[Terrapreta] Fwd: compost and charcoal

[Gerald Van Koeverden]

>
> I wish I was 20 years old again and going into graduate school...a  
> thesis on the benefits of composting with charcoal would make a  
> great contribution to the art of composting.
>
> Some more examples of misconceptions:  One site discourages the use  
> of charocal in composting because it "is primarily carbon and will  
> resist decay even after thousands of years"!  Obviously, that  
> writer has never heard of TP....
>
> A.   What materials should not be composted?
> Most ashes are safe to mix into your compost heap, but coal ashes  
> are not. They have excessive amounts of both sulfur and iron,  
> amounts that are toxic to plants. Charcoal should be avoided too;  
> it is primarily carbon and will resist decay even after thousands  
> of years!
>
> from:     http://compost-twin.com/compostqa.asp
>
> B.  from the University of Illinois:
>
> Materials to avoid in composting includes:
>
> Charcoal and briquettes:
>
> Contain sulfur oxides and other chemicals that are toxic to soil  
> and plants.
>
> http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/homecompost/materials.html
>
> Though some sites specifically mention only charcoal ash as being  
> deleterious for composting, i can't find a single site that  
> recommends using charcoal in the composting process.
>
>
> Gerrit
>
>
> On 24-Nov-07, at 11:48 PM, Tom Miles wrote:
>
>> Gerrit,
>>
>> I also found work by Julie Majors of Cornell evaluating compost with
>> charcoal and a couple of other references. The usual warning  
>> against using
>> charcoal is for charcoal briquettes that contain other compounds,  
>> usually
>> petroleum, not lump charcoal which is cleaner.
>>
>> I'll post these on the TP site eventually. For some reason the  
>> site and list
>> went down this afternoon. I guess my geek-in-charge hasn't checked  
>> his cell
>> phone yet to put it online.
>>
>> Tom
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Gerald Van Koeverden [mailto:vnkvrdn at yahoo.ca]
>> Sent: Saturday, November 24, 2007 7:25 PM
>> To: Tom Miles
>> Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] compost and charcoal
>>
>> Tom,
>>
>> Thanks for that link about the enhancing effect of charcoal on
>> compost by Japanese researchers.
>>
>> Looks like some revision of the accepted methods of making compost
>> might be in order.  The first site I went to on making compost
>> specifically advises avoiding charcoal in the compost pile!!
>>
>> http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/assets/public/assistance/education/waste/
>> composting.pdf
>>
>> The next two advised against using any charcoal ash.  By not saying
>> anything positive about using charcoal itself, the message conveyed
>> is negative towards using charcoal at all as a composting component.
>>
>> Gerrit
>>
>> On 24-Nov-07, at 6:33 PM, Tom Miles wrote:
>>
>>> See the presentation on charcoal mixed compost at the IAI
>>> conference by
>>> Shuji Yoshizawa, Satoko Tanaka, Michio Ohata or
>>> Meisei University and Shigeru Mineki, Tokyo University of Science.
>>>
>>> http://www.biochar-international.org/images/Yoshizawa_-
>>> _Charcoal_Composting_
>>> of_Rice_Bran_Effect_on_Microorganisms.pdf
>>>
>>> One slide:
>>> "Composting from mixture of charcoal and biomass waste (Charcoal  
>>> Mixed
>>> Compost, CMC)
>>> Composts made from garbage generated by homes, restaurants and food
>>> industries and livestock
>>> waste, and its utilization is receiving attention from the
>>> viewpoint of
>>> recycle of biomass wastes.
>>>
>>> As wood and bamboo have pores which are the size that are  
>>> suitable for
>>> microorganisms to support, by
>>> adding the charcoal from the beginning of composting, the
>>> proliferation of
>>> microorganisms will be enhanced."
>>>
>>> Their results were positive.
>>>
>>> Tom
>>>
>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: terrapreta-bounces at bioenergylists.org [mailto:terrapreta-
>>>> bounces at bioenergylists.org] On Behalf Of Gerald Van Koeverden
>>>> Sent: Saturday, November 24, 2007 10:42 AM
>>>> To: terrapreta preta
>>>> 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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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>

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