiens),and to the South, three thorn Rhigozum (Rhigozum trichotomum).

There are hazards in the bush including the black mamba, or Shadow of Death, that struck us on the way to the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) reserve. The beneficiaries of clearing the invader bush are the animals and, of course, the livestock which has lost both value from damaged hides and pasture.

Tom

Wood ash admixture to organic wastes improves compost and its performance
T. Kuba , A. Tscholl , C. Partl, K. Meyer, H. Insam
Agriculture, Ecosystems, Environment Vol 127 (1-2), August 2008 pp 43-49

A B S T R A C T
Throughout Europe, increasing amounts of wood ash are produced from biomass incineration plants. Most of these ashes are currently landfilled, despite their nutrient and micronutrient contents. The aim of this research was to find a way to return wood ash from biomass incineration plants into the natural cycle
of matter. Three composts from source separated organic waste were produced with 0%, 8% and 16% ash admixture. The composting process was monitored by in situ measurements of temperature and CO2 concentration in the windrows. Maturation of the composts was observed through the parameters basal respiration, microbial biomass,metabolic quotient, Corg, Ntot, C/N-ratio and plant growth tests with cress.

Mature composts were further analysed for potential pH, electrical conductivity as well as for nutrient (Mg, K, P) and heavy metal contents. The process indicators showed that ash admixture had no adverse effects and all legal standards were met. All produced composts met the requirements of the Austrian Compost Ordinance (Compost Quality A or even A+).

In a field experiment – a recultivation trial on an alpine ski-run – we compared the effects of the three composts with an organic fertilizer and a mineral fertilizer. Best plant growth was found on the compost amended plots, followed by the organic fertilizer. Soil respiration measurements indicated a better performance of composts amended with 8% or 16% ash as compared to compost that did not contain ash.

Concluding it may be stated that up to 16% ash admixture to organic wastes does not impair the composting process but is even able to improve the product quality. However, it has to be made sure that only bottom ashes of low heavy metal contents are being used and strict quality control is implemented.

See also:
From Substrate to application: Microbes do the Job Insam et. al. Feb 2008. "What changes are to be expected from Wood ash as an Admixture."

Purchase from Science Direct http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2008.02.012

Bear Kaufmann. Initially posted April 7, 2008. Updated August 5, 2008.

Images showing trial preparation and radish germination
(Select image to enlarge in Gallery.)

Materials/Methods

Char was Lazzari Brand mesquite BBQ char (due to availability), crushed and screened to 1/8".
No nutrients were added to the char itself or to the soil.
Soil was FoxFarm OceanForest Potting Soil.
Sand used was horticultural sand.
No mycorrhizal fungi were added.
Mixtures range from 0-100% sand, soil, and char in ~16% increments by volume. 90 pots total. 28 combinations with 3 pots each + 6 additional pots at 33%/33%/33% composition. Pots were placed randomly within the tray. Tray was rotated 180° occasionally.
Plants were watered daily by a drip irrigation system.
Plants were removed from pots ~1 month after first watering. Soil was rinsed from roots and roots were patted dry with a towel. Wet weight of roots+shoots was measured (Acculab VI-3mg, 0.001 g precision).

Figure 1. Box Plots Showing Effect of Composition Across Three Transects

Figure 2. Pictures of Radishes at Important Compositions

Results

Plant growth was stunted even for the best preforming plants, likely due to the small pot size. Leaf color varied across different compositions.
A mixture of 33% charcoal and 67% soil had the best growth (176% of pure soil). Aside from mixtures around this level (Figure 1b), high levels of charcoal showed a generally negative effect on plant growth (Figure 1c).

