Comments on: Disarming the Biochar Wars http://www.re-char.com/2009/11/10/disarming-the-biochar-wars/ Innovative Pyrolysis Technologies Thu, 01 Jul 2010 05:11:51 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Dan Young http://www.re-char.com/2009/11/10/disarming-the-biochar-wars/comment-page-1/#comment-3266 Dan Young Wed, 07 Apr 2010 20:40:43 +0000 http://www.re-char.com/?p=215#comment-3266 Mark, Reading your comments about Disarming the Biochar Wars, I think you're right on. Ag waste is the right fuel for biochar production, and it needs to be done right on the farm. I'm a nut for doing it efficiently and not wasting any heat. And it must be done in the cheapest possible way! Ideally it should drive a combined heat and power system. I have some ideas as to the best way to do some of it but not all of it. Got any ideas for controling the moisture content of the feed? Its hard to do it the best possible way and still do it cheap! Still, I'd like to talk to someone experienced. Dan Young dyoung6820@comcast.net Mark,

Reading your comments about Disarming the Biochar Wars, I think you're right on. Ag waste is the right fuel for biochar production, and it needs to be done right on the farm. I'm a nut for doing it efficiently and not wasting any heat. And it must be done in the cheapest possible way! Ideally it should drive a combined heat and power system. I have some ideas as to the best way to do some of it but not all of it. Got any ideas for controling the moisture content of the feed?

Its hard to do it the best possible way and still do it cheap! Still, I'd like to talk to someone experienced.

Dan Young
dyoung6820@comcast.net

]]> By: Mark Chapin http://www.re-char.com/2009/11/10/disarming-the-biochar-wars/comment-page-1/#comment-2069 Mark Chapin Wed, 09 Dec 2009 03:16:17 +0000 http://www.re-char.com/?p=215#comment-2069 As a small farmer I would disagree with some comments. I feel bio char will be a huge asset to agriculture, or it should be. Right now 100 pounds of fertilizer may have over 50 pounds of inert products (waste products). That inert ingredient should be carbon which will help rebuild the organic matter in our soils. I agree that hauling light weight bulky carbon cross country does not make any sense. Every Farm/Ranch in the country should be making carbon or at least a local COOP. But the design needs to be economical to construct. Remember farmers/ranchers pay retail and sell wholesale. Thus the margins in agriculture are very slim. I have tried numerous methods for making carbon. Presently I am using waste vegetable oil to heat my oven. I use WVO to power all my diesel equipment. The WVO that is not suitable for power equipment I am using to produce heat for my carbon oven. Keep up the good work As a small farmer I would disagree with some comments. I feel bio char will be a huge asset to agriculture, or it should be. Right now 100 pounds of fertilizer may have over 50 pounds of inert products (waste products). That inert ingredient should be carbon which will help rebuild the organic matter in our soils. I agree that hauling light weight bulky carbon cross country does not make any sense. Every Farm/Ranch in the country should be making carbon or at least a local COOP. But the design needs to be economical to construct. Remember farmers/ranchers pay retail and sell wholesale. Thus the margins in agriculture are very slim. I have tried numerous methods for making carbon. Presently I am using waste vegetable oil to heat my oven. I use WVO to power all my diesel equipment. The WVO that is not suitable for power equipment I am using to produce heat for my carbon oven. Keep up the good work

]]> By: Nando http://www.re-char.com/2009/11/10/disarming-the-biochar-wars/comment-page-1/#comment-212 Nando Fri, 24 Jul 2009 10:11:16 +0000 http://www.re-char.com/?p=215#comment-212 The economics of shifting biomass over distance isn't the only problem with the argument that biochar would drive deforestation, especially if the price on carbon was high enough. Carbon accounting methods used in emission reduction markets extended to biochar would look to the decomposition rate of the biomass used as feedstock as a baseline, (what else could be used???) and factor that in on a year over year basis. So in the case of standing forest, even if it would be allowed to clear the wood under certain circumstances to be uses as the feedstock in a biochar carbon market methodology, the slow decomposition rate of the baseline case would mean that carbon credits based on the carbon sequestered would only accrue very, very, very slowly, over perhaps 50 to 100 years. In effect, you'd have to wait a long time to realize the monetary benefit from the carbon credit, so long that it would be worthless. The economics of shifting biomass over distance isn't the only problem with the argument that biochar would drive deforestation, especially if the price on carbon was high enough. Carbon accounting methods used in emission reduction markets extended to biochar would look to the decomposition rate of the biomass used as feedstock as a baseline, (what else could be used???) and factor that in on a year over year basis. So in the case of standing forest, even if it would be allowed to clear the wood under certain circumstances to be uses as the feedstock in a biochar carbon market methodology, the slow decomposition rate of the baseline case would mean that carbon credits based on the carbon sequestered would only accrue very, very, very slowly, over perhaps 50 to 100 years. In effect, you'd have to wait a long time to realize the monetary benefit from the carbon credit, so long that it would be worthless.

