[Terrapreta] char vs. diatomaceous earth

[David Yarrow]

DE does not offer anything like the same micropore structure as biochar.  DE
is the calcium-rich shells of single-celled sea life.  these
micro-crystalline shells are very tiny; each DE particle is the shell of a
single cell.  DE is essentially micro-crystallie dust.

biochar is a far larger, more complex cellulose matrix structure with
multiple open pores which were formerly occupied by many plant cells.  even
as dust, biochar is still huge chunks of carbon fiber sponge with an
abundance of pore spaces.

in soil and compost, DE will be consumed by biologicl activity.  bacteria
and fungi will easily dissolve out the calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and
other mineral elements composing DE's crystals.  biochar is not normally
digested by microbes, but rather become habitat for living soil biomass.

i forget where DE is obtained, but i believe it is a geological deopsit that
is mined rather like other bedrock.

David Yarrow
"If yer not forest, yer against us."
Turtle EyeLand Sanctuary
44 Gilligan Road, East Greenbush, NY 12061
dyarrow at nycap.rr.com
www.championtrees.org
www.OnondagaLakePeaceFestival.org
www.citizenre.com/dyarrow/
www.farmandfood.org
www.SeaAgri.com

"Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times,
if one only remembers to turn on the light."
-Albus Dumbledore
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gerald Van Koeverden" <vnkvrdn at yahoo.ca>
To: "Terra Preta" <terrapreta at bioenergylists.org>
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 11:53 PM
Subject: [Terrapreta] char vs. diatomaceous earth


> If the value of char is mainly as a habitat for micro-organisms,
> would another multi-porous material like diatomaceous earth have the
> same effect?
>
> In looking for a cheap source of charcoal fines, I checked out the
> local distillery - Labatt's.  I had understood that charcoal is what
> was used to filter alcohol, just as it is used for filtering corn
> starch.
>
> However, I discovered that Labatt's uses diatomaceous earth instead
> in all their beer breweries.  Their waste management people recycle
> it through compost.  I am guessing that the purpose of the composting
> process is to 'clean up' all the gunk collected in its pores, since
> this waste can become rather malodorous.  If added directly to the
> soil and incorporated, the smell should be minimal.
>
> However, I can't find any research related to the effects of using it
> as such.
>
> Anybody have any experience using it as such (as opposed to its use
> as an organic pesticide)?
>
> If I can get some of it, I'll do a comparison test with char
>
> Gerrit
>
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