[Terrapreta] Flaring the more potent GHG in the off gas from acharcoal kiln?

[Sean K. Barry]

Hi Kurt,

You say, "I could care less about the smoke and possible extra GHGs I produce."

I say, I think you should care and here is why.  Releasing green house gases, at the volumes and with the potency you can from a charcoal kiln, can completely negate both the carbon sequestration benefits and agricultural benefits of burying that charcoal, while not releasing the gases. 

If we attempted to make and bury charcoal this way on a huge scale (and we need to make charcoal on a huge scale to build up enough "Neo Terra Preta" land formations), then we would dig an even deeper hole than we are already in.  We could cook this planet under a blanket of even more effective green house gases and do it well before the promised agricultural bloom could ever occur.

For the absolute minimum effect on the atmosphere, whatever is released from making charcoal in a kiln, it needs to be completely combusted!  So "flare it off", at all cost, or use it.  Additionally, any way that the energy can be utilized will offset the need to burn more fossil fuel, so use the energy if you can instead of burning another tank or load of fossil fuel.

Please, start to care about this issue.  It really does matter.

Regards,


SKB
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