Discussion

The positive interaction effects of charcoal and soil (Figure 1a,1b) are interesting. Assuming charcoal itself provides no integral nutrients to the soil (eg. nitrogen), increasing amounts of charcoal reduce nutrients available from the soil mixture. The effects at 33% char/67% soil, however, show beneficial effects. This could be explained by increased mineralization rates caused by the charcoal causing soil nutrients to be more available to plants. Beyond 33%, the Cation Exchange Capacity of the charcoal may have held the nutrients produced by mineralization, making them less plant available. Since the charcoal was not amended/soaked in a nutrient bearing solution it likely had a low Base Saturation leading to adsorption of nutrients as they became available. Other potential explanations for increased growth along the soil/char transect include alterations to pH or limiting nutrients (eg potassium(?)) provided by the charcoal. The speculative mineralization/CECi model could also explain the effects seen along the sand/char transect. Here, since the sand lacks organic materials and bound nutrients for soil microorganisms to make plant available, the increasing unsaturated CEC may have made any nutrients less plant available.

Author: Bear Kaufmann bear at ursine-design.com

A handy kiln for making charcoal from urban leaf litter
Appropriate Rural Technology Institute (ARTI), Pune, India www.arti-india.org

Single Barrel Charcoal Kiln

I can tell you how to make char out of your burnable organic waste. The simplest device is a top-lit updraft kiln. It consists of a vertical cylinder, having relatively small holes near its base for primary air. You fill the cylindrical body of the kiln with the material to be charred and then light it from the top. Once the fire gets going, you place a lid on the cylinder. There is a chimney built into the lid. The lid does not sit flush on the kiln, but there is a gap between the lid and the kiln. The draft created by the chimney sucks secondary air into the chimney, where it gets mixed with the pyrolysis gas to burn it. The biomass burns downwards, leaving a layer of charcoal on top. As the primary air comes upwards, it meets the burning front which traverses downwards. The burning biomass utilises all the oxygen in the primary air, so that the air going up through the layer of char has only carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen and the pyrolysis gas left in it. As there is no oxygen left in the updraft air, it cannot burn the char that has formed above the burning biomass.The pyrolysis gas and carbon monoxide burn in the chimney, because of the secondary air that is sucked in through the gap between the chimney and the kiln. You have to find out by trial and error, how long it takes to char the material loaded in the kiln. After that much time is over, you remove the lid, and extinguish the fire by sprinkling water over the burning material.

This particular device is portable and manually operated. There are larger charring kilns, based on the oven and retort process. Prof. Yuri Yudkevich, a Russian scientist, has made them for charring useless material generated by the timber industry in Russia.

We are already using both types of kilns under field conditions in India for charring agricultural waste as also urban waste.

We have a video CD that describes the kilns and you can fabricate them by watching the video CD. Our web site www.arti-india.org would show you how to get our CDs by paying us through Pay Pal.

Yours
A.D.Karve

See also:
Briquetted Charcoal from Sugarcane Trash

Biochar and Fertilization Blog
AJ Morris, July 2008

About this Site:

Welcome to Biochar and Fertilization: Civilization’s Final Hope. Unchecked, global warming and pollution will destroy civilization as we know it. We are seeing the initial stages already. If we are lucky, it won’t happen fast — but no one is quite sure, since there have been no global-wide catastrophes in recorded history. We are standing on the edge of the abyss, and act as if we can just keep going on, so long as we don’t look down. We are not cartoon characters however, one or two more steps and we will begin plunging helplessly downward, and then it will be too late to do anything about it. This site is about getting people to look down, take a step aside, and begin the arduous task of building a bridge across the chasm.

Biochar is the only plausible solution to the global warming threat. That it also can replace fossil fuels without wasting food crops (as some biofuel options do); that it enriches soil so that more and bigger crops will grow on less land; that it remediates soil, so that currently unproductive land may be made to produce crops and biomass; that it reduces run-off of pollutants into rivers and lakes; that it conserves moisture and lessens the need for irrigation; that it can be produced profitably, instead of having a high-cost; that it reduces the need for fertilizer by making nutrients more available to plants; all these are merely miraculous side-effects. That it sequesters carbon, in many cases for thousands or even tens of thousands of years, is the feature that will make biochar civilization’s salvation.

Fertilization is a necessary adjunct to biochar use, since the biochar is not itself a fertilizer. It acts more as a catalyst, making fertilizer more effective and longer lasting. On this site, we emphasize the use of organic fertilizers, particularly compost, as the ideal solution to soil fertility problems. We realize the transition from unsustainable and polluting petro-chemical based fertilizers to sustainable organic methods will take some time — a shift in mindset — but it must be done if we are to ’save the Earth.’

