Terra Preta: "Black Earth"

[Tanada]

That would be a bit tricky, since I haven't done any, though if anyone here has, I'd be interested to hear about the results.

Working on a very small scale I am trying it but so far no results. I only learned about it a couple months ago so fall was done by then and so on and so forth. The theory seems sound, it worked for the Amazonian Indian culture before European disease wiped out their civilization and I have great hopes, not as a global warming countermeasure but as the 'black' agriculture revolution some predict. So far in the few field tests I have read about the biochar does a top notch job of retaining nutrients in the soil where the plants can access it.

[mos6507]

In theory it sounds like it should help but if you just look at the scale of the task of carbon sequestration, I don't think it can help that much.

[spiritof1976]

In theory it sounds like it should help but if you just look at the scale of the task of carbon sequestration, I don't think it can help that much.

As opposed to the scale of global agriculture?

Granted, one or two plants dotted around here and there aren't going to make a difference, but a concerted global effort to get farmers across the world to adopt biochar use?

I've heard figures bandied about that if 2.5% of the world agricultural waste were turned into biochar, it could bring down atmospheric carbon to pre-industrial revolution levels by 2050. If that's accurate, it's damn impressive.

[Quinny]

Might be better than burning, but it seems kind of energy intensive to me.

[Ludi]

That would be a bit tricky, since I haven't done any, though if anyone here has, I'd be interested to hear about the results.

Well there ya go. If it isn't being implemented, it sure as hell can't reverse global warming.

[Tanada]

That would be a bit tricky, since I haven't done any, though if anyone here has, I'd be interested to hear about the results.

Well there ya go. If it isn't being implemented, it sure as hell can't reverse global warming.

Ludi, just because nobody here has tried it extensively yet does not mean nobody anywhere has been Here is a link to a guy who uses it a lot mixed with his compost--THREAD

I would think with your interest in Permaculture you would be the best of us to try it on one of your divisions and report back how well it works. Pretty please?

[Ludi]

Ludi, just because nobody here has tried it extensively yet does not mean nobody anywhere has been

I know, it's just, so many folks come on here with "this will save us!" technologies and then it turns out even these people who are interested in them aren't implementing them.

I would think with your interest in Permaculture you would be the best of us to try it on one of your divisions and report back how well it works. Pretty please?

I'll put it on my very long "to do" list.

[spiritof1976]

Ludi, just because nobody here has tried it extensively yet does not mean nobody anywhere has been

I know, it's just, so many folks come on here with "this will save us!" technologies and then it turns out even these people who are interested in them aren't implementing them.

Well, in my case I'd find it rather difficult to implement, what with living in an upstairs apartment. I think the landlord might object to my attempting to make charcoal in the bathroom.

And I'm not saying, "this will save us". What I'm saying is, "other people have claimed this will save us. Does anyone have any experiences/data?"

[Ludi]

Well, in my case I'd find it rather difficult to implement, what with living in an upstairs apartment. I think the landlord might object to my attempting to make charcoal in the bathroom.

You could see about implementing it at a community garden.

[rattleshirt]

My folks, another local small farmer and I are starting to use it on our farms...I'll report when I have some sort of result.

[spiritof1976]

My folks, another local small farmer and I are starting to use it on our farms...I'll report when I have some sort of result.

Interesting. Just out of curiosity, did you all decide to do it separately, or are you coming together as a collective to do it?

[rattleshirt]

I was already planning to try to create terra preta when Mom told me this other fellow needed two more farms to enroll in order to apply for grant money, so now it is kind of seperately together...I still don't kow if the grant money will come through or not but that won't slow me substantially.

[Tanada]

A new report was issued three weeks ago by the Congressional Research Service about Biochar and US Congressional actions on the topic.

Biochar retains nutrients for plant uptake and soil fertility. The infiltration of harmful quantities of
nutrients and pesticides into ground water and soil erosion runoff into surface waters can be limited with the use of biochar. If used for soil fertility, biochar may have a positive impact on
those in developing countries. Impoverished tropical and subtropical locales with abundant plant
material feedstock, inexpensive cooking fuel needs, and agricultural soil replenishment needs
could see an increase in crop yields.

