tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post9015829194428171175..comments2024-03-27T16:08:30.313-05:00Comments on The Great Change: Biochar’s Fractal DimensionAlbert Bateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17627996921976501534noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post-40923485843574381992011-02-23T20:30:20.002-06:002011-02-23T20:30:20.002-06:00Dear Nick,
Great work,
My only suggestion, in you...Dear Nick,<br />Great work, <br />My only suggestion, in your text, is about char having "property of capturing atmospheric CO2".<br />Plants capture CO2, carbonization fixes that carbon plant cell structure to elemental carbon.<br /><br />Buy burning only the hydro-carbon gas & oils, leaves the balance of the plant carbon to be returned to the soil.Erich J. Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10995702794016834400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post-2709616457906615962011-02-23T17:46:44.085-06:002011-02-23T17:46:44.085-06:00I really enjoy your site and especially this artic...I really enjoy your site and especially this article; this article helped me seal the deal and start making biochar here in Northern Peru...I dont know of anyone else doing it around here. Ive recently got my oven up and running, you can find it here:<br /><br />www.sachachar.blogspot.com<br /><br />I'd love some of you input or at least for you to check out our small effort at lending a helping hand down here.<br /><br />Thanks and keep charring,<br /><br />NickNicoláshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06735605841974947976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post-36302064984318557332010-04-15T04:25:24.851-05:002010-04-15T04:25:24.851-05:00Please put this (soil) bug in your colleague's...Please put this (soil) bug in your colleague's ears. These issues need to gain traction among all the various disciplines who have an iron in this fire.<br />http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/09/soil/mann-text<br /><a href="http://www.mcdstcourse.com" rel="nofollow">mcdst</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post-67634035372391278092009-08-09T15:31:59.959-05:002009-08-09T15:31:59.959-05:00On the 1st of August, 2009, Mantria Industries ope...On the 1st of August, 2009, Mantria Industries opened it’s Mantria EternaGreen Center at Dunlap, Tennessee. The facility is the world’s largest BioChar plant - and the only commercial operation of its kind anywhere.<br /><br />The Center's output of BioChar can potentially sequester 96,000 tons of CO2 per year. The plant will convert 43,000 tons of biomass waste to 32,000 tons of EternaGreen™ BioChar annually. Additionally, the facility will produce enough BioElectricity to power more than 1,200 households.<br /><br />In the fields next to the center, Mantria Industries will be growing bamboo, switch and elephant grass as feedstock for the plant, earning carbon credit in the process.<br /><br />EternaGreen ™ BioChar is a BioProduct ™ created by the innovative EternaGreen ™ Carbonization process, which is a groundbreaking new method of converting biomass into energy, fuel and valuable carbon products. <br /><br />BioChar itself is backed by over 30 years of research and promises to drastically reduce greenhouse gasses, increase crop yields greatly, and provides new life to our ecosystem. <br />As a soil amendment, EternaGreen TM BioChar can help increase the Cation Exchange Capacity or CEC which allows for nutrients to be readily available to plants. Due to its highly porous structure EternaGreen TM BioChar allows for supreme adsorption of nutrients, minerals, and gasses increasing microbial functions in the soil. EternaGreen TM BioChar acts as a "sponge" for nutrients and minerals releasing them as needed ensuring that farmers get the most out of your soil using far less water and fertilizer. <br /><br />BioChar is not going to combat global warming alone, but will - now that it is available in commercial quantities - have a very positive impact on CO2 levels, green energy production, waste reduction and increased agricultural output.<br /><br />To learn more visit: http://www.biocharcorp.comWebcatcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16004253665207328008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post-6949775739740464622009-02-02T06:32:00.000-06:002009-02-02T06:32:00.000-06:00time dimensions????time dimensions????Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post-25189213740385556492009-01-14T20:50:00.000-06:002009-01-14T20:50:00.000-06:00If biochar is so hard to make properly, (as Bates...If biochar is so hard to make properly, (as Bates reports), how is it the ancient Aztecs etc could do it?Ian Grahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02975374352244687491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post-45905533034890832952009-01-10T13:24:00.000-06:002009-01-10T13:24:00.000-06:00I am grateful that there is so much interest in th...I am grateful that there is so much interest in this posting. It is now 3 months later and we are still getting comments. I am resisting the impulse to reply to specific questions about biochar and the soil or climate because I am now working on a book for New Society on this subject and while I am learning a great deal more than I had known, it also is showing me how little I, or modern science, still knows. So until my book comes out and answers all your questions, I would just refer you to the lively discussions on numerous websites, and the terra preta list at biochar@yahoogroups.com.Albert Bateshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17627996921976501534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post-73178415307797778302009-01-09T20:25:00.000-06:002009-01-09T20:25:00.000-06:00Why is activated carbon not sufficient for boostin...Why is activated carbon not sufficient for boosting soil fertility? If anything it would be even more porous than biochar wouldn't it? How much quicker would it degrade than biochar?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post-18215123016291513042009-01-07T02:20:00.000-06:002009-01-07T02:20:00.000-06:00Also, I'm not too sure what you meant with your co...Also, I'm not too sure what you meant with your comment here:<BR/><BR/>"As for how it stuffs more carbon away, I think we can empirically conclude from the carbon dating of terra preta soils in Brazil that it lasts twice as long as the oldest redwoods, and still going. Certainly some must be gnawed off and transported away every year, but by-and-large the terra preta soils do a better sequestration job than the trees above them."<BR/><BR/>From what I assumed about biochar, it allowed carbon sequestration by dramatically increasing plant yields by holding in nutrients and increasing microfauna, which in turn absorb more carbon and add to the carbon sink. I didn't have the impression that the biochar itself actually absorbed the carbon from the airAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post-47817325543219273012009-01-07T02:14:00.000-06:002009-01-07T02:14:00.000-06:00I think the real question is...how do you go about...I think the real question is...how do you go about making biochar or buying biochar, and how do you apply this stuff?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post-67418684728636288542008-12-08T16:33:00.000-06:002008-12-08T16:33:00.000-06:00Could the charcoal that is left after a wood fire ...Could the charcoal that is left after a wood fire in a modern, efficient woodstove be crushed to make biochar?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post-36870790618189890132008-11-11T22:14:00.000-06:002008-11-11T22:14:00.000-06:00The modern Closed-loop pyrolysis units , like the ...The modern Closed-loop pyrolysis units , like the companies below emit No GHG, the CO2 emitted when gas and oil are combusted is Carbon neutral.<BR/>Each fuel cycle for every ton of biomass processed sequesteres 1/3 as biochar <BR/><BR/>http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org/company<BR/><BR/>Cheers <BR/>ErichErich J. Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10995702794016834400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post-40122991247175572552008-11-02T07:11:00.000-06:002008-11-02T07:11:00.000-06:00Jan asks how much carbon is released in the manufa...Jan asks how much carbon is released in the manufacture of biochar and the answer to that is, it depends. Many things matter, including the temperature/pressure and duration of the burn, the control of oxygen, the feedstock and moisture. <BR/><BR/>As for how it stuffs more carbon away, I think we can empirically conclude from the carbon dating of terra preta soils in Brazil that it lasts twice as long as the oldest redwoods, and still going. Certainly some must be gnawed off and transported away every year, but by-and-large the terra preta soils do a better sequestration job than the trees above them. How that happens is a pulsing artery of scientific inquiry, but it may have to do with the distinction between "active" carbon molecules and "inactive" carbon, which is nearly pure C. The former can combine easily and be carried away, even to the atmosphere, while the latter remain as inert structure. What holds them so tightly bound? Is Buckytubes? We don't know yet, but we may some day.Albert Bateshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17627996921976501534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post-86369097255309220192008-11-02T01:05:00.000-06:002008-11-02T01:05:00.000-06:00How much carbon is released in the manufacture of ...How much carbon is released in the manufacture of biochar and in the combustion of the resulting producer gas?