[Terrapreta] Strong warning against "simple" charcoal kilns

[Brian Hans]

Thanks Lorenzo, good post. 
   
  Ofc there will be those that disagree with you but its obvious that LCA needs to be much better understood around the systems being put onto the market. The benefit will be cleaner, more efficient systems that yield higher value products. Catalysts companies, gasifier co's, charcoal co's, farmers, carbon sink co's, fertilizer co's, the planet ... everyone in the long run will benefit from strong industry data and standards. 
   
  Its the same type of argument that is raging around the 'organic label'. There are those that complain and fight it but standardization and regulation is how technologies allow companies to sell to the masses. Independents will get squeezed but as in any industry, a few rise to the top. 
   
  Another topical comment, if we plan on taxing coal and dino carbon then we had better tax methane/other pollution sources. Its not fair to go part way down that road. That includes landfills, dairy manure pits, NOx, SOx, land development Phos. load into water, Salt and oil from cities  ... there is a very long list of pollution that has to start paying their bills. Those unpaid bills are why TP doesnt make sense, those unpaid bills are why windmills, biogas, biodiesel, G2L, wave energy, PV, organic, local food, bioplastics  ... all dont make sense. 
   
  IMO, its a must to distinguish all new technology, including next generation gasification/charcoaling technologies from their dirty cousins. Its also a must that we start to put the hammer down and tax the dirty to allow the sun to shine on the clean. 
   
  Brian
   
  

Biopact <biopact at biopact.com> wrote:
          It has been repeated here a few times. We should be careful not to ruin the potential of Terra Preta by coupling it to inefficient, GHG emitting charcoal devices.
   
  Many of these simple devices are 10 to 20% efficient at best. Biochar's only way to make a difference is by using highly efficient pyrolyser units that maximally exploit the energy content in the biomass and that minimize GHG emissions. Syngas, heat, pyrolysis oil - all these he byproducts must be explicitly used to offset fossil fuels. 
   
  So I urge all of us to limit references to "simple" charcoal kilns, and then only in the context of biochar trials that look at the effects of char in soils. For the rest, I think we should continuously stress that one of the most urgent needs is the development of highly efficient pyrolysis units.
   
  Else, we could be ruining the entire Terra Preta venture. Remember, there are many people reading these texts, and they may spread amongst journalists. If they get the impression that we are a bunch of people who just pyrolyse our way through this concept, then the initial potency of the very concept may get lost. 
   
  Cheers, 
  Lorenzo
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