[Terrapreta] Making charcoal in a barrel
Gerald Van Koeverden
vnkvrdn at yahoo.ca
Sat Sep 22 22:52:20 EDT 2007
rob,
I don't understand how you can produce char without any method of
keeping the oxygen out of the system?? If such a simple system could
work, it'd be dead easy to adapt it to into a process for continuous
field charring of crop residues...Maybe I'm misunderstanding it??
Gerrit
On 22-Sep-07, at 12:24 AM, Robert Flanagan wrote:
> Dear David,
>
> If your going to go ahead and make charcoal in a barrel then I'll
> give you a simple method to get you on your way.
>
> First if possible cut and dry the biomass by leaving it in the sun
> for a few weeks.
> Then you'll need a 55gallon drum, long handled spade and some matches.
> Place your barrel on it's side on the ground facing into the wind
> if possible and put some biomass inside (1/3 full).
> Then light a fire under the biomass at the opening of the barrel
> and allow the fire to build until you've got a good fire going with
> lots of glowing embers.
> Then using the spade push the embers into the barrel and add more
> biomass (The goal here is to keep a flame to burn as much off
> gasses as possible so only add biomass a bit at a time)
> Keep doing this until you have a good quantity of char then using
> the spade lift the barrel upright.
> Again start adding biomass and once it looks like it's all on fire
> knock it back down into the barrel with the spade and add more
> biomass.
> You can keep doing this until your barrel in full of char.
> Then put a lid on top and maybe weigh the lid down with a block and
> leave for several hours to cool down.
>
> The charcoal produced in this method will have a higher ash content
> but should be fine for your home experiments.
>
> Best of luck,
> Rob.
>
>
> On 9/22/07, David Yarrow <dyarrow at nycap.rr.com> wrote:
> actually, i'd like to respectfully disagree with robert. and yet
> agree with
> his more fundamental logic that the amazonian natives didn't
> charcoal trees.
> but they didn't just charcoal corn stalks, either.
>
> i recall nearly 40 years ago i learned how to make earthenware
> pottery from
> a man who lived many years with the navajo in the southwestern
> states. he
> fired his pottery in a pit with cow pies. i was amazed they would
> even
> burn, and even more amazed how hot they could get. then he should
> me how to
> damp down the glowering pit of redhot cowpies and create a reducing
> fire to
> turn the pottery black.
>
> when i moved into my 190-year-old farmhouse 10 years ago, i could
> see the
> soil was wasted, wornout and depleted from the ratty lawn and poor
> diversity
> of plant species. my neighbor, who grew up in my house, saw me
> starting a
> garden and came over to warn me i wouldn't get anything to grow. i
> thanked
> him and continued doing what i had learned to do to create fertile
> topsoil.
>
> these days, i have milkweed, valerian, goosefoot, other weeds that
> reach 5
> to 8 foot tall, with sout, sturdy stems. and the bamboo and
> rosebushes!!
> even my pokeweed grows into giant bushes. and the trees that once
> barely
> grew are blooming like mad, making multitudes of seeds which fall
> on fertile
> soil and sprout like mad into sapling weed trees. all this before
> i found
> out about charcoal.
>
> so my once wasted and weak soil is now busting out with bioversity and
> biomass all through the growing season. i am still amazed how each
> spring
> when the snow melts, the flat soil erupts in green growth that soon
> soars up
> to and over my head. since much of this annual outburst of growth is
> "weeds," i have an abundance of biomass to harvest and stuff in a
> pyrolyer -- or pottery kiln. long before i get to harvesting
> cornstalks, i
> could have barrels of charcoal ready to spread -- most of it fine
> textured,
> and easily crushed into powder without metal tools or power
> equipment. and
> absolutely no reason to cut down any trees to make firewood or
> charcoal.
>
> i seriously, thoroughly doubt the amazon tribes needed to cut down
> trees
> just to make charcoal. if nothing else, it was far too much work.
>
> David Yarrow
> "If yer not forest, yer against us."