<BR/><BR/>While biochar certainly saves more carbon than merely burning firewood, and I agree that its use as a soil amendment has value, it is not clear to me how it stuffs more carbon away than leaving the tree standing.Jan Steinmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11899788309779228244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post-40423247197445738312008-10-30T11:38:00.000-05:002008-10-30T11:38:00.000-05:00Very interesting, Albert. Thanks. Rough is real an...Very interesting, Albert. Thanks. Rough is real and good. Mandelbrot's critique of Euclid is elegant. Now we must do the same to Plato.Artemisa's Granddaughterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09019639733344061917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post-27813314521771459662008-10-30T01:30:00.000-05:002008-10-30T01:30:00.000-05:00Charles Mann ("1491") in the Sept. Natio...Charles Mann ("1491") in the Sept. National Geographic, has a wonderful soils article which places Terra Preta / Biochar soils center stage.<BR/>I think Biochar has climbed the pinnacle, the Combined English and other language circulation of NGM is nearly nine million monthly with more than fifty million readers monthly!<BR/>We need to encourage more coverage now, to ride Mann's coattails to public critical mass.<BR/><BR/>Please put this (soil) bug in your colleague's ears. These issues need to gain traction among all the various disciplines who have an iron in this fire.<BR/>http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/09/soil/mann-text<BR/><BR/>I love the "MEGO" factor theme Mann built the story around. Lord... how I KNOW that reaction.<BR/><BR/>I like his characterization concerning the pot shards found in Terra Preta soils;<BR/><BR/>so filled with pottery - "It was as if the river's first inhabitants had<BR/>thrown a huge, rowdy frat party, smashing every plate in sight, then<BR/>buried the evidence."<BR/><BR/>A couple of researchers I was not aware of were quoted, and I'll be sending them posts about our Biochar group: <BR/>http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/biochar/?yguid=122501696<BR/> <BR/>and data base;<BR/> http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org/?q=node<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>I also have been trying to convince Michael Pollan ( NYT Food Columnist, Author ) to do a follow up story, with pleading emails to him<BR/><BR/><BR/>Since the NGM cover reads "WHERE FOOD BEGINS" , I thought this would be right down his alley and focus more attention on Mann's work.<BR/><BR/>I've admiried his ability since "Botany of Desire" to over come the "MEGO" factor (My Eyes Glaze Over) and make food & agriculture into page turners.<BR/><BR/>It's what Mann hasn't covered that I thought should interest any writer as a follow up article.<BR/><BR/>The Biochar provisions by Sen.Ken Salazar in the 07 farm bill,<BR/><BR/>http://www.biochar-international.org/newinformationevents/newlegislation.html<BR/><BR/>Dr, James Hansen's Global warming solutions paper and letter to the G-8 conference last month, and coming article in Science,<BR/> http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/0804/0804.1126.pdf<BR/><BR/>The many new university programs & field studies, in temperate soils<BR/><BR/>Glomalin's role in soil tilth & Terra Preta,<BR/><BR/>The International Biochar Initiative Conference Sept 8 in New Castle;<BR/>http://www.biochar-international.org/ibi2008conference/aboutibi2008conference.html<BR/><BR/><BR/>Given the current "Crisis" atmosphere concerning energy, soil sustainability, food vs. Biofuels, and Climate Change what other subject addresses them all?<BR/><BR/>Biochar, the modern version of an ancient Amazonian agricultural practice called Terra Preta (black earth), is gaining widespread credibility as a way to address world hunger, climate change, rural poverty, deforestation, and energy shortages… SIMULTANEOUSLY!<BR/><BR/>This technology represents the most comprehensive, low cost, and productive approach to long term stewardship and sustainability.<BR/>Terra Preta Soils a process for Carbon Negative Bio fuels, massive Carbon sequestration,10X Lower Methane & N2O soil emissions, and 3X Fertility Too. Every 1 ton of Biomass yields 1/3 ton Charcoal for soil Sequestration.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Carbon to the Soil, the only ubiquitous and economic place to put it.<BR/><BR/>Erich<BR/>540 289 9750<BR/><BR/><BR/>Biochar Studies at ACS Huston meeting;<BR/><BR/>578-I: http://a-c-s.confex.com/crops/2008am/webprogram/Session4231.html<BR/><BR/>579-II http://a-c-s.confex.com/crops/2008am/webprogram/Session4496.html<BR/><BR/>665 - III. http://a-c-s.confex.com/crops/2008am/webprogram/Session4497.html<BR/><BR/>666-IV http://a-c-s.confex.com/crops/2008am/webprogram/Session4498.html<BR/><BR/>Most all this work corroborates char soil dynamics we have seen so far . The soil GHG emissions work showing increased CO2 , also speculates that this CO2 has to get through the hungry plants above before becoming a GHG.<BR/>The SOM, MYC& Microbes, N2O (soil structure), CH4 , nutrient holding , Nitrogen shock, humic compound conditioning, absorbing of herbicides all pretty much what we expected to hear.Erich J. Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10995702794016834400noreply@blogger.com