[Terrapreta] Sugar, use on soil

[Tom Miles]

High temperature and low temperature don't mean much. If I recall these were
two chars from the same feedstock made in the same reactor at two different
temperatures. We'll need to examine the composition of these chars and
characterize them in a different way so that we can clearly differentiate
char composition. Michael Antal has suggested volatile matter (VM). We may
also need to use something like chemical fractionation - leaching in water,
dilute acid and strong acid plus elemental analysis - or similar methods to
clearly identify the substances available to the microbes. 

 

What measures would the plant and soil people on this list suggest?

 

Tom

 

>Low temperature woody charcoal (not grass or high cellulose) has an
>interior layer of bio-oil condensates that microbes consume and is
>equal to glucose in its effect on microbial growth (Christoph Steiner,
>EACU 2004).
 >High temp char loses this layer and does not promote soil
>fertility very well.
 
>Michael Bailes.



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