LINK

[WildRose]

Well, from the article you provided, spiritof1976:

"Biochar is different from the dry charcoal that you'd burn in a grill: It is produced by heating plant waste to 400 to 500 degrees C in the absence of oxygen—a process known as low-temperature pyrolysis—which makes a substance that has a greater number of smaller pores than charcoal. (The better to trap carbon dioxide with.) The process used to make biochar is a closed, sustainable one: Biomass is fed into the oxygen-free burners and turned into the char. The gases that are released during the reaction is then captured and converted into electricity (from combustible gases) or biofuel, while the remaining char is safe to throw directly into the soil. Biochar does the rest of the work underground. The substance improves the ground's composition and fertility by locking in water and nutrients, thereby reducing the need for fertilizers while boosting crop yields. It also stores the carbon from the plant materials that made it— around 50 percent of the carbon produced from converting biomass into biochar can be trapped—and traps even more carbon from decomposing plants in the soil."

It sounds like each step in the process of making biochar (which I only learned about just now, thanks!) is efficient. No oxygen used in burning means less C02 produced, correct? The gases released during the process are used, and the rest of the char then goes into the soil, where it helps hold water and nutrients. Then it works toward carbon sequestration, as it has a "greater number of smaller pores" than charcoal.

Sounds pretty good to me, but I'm no scientist . I suppose the process where the gases are converted to electricity could be a little expensive, but Tanada or someone with expertise in this area could give an opinion about this.

[Tanada]

Well, from the article you provided, spiritof1976:

"Biochar is different from the dry charcoal that you'd burn in a grill: It is produced by heating plant waste to 400 to 500 degrees C in the absence of oxygen—a process known as low-temperature pyrolysis—which makes a substance that has a greater number of smaller pores than charcoal. (The better to trap carbon dioxide with.) The process used to make biochar is a closed, sustainable one: Biomass is fed into the oxygen-free burners and turned into the char. The gases that are released during the reaction is then captured and converted into electricity (from combustible gases) or biofuel, while the remaining char is safe to throw directly into the soil. Biochar does the rest of the work underground. The substance improves the ground's composition and fertility by locking in water and nutrients, thereby reducing the need for fertilizers while boosting crop yields. It also stores the carbon from the plant materials that made it— around 50 percent of the carbon produced from converting biomass into biochar can be trapped—and traps even more carbon from decomposing plants in the soil."

It sounds like each step in the process of making biochar (which I only learned about just now, thanks!) is efficient. No oxygen used in burning means less C02 produced, correct? The gases released during the process are used, and the rest of the char then goes into the soil, where it helps hold water and nutrients. Then it works toward carbon sequestration, as it has a "greater number of smaller pores" than charcoal.

Sounds pretty good to me, but I'm no scientist . I suppose the process where the gases are converted to electricity could be a little expensive, but Tanada or someone with expertise in this area could give an opinion about this.

Not an expert on Biochar but I read everything on it I can find. When you pyrolize the organic material to convert it into char you can capture the gasses and use them to run a slightly modified gas turbine electric powerplant. Most of those in the USA currently burn Natural Gas with distillate fuel as a substitute on site in case of pipeline supply interruptions. By placing a biochar manufatory at a GT electric powerplant and adding the appropriate fuel gas injector you can directly use the gas released by pyrolisys as fuel for the production of electricity.

My biggest hope for biochar isn't the carbon sequestration, it is the increasing of the soil organic content (SOC) which is what makes topsoil dark colored in the first place. Tests done on different soils with low organic content all show improvement from the addition of biochar. The biggest hurdle we have in keeping people from starving once Peak Oil really starts biting us is going to be maintaining sustainible agriculture and biochar has the reputation for turning sand and clay into loamy and fertile topsoil. I am hoping that this turns out to be a real phenomenom and not just another pipe dream. If it works as claimed then keeping people from either starving to death or wiping out the last of the worlds Jungles in slash and burn agriculture can be accomplished.

[WildRose]

Thanks, Tanada. Yes, let's hope it's potential can be realized. The soil-improving characteristics are really exciting.

