[Terrapreta] Chacoal soaked in sea water

Richard Haard richrd at nas.com
Sat Apr 5 23:00:21 CDT 2008


David and Sean

I would recommend some reading based on a search of sodium+soil+colloid 
+CEC. This article is an abstract of effects of winter road salt on  
soil colloids. The sodium in seawater is a soil pollutant and I would  
recommend a different approach to get minor and trace minerals onto  
charcoal.

An alternative is to use seaweed, or seaweed extracts. Some time ago I  
was developing fertilizer and feed supplements from seaweed we cooked  
with a steam jacketed cooker. The seaweed in your case could be cooked  
with surplus heat when pyrolysing. The best seaweed to use are the  
brown seaweeds that can be gathered as drift of harvested sustainably  
on rocky shores. Also purchased as dried kelp. We used potassium  
carbonate as a cooking agent and once the mixture of chopped seaweed  
brought to a boil release of the colloids and minerals in cell  
contents is immediate.

 From there you will have an excellent extraction of sea minerals  
minus the sodium. The living cell membrane does the selective  
extraction of minerals from seawater.

Other references to check on this process are Lee Fryer, Food, Power  
from the sea or Stephenson, Seaweed in agriculture and horticulture  
both books explain how to make liquid seaweed extracts.
On Apr 5, 2008, at 7:50 PM, Sean K. Barry wrote:

> Hi David,
>
> I understand the value of sea minerals for plants.  Could soaking  
> fresh charcoal in sea water add too much salt and raise the pH even  
> more, making already alkaline charcoal more alkaline with the Sodium- 
> Na+ ions?  As I understand soil inundated in seawater is too  
> alkaline to have an effective CEC or to grow plants in well.  Can  
> you do something to seawater used in charcoal to change that?  Or  
> will you only dilute the salty charcoal in a large amount of soil?
>
> Regards,
>
> SKB
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: David Yarrow
> To: Terra Preta
> Sent: Saturday, April 05, 2008 2:39 PM
> Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] Char made made under pressurized conditions?
>
> i am encouraged by the imagery of hot steam forcing water vapors  
> deep into
> the dense networks of micropores in charcoal.  a steam treatment  
> should
> rapidly reduce char's initial resistance to absorbing water.  might  
> even
> induce a few explosions and ruptures to the cellular celluose matrix  
> of
> micropores -- ripping open larger channels for macroscopic lifeforms  
> to join
> the community.
>
> and since i'm most certainly making my char for soil enhancement, i
> definitely intend to quench my first 2008 batch of hot char with sea  
> water.
> not just water, but sea water, to inject a full spectrum mineral  
> solution
> into the char, and thus improve its potential as microbial habitat.   
> the
> sooner microbes find water and a full menu of minerals, the sooner  
> they will
> take up residence in the char.
>
> for a green & peaceful planet,
> David Yarrow
> 44 Gilligan Rd, E Greenbush, NY 12061
> www.championtrees.org
> www.OnondagaLakePeaceFestival.org
> www.farmandfood.org
> www.SeaAgri.com
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Gerald Van Koeverden" <vnkvrdn at yahoo.ca>
> Sent: Monday, March 31, 2008 11:02 AM
> Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] Char made made under pressurized conditions?
>
>
> > John,
> >
> > Have you ever considered drenching hot char in water, especially the
> > idea of injecting water into an air-tight container of hot char?
> >
> > This would not only solve the combustion problem, it would have the
> > same effect, of course to a lesser extent, as the steam treatment of
> > charcoal to activate it - i.e. increase its total porosity.  Such
> > char might be more beneficial if it's to be used as a soil  
> treatment.
> >
> > Gerrit
> >
> >
> > On 29-Mar-08, at 10:30 AM, John G. Flottvik wrote:
> >
> >> Greg.
> >>
> >> We would put our hot charcoal into 45 gal drums with a sealed lid
> >> to allow
> >> cooling then transfer to super sacks.
> >> At one time the char in drum felt only slightly warm to the touch
> >> so we
> >> transferred to super sack and stored in our 45 foot trailer. The  
> warm
> >> charcoal ignited and burned the trailer full of charcoal + the
> >> trailer. Fire
> >> department was unable to put the charcoal out so we just had to
> >> baby sit and
> >> let it burn/smolder until gone. Expensive lesson.
> >>
> >> Regards
> >> John
> >>
> >> ----- Original Message -----
> >> From: "Greg and April" <gregandapril at earthlink.net>
> >> To: "Terra Preta" <terrapreta at bioenergylists.org>
> >> Sent: Friday, March 28, 2008 8:01 PM
> >> Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] Char made made under pressurized  
> conditions?
> >>
> >>
> >>> Hmmm........
> >>>
> >>> Correct me if I'm wrong, but is it not true that char can still be
> >>> quite
> >>> warm, and not burn when O2 comes in contact with it?
> >>>
> >>> It is with that in mind that I asked what I did in my previous  
> post -
> >>> after
> >>> all, you didn't exactly say at what temp the char was cooling from
> >>> did
> >>> you?
> >>>
> >>> No offense,
> >>> Greg H.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> ----- Original Message -----
> >>> From: "Jeff Davis" <jeff0124 at velocity.net>
> >>> To: "Terra Preta" <terrapreta at bioenergylists.org>
> >>> Sent: Friday, March 28, 2008 19:38
> >>> Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] Char made made under pressurized
> >>> conditions?
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>> Greg wrote:
> >>>>> when all you have to do
> >>>>> is
> >>>>> open the reactor door, since the natural composition of air is
> >>>>> almost
> >>>>> 80%
> >>>>> ( by volume )?
> >>>>
> >>>> If you just open the door the O2 in the air will burn up you
> >>>> charcoal.
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Kindest regards,
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Jeff
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> --
> >>>> Jeff Davis
> >>>>
> >>>> Some where 20 miles south of Lake Erie, USA
> >>>>
> >>>> _______________________________________________
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> >>>
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> >>
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