[Terrapreta] Sustained Biochar

[Edward Someus]

YES  Open air charcoal kilns will release more GHG and exacerbate the global
warming problem.

But the closed loop charcoal kilns - such as we develop - targeting zero
emission performance for the process. 
 
 

Sincerely yours: Edward Someus (environmental engineer)
Terra Humana Clean Technology Engineering Ltd. 
(ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified organization for scientific research,
technical development and industrial performance engineering design of
agro-biotechnological and pyrolysis methods, apparatus and applications) 

ADDRESS: H-1222 Budapest, Szechenyi 59, Hungary
TEL handy:  +(36-20) 201 7557
TEL / FAX:   +(36-1) 424 0224
TEL SKYPE phone via computer:  Edward Someus
WEB:   www.terrenum.net 
-------Original Message-------
 
From: Sean K. Barry
Date: 2007.08.28. 6:45:59
To: Robert Klein
Cc: terrapreta
Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] Sustained Biochar
 
Hi Robert,
 
I don't know where you get the information for your postings.  It seems
sheer speculation.  Is it?  Isn't it?
 
Making charcoal in earthen mounds will NOT reduce the global warming effect
of green house gases (GHG).  This happens because all of the charcoal
(~93-95% carbon) that could be sequestered into soil, rather than being
released as CO2 (a complete combustion product and a GHG), still CANNOT
reduce away the effect of releasing the even 2-3% methane (CH4), during the
charcoal making process.  Open air charcoal kilns will release more GHG and
exacerbate the global warming problem.  This will happen even with all the
benefits that could be derived from burying the charcoal.  You will get
reduced atmospheric CO2, but also increased atmospheric methane (CH4), by
making charcoal this way.
 
This is a critically important fact.  Ask any bio-chemist?  It will not be
disputed.  Charcoal for "Neo Terra Preta" must be made in sealed reactor and
the producer gas should not be released to the atmosphere like exhaust, or
smoke.
 
The producer gas from a pyrolysis of biomass reaction contains 1) complete
combustion product gases; CO2, H2O, 2) combustible fuel gases; H2, CO, CH4,
3) inert + trace gases; N2, O2, Argon, etc., and 4) some suspended,
vaporized, tars (longer chain hydrocarbons and carbohydrates, like ethane
gas, methanol,  and acetic acid.  All together the "producer gas" can have
an energy content of ~200-300 BTU/Nm^3).  The higher BTU density gases come
come from low temperature pyrolysis (with very limited oxygen and lots of
added heat).  These gases are rich in methane (CH4) and longer chain
hydrocarbons.
 
One molecule of methane (CH4) has a GHG equivalent effect the same as 62
molecules of CO2!  This is a startling fact.
 
If open air pyrolysis retains as much as 25% of the original carbon in the
biomass, then 75% of all of the carbon from the biomass is expelled from the
reactor into the producer gas, as part of both carbon monoxide (CO - ~20% of
producer gas) and carbon dioxide (CO2 - ~10-15% of producer gas) gases. 
Burnt or simply released, it is still 75% of the carbon from the biomass
goes into the atmosphere.  Because of the potency of methane (CH4) as a GHG,
it is far worse to release methane (CH4), than it is to burn it;
 
    CH4 + 2(O2) => CO2 + 2(H20)
 
Rich BTU producer gas contains ~3% methane (CH4), so the producer gas
contains only ~10-11 times as many carbon containing molecules  as methane
molecules (CH4), (~0.30-0.35/0.03) = ~10-11.  The charcoal contains 1/3 the
amount of carbon (25%/75%) as the gas; so the number carbon atoms in the
charcoal compared to the number of methane (CH4) molecules is ONLY (((~0
30-0.35+0.03)/3)/0.03) = ~4:1.
 
RELEASING THE METHANE contained in the producer gas (unburned), then has the
same effect on the atmosphere as releasing 15 TIMES AS MUCH CARBON AS THERE
IS IN ALL OF THE CHARCOAL YOU COULD POSSIBLY BURY (62/4 = ~15)!
 
The point is then, that open air charcoal kilns CANNOT make charcoal fast
enough without making the atmospheric GHG conditions worse even faster.  It
is absolutely imperative the charcoal making devices should be "sealed" and
the producer gas should at minimum be "flared" off, or the fuels it contains
completely combusted and the resultant energy used.
 
Any simpler just make charcoal out in earthen kilns plan will poison the
atmosphere even faster than doing nothing, so we might cook the planet well
before we could realize any of the agricultural benefits of putting charcoal
into the ground.
 
Regards,
 
SKB
 
 
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Robert Klein 
To: terrapreta at bioenergylists.org 
Sent: Monday, August 27, 2007 3:15 PM
Subject: [Terrapreta] Sustained Biochar


I cannot help but think that the methods used to
produce the black soils must be self sustaining and
indigenous to the farm itself.  I also see the use of
fairly large pieces of charcoal that will be difficult
to pulverize properly.  Remember that grinding has a
natural sizing limit, past which a great deal of
effort is needed.

Without question the use of corn stover to build
natural earthen kilns is a great solution when we are
relying on hand labor alone.

See:http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot
com/2007/07/carbonizing-corn-in-field.html

We also can conclude that corn stover is the best
available source of large volume biochar. It needs to
be central to any program simply to ensure 100%
coverage of the fields with sufficient biochar.

Is there a way to do this in the field with equipment?

Let us return first to best hand practice. From there
we can speculate on how this can be made easier with
power equipment.

We do not know how the Indians in the Amazon did this
but we certainly know how they grew corn everywhere
else.

In North America, they used a trinary system.

That meant that they cleared a seed hill, likely two
plus feet across, perhaps slightly raised, in which
they planted several corn seeds and also several
beans.  These hills would have been at least two feet
apart.  this means that twenty five percent of the
land was been cropped in this way.  They also planted
every few hills a few pumpkins.  This provided ground
cover for the seventy five percent of the land not
been directly cropped.

An interesting experiment would be to now grow alfalfa
in between the hills in order to fix nitrogen and
provide a late fall crop.  It unfortunately would
likely take too much water.

This Indian system is ideal for hand work and for the
production of terra preta by hand.

In September,after the corn,beans, and pumpkins are
picked, it is time to remove the drying corn stover
and bean waste.  The pumpkin waste will be trampled
into the ground fairly easily by now.

Hand pulling the stalks from one seed hill gives you a
nice bundle to carry off the field to where a earthen
beehive is built for the production of Terra preta.

How do we accomplish the same result with the use
equipment is a difficult question.  Using a stone boat
or wagon is obvious.  A hydraulic grabber of some sort
to pull the bunch associated with a hill would be very
helpful.  Tying the bundles would also be helpful.

This would allow two workers to clear a larger field
quite handily.

After the earthen field stack is set up, the rest is
fairly simple.  A wagon full of biochar is taken to
the field and each hill is replenished with biochar
before planting.  Still a lot of labor but much easier
than the most basic system.

To do this with row agriculture will mean the creation
of some fairly complex lifting and baling machinery. 
At least we are on the right track.





       
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