[Terrapreta] Where to get the right charcoal?

[Nancy John]

Rebecca,

Thank you so much for this DIRECTION TO CHAR - to use
in the trial fields.  Have taken the liberty of
requesting ANY KIND AVAILABLE and left my directions
on the eprida website.  

Most sincerely, Nancy John 

--- Rebecca Oglesby <rebecca.oglesby at eprida.com>
wrote:

> Sean,
> 
> Eprida has offered several different varieties of
> char, characterized and
> uncharacterized and at different temperatures.
> Unfortunately we do not have
> enough to give everybody 2000 lbs for field trials
> but we have made our
> excess char available since all we hear about is how
> unavailable biochar is.
> Certain characterized char will cost more due to the
> data collection and
> additional testing involved. We can make "char to
> order" at different
> temperature ranges in small amounts but again,
> customized char will cost
> more. I believe we have made a few posts regarding
> the subject but have had
> little response.
> 
> I know you read and post to this list religiously
> and I am wondering how you
> overlooked this?
> http://www.carbonnegative.info/home/login.html
> 
> By the way, is the reactor you are working on a
> batch unit or continuous
> process?
> 
> 
> Regards,
> ~Rebecca
> 
> 
> >
> > ------------------------------
> >
> > Message: 10
> > Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007 17:48:00 -0500
> > From: "Sean K. Barry" <sean.barry at juno.com>
> > Subject: [Terrapreta] Where to get the right
> charcoal?
> > To: "terrapreta" < terrapreta at bioenergylists.org>
> > Message-ID:
> <AABDRSRXGAQMP2B2 at smtpout01.vgs.untd.com>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
> >
> > Hi 'terrapreta' list,
> >
> > Our topical subject is: Where to get the right
> charcoal?
> >
> > Right now, nobody knows for sure what the "best"
> (or right) kind of
> > charcoal is or where to get it.  Some have
> proposed that higher VM content
> > results from lower temperature processing in the
> making of charcoal and that
> > this is "better" char to use for a soil amendment
> to help plants.  This
> > makes a good variable to test, I think.  If we can
> find a source for
> > different temperature chars, then we can test
> these and compare.
> >
> > I heard Robert  Flanagan mention some time way
> back, that he was able to
> > make temperature specific chars or knew of some
> group who could.  I hope to
> > be able to make temperature specific chars when I
> have my reactor running
> > with the bugs worked out (fairly soon, I hope).
> >
> > VM content and the associated temperature is not
> necessarily the only
> > thing that differentiates quality of charcoal.  I
> think feedstock selection
> > may also make a difference.  Michael J. Antal at
> UH had descriptions in his
> > papers that they had tried several different feed
> > stocks.  Maybe he could shed more light on how
> this effects char
> > properties for us?  I am willing to try different
> feed stocks and will be
> > able to get characterizations made on all of
> charcoal I can produce.
> >
> > Porosity of the charcoal may also impart qualities
> to the charcoal.
> >
> > Availability of charcoal which has been
> "characterized" is rare,
> > admittedly.  Many of us are just interested enough
> in the idea of just
> > putting charcoal of any type, from any source,
> into soil, just to see what
> > it can do.  I don't see this as a problem.  More
> attempts at finding a
> > working recipe are welcome I think.  It may just
> give us more clarity about
> > what really does make the "right" char, if in
> hindsight a good field example
> > can be traced back to specific properties or
> source of the char used in the
> > trial.
> >
> > Making charcoal can be a source of charcoal to put
> into soil,
> > too.  Although it is true that it can be made
> inefficiently and not so
> > cleanly with some very simplistic methods, there
> still may be validity in
> > just making it any old way just to get at some. 
> Again, if a trial can be
> > documented as successful (compared to an
> appropriate control), then however
> > the char was got at, or whatever it has as
> properties can be discovered in a
> > post-facto study of the charcoal itself.  We could
> correct the problems with
> > its production at that time.  Hopefully, the
> "right" char is not the stuff
> > that is made the most inefficiently and with the
> highest amount of
> > detrimental emissions.
> >
> > So, in summary, I say that for right now, the
> place to get the "right"
> > charcoal is wherever or however you can get it. 
> We can make determinations
> > together about the respective quality or
> "rightness" of the charcoal after
> > we have some more experimental data showing us
> significant
> > trends.  Christelle Braun has offered to help
> organize experimental data for
> > our review.
> >
> > I await any further contributions to this line of
> discussion.
> >
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > SKB
> >
> >
> >
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> > End of Terrapreta Digest, Vol 8, Issue 65
> > *****************************************
> >
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
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> 1151 E. Whitehall Rd.
> Athens, GA 30605
> (706) 316 - 1765 ext 645
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