That phrase, ’save the Earth’ is euphemistic of course. The Earth will go on just fine whatever we do — it is mankind, and civilization that are really at stake. The growing rift between haves and have-nots can only lead to more global unrest. The constant growth of population amid declining resources can only lead to fatal crises. Add the effects of global warming into the mix, and massive starvation will likely follow.

Biochar offers a solution to many of these problems at once. If we have the foresight to combine organic fertilization with the biochar solution, we can support the world’s current population without destroying the rain forests, and stop global warming from wreaking havoc on the environment at the same time.

http://www.biocharfertilization.com/

David Yarrow: Confronting our Climate Change Challenge the Biochar Strategy
David Yarrow, July 28, 2008

I've revised my powerpoint illustrations for my "confronting our climate change challenge" talk about carbon-negative biochar strategy. They are now available as auto-running powerpoint slide shows, with "click to continue" prompts. I saved them in the version 1997-2003 format, although I created them with the new vista 2007 version.

The full set of 47 slides is a 20mb powerpoint file. I divided this into 9 smaller files of 1.4mb to 3.5mb:

1_Climate Change Introduction - 13 slides -- 2.1mb

2_Terra Preta History 1 - 5 slides -- 3.4mb

3_Terra Preta Research 1 - 3 slides -- 3.5mb

3_Terra Preta Research 2 - 6 slides -- 3.2mb

4_Biochar 1 NOT -2 slides -- 1.8mb

4_Biochar 2 Backyard -5 slides -- 2.8mb

Coming:
5_biochar 3 industry - 5 slides -- 2.1mb
5_biochar 4 EPRIDA - 3 slides -- 3.3mb
6_climate change close - 5 slides -- 1.4mb
TOTAL -- 23.0mb

for a green & peaceful planet,
David Yarrow
Turtle EyeLand Sanctuary
44 Gilligan Rd, East Greenbush, NY 12061
www.championtrees.org
www.OnondagaLakePeaceFestival.org
www.farmandfood.org
www.SeaAgri.com

Sustainable Technology: Biochar
Julie Major, Workshop presented to Sustainable Harvest International,Honduras, January 2008

Reported in La Cosecha (The Harvest), Sustainable Harvest International newsletter, Spring 2008, p. 4.

Black is the New Green: SHI Field Staff Learn the Benefits of Biochar for Agriculture

During the annual Board and staff meeting held in January in Honduras, field staff from Honduras, Nicaragua, Belize and Panama attended a workshop presented by Julie Major of Cornell University on managing soils with biochar. Biochar can be made simply and cheaply from any organic material, just by piling it, covering it up with soil to exclude air and setting it on fire. During the workshop biochar was made from rice hulls and pieces of pine wood for demonstration, but any crop residue or plant waste can be used to make biochar, such as coffee pulp, sawdust, sugarcane bagasse, etc.

Sustainable Harvest International
http://www.sustainableharvest.org/

Julie Major, Cornell University
http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/jm322/

Floating char
Max Henderson, Australia, July 27, 2008

Floating Char

8 Weeks Floating Char

Couple of photos 6 weeks apart. Bucket is 20 litres. Added
to the water has been some pee, cow poo and a tablespoon of molasses.
First photo was 2 weeks after adding the char, second is 6
weeks later.

Approx 80% of the char has now sunk. The rest looks like sinking in another fortnight.
The sunken char is much easier to break (in one hand) than the material still in dry storage.

This char was produced at high temp – probably in excess of 800C.

Also of interest is the harvest today of some potatoes 11 weeks after planting in a bed mixture of cocopeat, worm castings, cow poo and char lumps (up to 50mm pieces). There has been significant breakup of the char,
with no mechanical processes involved.

I’m coming to the conclusion that if there is a reasonable mix of moisture, temp, critter activity, humus and nutrients, it matters little in the medium term what size the char particles are.

Max H