Biochar

The Soil Fertility Project is an interesting project that attempts to use biochar to address soil fertility and climate change both in Wales in weed eradication projects.

In the Indian project ( http://www.soilfertilityproject.com/Soil_Fertility/Indian_Project.html). The participants started by using the Anila stove to product biochar, but found that it was unworkable. Now they are using a digestor to process wet waste, get some energy, and use the slurry for fertilizer. They are also using a small BiG Char unit to process green waste into biochar.

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Vithusa Biochar Kiln

Vuthisa Technologies in South Africa have been working on improving the Portable Metal Kiln Charcoal Making Method and using a retort design to reduce emissions and improve efficiency making charcoal.

They have a great description with lots of detail on their web site: http://vuthisa.com/biochar/
as well as a Google Group:
https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en-GB&fromgroups#!forum/portable-kiln

In short the system is composted of an outer drum, often fabricated of sheet steel enclosing an inner set of 30 gallon drums.

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Gasifier test setup

Josh Kearns
Aqueous Solutions
http://www.aqsolutions.org

Contamination of drinking water sources by synthetic organic compounds (SOCs – e.g. pesticides, pharmaceuticals, fuel compounds) is a growing worldwide problem. Many of these chemicals bio-accumulate in the human body and cause cancer, birth defects and diseases of the reproductive system, and disrupt endocrine and neurological systems. However, few low-cost, sustainable and appropriate treatment technologies are available to rural and developing communities for SOC removal. Moreover, SOCs are rarely or not-at-all addressed in the majority of safe drinking water programs implemented by major international development NGOs and government agencies, university research programs, philanthropic organizations, non-profits, faith-based charities, etc.

MASS Laboratory has been working with Bartlet Tree Experts on an series of plot tests, and field tests to study the use of biochar in caring for trees, particularly urban street trees.

MASS Laboratory has a great description of the work here:
http://www.masslaboratory.org/arbochar---arboriculture-and-biochar.html

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If you are interested in carbon negative energy and in biochar come to
A Presentation by Dr. Jerry Whitfield
Thursday May 24 at 3pm
At the Coach Barn at

Shelburne Farms in Shelburne, Vermont

Dr. Jerry Whitfield (Whitfield Biochar LLC), inventor of the pellet stove in the early 80’s, is developing a continuous flow, pyrolitic technology that converts numerous biomass types to elemental carbon (biochar) and clean, renewable syngas. The syngas is typically used onsite to create carbon negative thermal energy. The Biochar co-product has many valuable attributes for improving soil fertility and water quality.

Anyone interested in biochar and carbon negative energy is welcome.

Please forward this notice to others you know who may be interested. There is no fee for attending, but please email Julia Penca (jpenca@shelburnefarms.org) with biochar in the subject line, or call 802 985 0341 if you plan to attend.

We look forward to seeing you on May 24th.

David Yarrow, Four Oaks Farm

sunday we conducted our 18th test burn with our TLUD biochar burn barrel.
this time brad mostly loaded wood chips in the barrel.
this burn ran over 95 minutes, quietly, smoothly
and produced over 15 gallons of solid, dense biochar,

for more details see: http://www.dyarrow.org/18thBurn/

monday brad did two more wood chip burns.
the first ran 90 minutes.
the second ran over 2 hours.
we like burning wood chips!!

REMINDER:
this weekend is our first biochar workshop at four oaks farm.
saturday at 10am, sunday at 1pm, and monday at 6pm

http://www.dyarrow.org/biochar/

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Pyrolysium.org is a web platform for the promotion and development of pyrolysis as an efficient way to dispose of human remains using the least amount of energy possible.

Pyrolysium

is a low-tech, viable alternative to current standard burial and cremation practices and to expensive modern high-tech alternatives, which are based on the assumption of endless resources and which depend on sophisticated practices and steady supply lines. Pyrolysium tries to make the whole process so simple that in principal no controls and no electricity are needed.

Pyrolysium.org

will be a forum for collaboration in an “open source” kind of way to improve, develop and divulge this idea, and to make sure that it is not patented so that it is available to the whole human race as a tool to be used on the down-slope towards a sustainable future.

Today Chris fired up his own creation, which took an oil drum (with Texaco logo still intact) and a butane tank with the bottom cut off. Total cost, including welding & machining labor, was US$40. He stuffs the inner chamber (inverted gas tank -- the top handles serve as a stand) with guadua (bambusa vulgaris) -- great for the cellular structure -- and the outer chamber with woody scraps from the farm as he limbs trees, opens trails, etc. It takes about 20 min from the time he fires the barrel to get up to pyrolysis temperature, at which point the smoke coming from the barrels ignite and the burn is pretty clean. He puts food for his pigs -- breadfruit, chocho, bananas -- on top, to use some of the heat (it comes to a boil in a minute or two), but I have to say there is still a lot of waste heat that would be good to find some uses for.

The nice thing about this rig is that it is so simple and easy to operate that it can be used every day by either the farmer or his wife or son. Chris throws the bamboo-char into his pig pen for the pigs to pulverize. They ate it the first time, which was even better, but haven't eaten it again since.

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In this methods are explored for giving water and other inputs through use of biochar.

Rootigation 1 and Rootigation 2, Sapigation and Floatigation
Some of these methods are being applied in the field for mango plantation. Floatigation methods are being applied for poly houses.

http://biocharwaterconservation.blogspot.in/

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