[mos6507]

I have kind of an oddball thought here, but does any of the biochar ever make its way back into plant matter? The whole idea is that it's permanently sequestered, right? That means it is inert and just stays there like a rock for eternity. If that's the case, wouldn't widescale biochar present some logistical issues longterm as it will raise up the level of the land?

If you take all the extra CO2 that is in the atmosphere and instantly sequester it as carbon black wouldn't you wind up with a Vesuvius-grade layer of soot across all landmasses?

It seems that if this were taken to an extreme level there would need to be a permanent disposal location for the excess biochar.

[Ludi]

I have kind of an oddball thought here, but does any of the biochar ever make its way back into plant matter? The whole idea is that it's permanently sequestered, right? That means it is inert and just stays there like a rock for eternity. If that's the case, wouldn't widescale biochar present some logistical issues longterm as it will raise up the level of the land?

If you take all the extra CO2 that is in the atmosphere and instantly sequester it as carbon black wouldn't you wind up with a Vesuvius-grade layer of soot across all landmasses?

It seems that if this were taken to an extreme level there would need to be a permanent disposal location for the excess biochar.

Even if you improve your soil in a more gradual manner, the soil level will increase. Some folks who have done rotational grazing, which increases the humus and carbon content of the soil dramatically, see an increase in the soil level. Joel Salatin's farm is an example of this. He writes about it in his book "You Can Farm."

[Tanada]

I have kind of an oddball thought here, but does any of the biochar ever make its way back into plant matter? The whole idea is that it's permanently sequestered, right? That means it is inert and just stays there like a rock for eternity. If that's the case, wouldn't widescale biochar present some logistical issues longterm as it will raise up the level of the land?

If you take all the extra CO2 that is in the atmosphere and instantly sequester it as carbon black wouldn't you wind up with a Vesuvius-grade layer of soot across all landmasses?

It seems that if this were taken to an extreme level there would need to be a permanent disposal location for the excess biochar.

Yes and no, it is estimated that all of the conventional petroleum, natural gas and coal combined contain about 5 Teratons of carbon. Up to this point it is estimated we have released about 350 Gigatons or .35 Teratons. About 10% of the land area of the Earth is used for farming, grazing or forest. Much of the rest is desert or mountains that are totally unsuitible for it. 10% of the Earths land area is 5.7 Megamiles^2 or 14.8 Megakm^2. 350,000/5.7=61,403 tons/mi^2 or 23,648 tons/km^2. 61,403/640=96 tons/acre. 96,000kg/43650 ft^2= 2.2kg/ft^2 . Now 2.2kg sounds like a lot of carbon until you remember that dirt weighs about 46kg. Distributing 2.2 kg through the top foot of the soil gets you a volume increase of about 4% or .57 inches increase in height. I am too lazy to do all the in between calculations for hectares, square meters etc etc but .57 inches is 14.5 mm near enough.

Something else to keep in mind, the USA has purportedly lost about 4 inches of topsoil in most places that are farmed, so if you converted all the conventional fossil fuels through the cycle into charcoal that was added to the soil you would get 8.14 inches or 207mm of increase in soil height. That is presuming you put it all on just the 10% or the world covered in farms, forests and grasslands. If you spread it further afield by depositing it in desert areas, swamps and alpine tundra the depth goes down proportianately.

[Graeme]

'Biochar' goes industrial with giant microwaves to lock carbon in charcoal

Giant microwave ovens that can "cook" wood into charcoal could become our best tool in the fight against global warming, according to a leading British climate scientist.

Chris Turney, a professor of geography at the University of Exeter, said that by burying the charcoal produced from microwaved wood, the carbon dioxide absorbed by a tree as it grows can remain safely locked away for thousands of years. The technique could take out billions of tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere every year.

Fast-growing trees such as pine could be "farmed" to act specifically as carbon traps — microwaved, buried and replaced with a fresh crop to do the same thing again.

Turney has built a 5m-long prototype of his microwave, which produces a tonne of CO2 for $65. He plans to launch his company, Carbonscape, in the UK this month to build the next generation of the machine, which he hopes will process more wood and cut costs further.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/mar/13/charcoal-carbon