[Terrapreta] the pyrogenic nature of pyrolytic charcoal

[Gerald Van Koeverden]

Interestingly, this pyrogenic aspect doesn't bother me, as a farmer,  
at all.  It actually works to our advantage. Unlike for other users  
of charcoal fines, we don't care that the charcoal has to be  
moistened first.  In fact, moist char is much nicer to handle than  
dusty, and certainly less dangerous if stored in a confined space.   
Furthermore, this particular quality, might keep the price of the  
stuff down closer  to where farmers could afford to buy it, and make  
terra preta a reality in North America...?

Gerrit

On 6-Sep-07, at 9:09 AM, Gerald Van Koeverden wrote:

> Michael,
>
> I know its true.  I took delivery of those two truck loads!
>
> Gerrit
>
>
> On 6-Sep-07, at 4:59 AM, Michael Bailes wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> On 04/09/07, Gerald Van Koeverden <vnkvrdn at yahoo.ca> wrote:
>> Dr. Antal,
>>
>>         Charcoal produced by pyrolysis, as Adriana Downie writes,  
>> tends to
>> be highly pyrogenic.  In an earlier message, she described charcoal
>> stored in plastic pails as melting the containers.  I know two
>> instances (another company) when such pyrolytic charcoal being
>> transporting have started combusting.  This makes storage (under
>> nitrogen?), handling, and shipping (flammable materials licensing,
>> etc.) rather problematic.  Is the charcoal produced by flash
>> carbonization pyrogenic?  If so, how have these difficulties been
>> solved?
>>
>> Gerrit
>>
>>
>> I find this hard to believe unless the char has only just been  
>> made and not properly extinguished.
>>  Here it is mostly stored in paper bags, so we should have fires  
>> everywhere.
>> I have seen pallets of them and no spontaneous fires.
>>
>> (I have seen spontaneous fires of oily rags in a factory dustbin.)
>>
>> There are no government warnings or regulations coving char  
>> safety  either.
>> Chemist shops should have little fires on their charcoal tablet  
>> counter
>>  It should also be impossible to put out a bushfire.
>>
>> -- 
>> Michael the Archangel
>>
>> "You can fix all the world's problems in a garden. . . .
>> Most people don't know that"
>> FROM
>> http://www.blog.thesietch.org/wp-content/permaculture.swf
>
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