> Turtle EyeLand Sanctuary
> 44 Gilligan Road, East Greenbush, NY 12061
> dyarrow at nycap.rr.com
> www.championtrees.org
> www.OnondagaLakePeaceFestival.org
> www.citizenre.com/dyarrow/
> www.farmandfood.org
> www.SeaAgri.com
>
> "Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times,
> if one only remembers to turn on the light."
> -Albus Dumbledore
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Kevin Chisholm" <kchisholm at ca.inter.net>
> Sent: Friday, September 21, 2007 9:28 PM
> Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] Terra preta postings on arclein blog
>
>
> > Dear Sean
> >
> > Sean K. Barry wrote:
> >> Robert!
> >>
> >> YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT YOUR ASSERTION THAT
> AMAZONIAN
> >> PEOPLE MADE ALL OF THE TERRA PRETA FROM CORN STOVER 2500 YEARS AGO!
> >> WOULD YOU PLEASE QUIT STATING THIS AS FACT?
> >
> > What would you suggest as being a more feasible, practical, or
> likely
> > way for the natives to make char?
> >
> > Is there any reason why the char required for terra preta would
> not be
> > made in this manner?
> >
> > Best wishes,
> >
> > Kevin
> >>
> >> SKB
> >>
> >> ----- Original Message -----
> >> *From:* Robert Klein <mailto: arclein at yahoo.com>
> >> *To:* terrapreta at bioenergylists.org
> >> <mailto:terrapreta at bioenergylists.org >
> >> *Sent:* Friday, September 21, 2007 4:30 PM
> >> *Subject:* [Terrapreta] Terra preta postings on arclein blog
> >>
> >> I thought that I would work through the 250 message
> >> backlog from this group sitting in my inbox this
> >> weekend. A daunting task. However I am pleased to
> >> see the extensive sharing of information on forests
> >> taking place. I expect that I will be able to quote
> >> some of this on my Blog.
> >>
> >> I also sat down and developed a list of my terra preta
> >> related postings, not all reposted to this group and
> >> posted that on my blog. I am including a list here
> >> for you to peruse. My advice is to start at the
> >> beginning to the description of the corn stack method
> >> of indigenous production and then jump to the end and
> >> work backward.
> >>
> >> I see no realistic way to economically produce terra
> >> preta without resorting to a variation of the original
> >> production method. Concern was raised about the
> >> production of methane which I see as misplaced. In
> >> fact, the methane will likely provide the majority of
> >> the heat in the combustion process, but this needs to
> >> be properly field tested.
> >>
> >> Here you go. While you are at it bookmark my site or
> >> subscribe as I post daily on a range of related
> >> subjects. Even better give me stuff to comment on.
> >>
> >>
> >> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/06/
> carbonization.html
> >>
> >>
> >> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/06/corn-cultures-
> bright-furure.html
> >>
> >> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/06/total-carbon-
> sequestration-potential.html
> >>
> >> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/06/tropical-
> soils_26.html
> >>
> >>
> >> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/07/discussion-
> with-ron-larsen-on-terra.html
> >> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/07/human-
> labor.html
> >>
> >> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/07/those-
> amazonian-soils.html
> >>
> >> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/07/pollutants-
> from-carbonization.html
> >>
> >>
> >> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/07/nutrient-
> accumulation.html
> >>
> >> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/07/uniqueness-of-
> corn-culture.html
> >> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/07/amazon.html
> >>
> >>
> >> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/08/heat-
> distribution-and-terra-preta-soils.html
> >>
> >> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/08/getting-job-
> done-biochar-on-modern-farm.html
> >>
> >> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/08/tom-miles-
> comments-on-biochar.html
> >>
> >>
> >> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/08/mel-landers-
> and-jackie-foo-on-field.html
> >>
> >> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/08/methane-and-
> pottery.html
> >>
> >> http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2007/09/glopbal-corn-
> culture.html
> >>
> >>
> >> enjoy
> >>
> >> arclein
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> ______________________________________________________________________
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> >>
> >>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
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> >>
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>
>
> --
> Robert Flanagan
> Chairman & President
> Hangzhou Sustainable Agricultural Food & Fuel Enterprise Co., Ltd.
>
> Skype "saffechina"
> Tel: 86-571-881-850-67
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