[Terrapreta] rice hull charcoal

[Tom Miles]

Thank you all for the posts regarding rice husk char. Rice husk is a very
interesting substrate for char for many reasons. It has some very
interesting physical and chemical properties that give it absorption
properties. Rice husk is used extensively as a soil amendment and with
compost. We have power stations that generate electricity from rice husks in
California and Louisiana, and boilers for process steam in Arkansas and
Georgia. I have worked on rice husk burning power boilers in Thailand. I'll
have to look at the FAO publication "Rice Husk Conversion to Energy" written
by our friend Eldon Beagle in 1974 to see if he noted the use of rice husk
char in agriculture.

We need to note and catalogue these agronomic uses of char from different
materials. When we identify the appropriate uses of these chars then we will
begin to determine their practical value. 

Tom
     

-----Original Message-----
From: terrapreta-bounces at bioenergylists.org
[mailto:terrapreta-bounces at bioenergylists.org] On Behalf Of Christoph
Steiner
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2007 9:53 AM
To: terrapreta at bioenergylists.org
Subject: [Terrapreta] rice hull charcoal

Looking on basic elemental analyses of rice husk charcoal shows that it is
very rich in ash (relatively low C content). Potash is providing nutrients
and increasing the pH. Therefore increased rood growth and crop
performance is not surprising. For biochar research it is important to
separate effects due to charcoal applications per se (maintenance and
improvement of water infiltration, water holding capacity, structure
stability, CEC, healthy soil biological activity, soil temperature,..)
from those due to its nutrient content.

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