]]> By: J A Ginsburg http://www.re-char.com/2009/11/10/disarming-the-biochar-wars/comment-page-1/#comment-17 J A Ginsburg Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:26:13 +0000 http://www.re-char.com/?p=215#comment-17 re Tom G's comment: "But biochar -the end product- won’t... put food on your table." Biochar is what make terra preta fertile. It creates a matrix around which microbe and all sorts of good things can work to improve soil. That's food. On the table. And pretty wonderful. re Tom G’s comment: “But biochar -the end product- won’t… put food on your table.” Biochar is what make terra preta fertile. It creates a matrix around which microbe and all sorts of good things can work to improve soil. That’s food. On the table. And pretty wonderful.

]]> By: David Pollard http://www.re-char.com/2009/11/10/disarming-the-biochar-wars/comment-page-1/#comment-16 David Pollard Mon, 13 Apr 2009 11:44:33 +0000 http://www.re-char.com/?p=215#comment-16 One of the advantages of microwave heating for pyrolysis is said to be that energy is delivered into the bulk of the material, rather than just to one surface of the vessel when external heating is used or to the surface of material chips when hot gas circulation or a transfer medium is used. Heating by microwave energy does indeed entail energy loss. If pyrolysis plant can be made at a sufficiently low capital cost, however, there is a possibility to use it at a low duty cycle. Using, say, off-peak nuclear energy the losses are not so much of a concern. The additional capture/recycling of the 20% or so of material otherwise used to drive the pyrolysis would be a useful gain. A particularly interesting possibility is to use wind generated electricity as the power source. Microwave pyrolysis with gas storage provides an opportunity to convert this inconveniently erratic supply so that it can be used as and when energy is required. One of the advantages of microwave heating for pyrolysis is said to be that energy is delivered into the bulk of the material, rather than just to one surface of the vessel when external heating is used or to the surface of material chips when hot gas circulation or a transfer medium is used.

Heating by microwave energy does indeed entail energy loss. If pyrolysis plant can be made at a sufficiently low capital cost, however, there is a possibility to use it at a low duty cycle. Using, say, off-peak nuclear energy the losses are not so much of a concern. The additional capture/recycling of the 20% or so of material otherwise used to drive the pyrolysis would be a useful gain.

A particularly interesting possibility is to use wind generated electricity as the power source. Microwave pyrolysis with gas storage provides an opportunity to convert this inconveniently erratic supply so that it can be used as and when energy is required.

]]> By: Kevin Chisholm http://www.re-char.com/2009/11/10/disarming-the-biochar-wars/comment-page-1/#comment-15 Kevin Chisholm Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:39:22 +0000 http://www.re-char.com/?p=215#comment-15 What would you propose as a definition of "Biochar?" Thanks! Kevin What would you propose as a definition of “Biochar?”

Thanks!

Kevin

]]> By: Tom G http://www.re-char.com/2009/11/10/disarming-the-biochar-wars/comment-page-1/#comment-13 Tom G Thu, 09 Apr 2009 01:10:16 +0000 http://www.re-char.com/?p=215#comment-13 Biochar is like a piece of meat between the big dogs: Agriculture, Energy, the Environment. Those same dogs are going to be fighting over carbon credits for the next 20 years, so Biochar is going to see some teethmarks. But biochar -the end product- won't power your car or heat your house or put food on your table. The making of biochar will never be as profitable as making fuel directly or food directly, even with carbon subsidies. Besides, you probably will have to bury it before you get paid. That's a lot of work. So I doubt that biochar will be causing the next dystopia. Biochar is like a piece of meat between the big dogs: Agriculture, Energy, the Environment. Those same dogs are going to be fighting over carbon credits for the next 20 years, so Biochar is going to see some teethmarks. But biochar -the end product- won’t power your car or heat your house or put food on your table. The making of biochar will never be as profitable as making fuel directly or food directly, even with carbon subsidies. Besides, you probably will have to bury it before you get paid. That’s a lot of work. So I doubt that biochar will be causing the next dystopia.

]]> By: Topics about Sports-supplements » Archive » Disarming the Biochar Wars http://www.re-char.com/2009/11/10/disarming-the-biochar-wars/comment-page-1/#comment-11 Topics about Sports-supplements » Archive » Disarming the Biochar Wars Wed, 08 Apr 2009 21:49:56 +0000 http://www.re-char.com/?p=215#comment-11 [...] re:char put an intriguing blog post on Disarming the Biochar WarsHere’s a quick excerptSince we posted on the growing debate over biochar, the Internet and the twitterverse have ignited into a firestorm of controversy over biochar. In general, it seems that a lack of information is pervading both sides of the debate. As a seasoned group of biochar enthusiasts, entrepreneurs and researchers, re:char presents the following items which we believe will clear up the most common misconceptions about biochar. We urge our readers to link to this article, as anti-biochar crusaders have r [...] [...] re:char put an intriguing blog post on Disarming the Biochar WarsHere’s a quick excerptSince we posted on the growing debate over biochar, the Internet and the twitterverse have ignited into a firestorm of controversy over biochar. In general, it seems that a lack of information is pervading both sides of the debate. As a seasoned group of biochar enthusiasts, entrepreneurs and researchers, re:char presents the following items which we believe will clear up the most common misconceptions about biochar. We urge our readers to link to this article, as anti-biochar crusaders have r [...]

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