[Terrapreta] Feedstock for charcoal making

[rukurt at westnet.com.au]

Hi folkes,

To make the best charcoal for terrapreta you need woody biomass. 
Hardwood for preference, though in Japan bamboo is considered very good. 
Where do we get it?

Bamboo grows well in the tropics and also in temperate zones. The 
running variety does well in temperate areas, many of them can take snow 
with no problems at all. It grows like grass, because that is what it is.

But what about other hardwoods? It seems that in England, back in the 
Victorian days, most forests were actually coppiced, with a 10 to 11 
year cycle. At the end of a growing period the woods were cut, leaving a 
stump, which then re-sprouted and was ready to cut in another 10 odd 
years time. Today of course, these coppiced woods of before are mature 
forests. I can just see the greenies permitting them to be cut down. NOT.

Charcoaling grass clippings and food wastes is probably not a good idea. 
It is in parts of India, because there the problem is charcoal for 
cooking fuel, not charcoal full of vesicles to make terrapreta. Much 
better to turn that sort of thing into compost to be mixed with charcoal 
and then applied to the soil.

In parts of Tasmania (that little island down at the bottom of 
Australia) plantations of a particular eucalypt are to be found all over 
the place. These were planted to feed an intended chipmill and are the 
subject of a lot of green anger. Many eucalypts coppice very nicely-- 
they might be useful for charcoaling.

In the northern hemisphere, coppiced willows have been tried, but don't 
seem to be very successful for a number of reasons. Other coppices might 
be useful, but would probably need to be established.

To make terrpreta we can't just denude the earth of forests in order to 
put carbon into the soil. We need to start further back and establish 
suitable plantings. Charcoaling crop residues will doubtlessly work, but 
we need to come up with equipment that individual farmers can acquire to 
feed their residues through. Probably not all that hard.

Mow and bale a field of wheat stubble and feed the bales into a mobile 
charcoal retort. Much of the heat needed to charcoal it will come from 
the boiled off tars and gases themselves. Some of the bales could be 
burnt to supply the extra heat that would be required. Same same with 
corn stover and other crop residues. Then there's switch grass etc.

Kurt