[Terrapreta] Where to get the right charcoal?

[code suidae]

I'm probably getting ahead of myself. I'm thinking a bit in terms of system
architecture and not just moving data. I think that distinct entities
(feedstock, carbonization method, experiment, maybe soil) should be defined
separately and with a distinctive name.

First, what does a FeedStock entity represent? Is it a generic description
of a possible feedstock (oak, from a forest in california) or does it
represent a specific feedstock (Dave's oak feedstock from omaha nebraska). I
think you're going for the latter.

As far as the Feedstock part, I was thinking something like this:

.<Feedstock>
.   <Title>Dave's Oak</Title>
.   <Material>
.      <Name>Oak</Name>
.      <Source>Forest</Source>
.   </Material>
.   <Origin>
.      <Continent/>
.      <Country/>
.      <Region/>
.      <Location/>
.      <Latitude/>
.      <Longitude/>
.   </Origin>
.   <Composition>
.      <AshContent unit="% dry mass" />
.      <(etc...) />
.   </Composition>
.   <Details>Oak wood chips, about 1x1x0.25 inches...</Details>
.</Feedstock>

The idea is to describe all the relevant static details of the feedstock
completely without reference to the specific experiment. Dynamic details
(moisture content at the time of use, etc) would go into the experiment.

Similarly, for Carbonization the static details of the carbonization method
should be described. Something like:

.<Carbonization>
.   <Title>Dave's Barrel Technique #1</Title>
.   <Method>Top-lit Updraft</Method>
.   <TargetTemp unit="C">550</TargetTemp>
.   <TargetPressure />
.   <Description>Put stuff in a 55 gallon barrel, light it and try to keep
it from all turning to ash.</Description>
.</Carbonization>

A char experiment would define a particular kind of charcoal. A cultivation
experiment would reference a char experiment to define the charcoal used,
which may or may not be unique to that cultivation experiment. Each char
experiment would include notes about that event using that method, for
example, maybe it was windy that day, or for some reason the temp never
reached the target. Those facts would be specific to the carbonization event
associated with the experiment, not the technique itself (though it may
result in a new technique).

Information about the nature of the feedstock and carbonization method used
and the feedstock quantity shouldn't be part of CharcoalProperties, that
should describe the physical properties of the char, not the details of what
it was made from. Details about what it was made from would be defined in a
Feedstock element that might be used by multiple experiments. Overall I'm
thinking something like this:

.Charcoal Experiment
.   Name
.   Producer Info (user/batch/etc)
.   Feedstock Used
.   Carbonization Method Used
.   Carbonization Event Info and notes
.   Charcoal Composition and Properties
.
.Cultivation Experiment
.   Scope (plots,pots, etc)
.   Soil condition
.      Pre-amendment
.      Post-amendment
.   Amendments Info
.      Amendment type (char, compost, fertilizer, etc)
.      Application Details
.   TestPlant
.   Procedures/Log (rain,watering, pest control, fertilization, etc)
.   FinalAnalysis
.      Soil
.      TargetPlant
.      ControlPlant
.      etc

The idea is that we are describing two separate experiments, charcoal
production and cultivation with soil amendments. For portability (data
sharing) purposes it makes sense to include the details of the relevant
charcoal production experiment with the cultivation experiment data, but it
should be possible to represent a charcoal experiment independent from a
cultivation experiment. It's possible that multiple people will be using
char produced by a common producer, possibly even from the same batch. When
analyzing the data it would be best to only have one char experiment
defining that batch of char, with multiple cultivation experiments linked to
it. Thus the need for distinct names/identifiers for char experiments.

Again, this sort of detail is probably way beyond the scope of the file
format, but it's necessary to know how things are supposed to fit together
so that we don't end up with a mess of data that is difficult to sort
through.

Just some ideas.
Dave K

On 9/25/07, ch braun <brauncch at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hello Dave,
>
> Actually I had also thought of a solution such as this exemple for the
> part you mention:
> <BiocharExperiment>
> <CharcoalProperties>
> <Feedstock>
> <Type>
> <Category>Forest</Category>
> <Species>Oak</Species>
> <Details>50 years old</Details>
> </Type>
> <Origin>
> (...)
>
> I think that should be clearer....what's your opinion ?
>
> Sincerely yours,
> Christelle
>
>
> On 9/25/07, code suidae <codesuidae at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Bah! Ignore this, I clicked 'Send' instead of 'Save', my intention is to
> > complete this message later today.
> >
> > DK
> >
> > On 9/25/07, code suidae <codesuidae at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > I'm a little confused as to the intention and organization of the
> > > /BiocharExperiment/CharcoalProperties/FeedStock/Type/* elements. It seems to
> > > me it should look more like this:
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > On 9/24/07, ch braun <brauncch at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Yes, this is the current version (both files are exactly the same,
> > > > it is an xml file, but I just added the .txt version  in case of browser
> > > > problems...).
> > > > I tried to merge the comments which were already made here when the
> > > > specs were discussed for a while, but there are still open questions (
> > > > e.g. parameters needed in "CharcoalPhysicalProperties").
> > > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > "Our ignorance is not so vast as our failure to use what we know." -
> > > M. King Hubbert
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > "Our ignorance is not so vast as our failure to use what we know." - M.
> > King Hubbert
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Terrapreta mailing list
> > Terrapreta at bioenergylists.org
> > http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/biochar/
> >
> > http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org
> > http://info.bioenergylists.org
> >
>
>


-- 
"Our ignorance is not so vast as our failure to use what we know." - M. King
Hubbert
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