[Terrapreta] compost and charcoal

[Sean K. Barry]

Hi Gerrit,

This is a very intriguing idea.  Sounds like a graduate thesis.  Maybe you could do some experiments and see what happens?

Regards,

SKB
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Gerald Van Koeverden<mailto:vnkvrdn at yahoo.ca> 
  To: terrapreta preta<mailto:terrapreta at bioenergylists.org> 
  Sent: Saturday, November 24, 2007 12:41 PM
  Subject: [Terrapreta] compost and charcoal


  We've had a lot of talk about the cost-benefit of applying charcoal  
  to large acreages of land.  And also about using compost or manure to  
  enrich charcoal before applying it.

  What about adding charcoal to the compost pile at the beginning of  
  the process?  Has anybody researched the value of adding charcoal to  
  the biomass right at the beginning?  A lot of ammonia is released to  
  the atmosphere during composting;  would charcoal act as a sponge to  
  soak it up and hold it, along with mineral nutrients which are easily  
  susceptible to leaching?  In effect, if this is true, charcoal fines  
  as part of the composting process would significantly add to the  
  potential nutrient value of that compost.

  gerrit

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