BioEnergy Lists: BioChar (or Terra Preta)

John Flottvik, January 2010

For more detail and pictures, see the attached presentation JF BioCarbon Systems Pine Beetle Presentation

PAH is an acronym for Poly-Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH), a chemical compound that contains more than one fused benzene ring. They are commonly found in petroleum fuels, coal products, and tar; e.g. Naphthalene, Anthracene, Phenanthrene

For more information take a look at the EUGRIS Portal for Soil and Water Management in Europe:
http://www.eugris.info/FurtherDescription.asp?Ca=2&Cy=0&T=Poly-Aromatic%20Hydrocarbons&e=7
(it includes references to peer reviewed articles)

Some of the chemistry is nicely outlined in this wiki article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aromatic_hydrocarbon
and this more comprehensive detail : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycyclic_aromatic_hydrocarbon

George Wightman Wallace Activated Carbon Reactor 1926
Jeff Davis, January 24, 2010

This patent changed the way I look at pyrolysis:

http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=FX15AAAAEBAJ&dq=1,639,356

Every word counts and it deserves special attention. It reminds me of the TLUD design.

Some good background information:
http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=XdRVAAAAEBAJ&dq=1565129
http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=iPxAAAAAEBAJ&dq=1536696

I don't know about you guys but Monday I'm hitting Lowes for some flue pipe supplies before going to work.

Jeff

Hugh McLaughlin, PhD, PE, Alterna Biocarbon Inc. , January 2010

Biochar is a vague term that applies to a potentially broad class of charcoal materials intended for addition to soils. Many raw materials and conversion processes can lay claim to producing biochar, and the resulting biochars will have different characteristics. The purpose of this discussion is to formulate a simple scheme for characterizing biochars before addition to soils. Efforts will be made to discuss the logic behind the individual characteristics, in addition to the limitations of the individual assays.

The presentation and content here is consistent with the paper titled “All Biochars are Not Created Equal, and How to Tell Them Apart”, by McLaughlin, Anderson, Shields and Reed presented at the North America Biochar Conference in Boulder, August, 2009. (http://cees.colorado.edu/biochar_characterization.html). However, this discussion is new, in the sense that it attempts to simplify the logic and methodology in order to arrive at a characterization strategy that is widely accessible to many practitioners.

The general characterization scheme breaks the biochar into a small number of constituent parts, consisting of: Moisture, Ash, Mobile Matter and Resident Matter. Each constituent part can be further subdivided, as will be discussed. Initially, we will discuss the significance of each portion, how it is measured and what the measurement represents. Then we will discuss additional biochar consideration when added to soils.

For addition detail, download the attached pdf: Characterizing Biochars

by Hugh McLaughlin, PhD, PE, Alterna Biocarbon Inc., January 2010 Version

Download the Instructions: 1G Toucan TLUD for Biochar Jan 2010 - final.pdf (630kb)

This is a three-part brief description of the World Stove Everything Nice stove made by Al Hislop and Patty Roberts, with Ron Larson participating in the first tests, January, 2010.

World Everything Nice Stove
Plans Available at: http://worldstove.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/EverythingNice_Stove_Instructions.pdf

Richard Haard, January 2010

Here is a simple screening test comparing herbicide inactivation by Biochar and Activated Charcoal. This test can be used to screen the relative adsorbtive capacity of your home made biochar by testing with an easily obtained herbicide, Caseron.

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Upper left treated set from right: activated charcoal powder, biochar granular, Caseron only
Upper right control set from right: activated charcoal, biochar, untreated.

Go to here for original image in high resolution (click original size) to view this up close

This test is with Caseron (dichlorobenil). Many other herbicides, pesticides are neutralized by activated charcoal. Use of activated charcoal is common accepted practice to clean up pesticide residues that result in poor performance via root development, germination, plant growth and vigor. Many herbicides such as Atrazine, Proamide, Amitrole and many others have either residual effect in soil or are transmitted in water. UC Riverside has nice tool for accessing leaching and runoff risk of chemicals as these here And as example here is profile for Atrazine, a widely used herbicide in corn production.

Results in plant performance then obtained with biochar that has adsorbtion properties similar to activated charcoal may be better explained by deactivation of toxins and/or natural/introduced inhibitors. Conversely farmers using herbicides as part of their normal production cycle may lose efficiency of their chemical applications if used coincidental with biochar.

Whether this property of biochar continues over time after active sites are filled up is not known to me and also whether these toxins are eventually degraded or released gradually in diluted form.

Industrial Charcoal Production

FAO Industrial Charcoal

June 2008, Zagreb, Croatia
http://www.drveniugljen.hr/

Strategy for a Modern Charcoal Industry in Croatia

Laurens Rademakers, Biochar Fund
December, 2009

See the attachment for full sized pictures.

we've designed a new biomass stove that produces char. The stove is a simple hybrid of a rocket stove and a retort. We would be glad if you could upload it to the stoves list, because we want to see what the community thinks of it. It is only a concept, even though we've tested some basic design steps.

We will be testing this design at our large biochar site in Congo, where our project soon kicks off.