[Terrapreta] Clarification about "simple" charcoal devices

[Mary Lehmann]

I'd like to know more about the Biochar Fund.  Our City has some  
people interested in the conversion of sludge to charcoal and  
recycled byproducts, but we know very little about what is out there  
that might be suitable and possible business arrangements. I like the  
idea of a village-sized operation.

Mary Lehmann
=======================================================================
On Apr 30, 2008, at 8:56 AM, Laurens Rademakers wrote:

> Günther, Kevin, Lou, Sean and the others,
>
> It seems like there has been a misunderstanding about the short  
> "warning" I made against simple charcoal kilns. I didn't intend to  
> downplay anyone's efforts to produce charcoal this way.
>
> I made the warning because to me biochar / terra preta is still  
> tied to a very particular context: that of the tropics, close to  
> forests and carbon-rich ecosystems, the destruction of which can be  
> limited by biochar.
>
> And it is in this context that care must be taken to make the  
> system as efficient as possible. Because your initial biomass  
> feedstock in this environment will often be wood from secondary  
> regrown forest, it is important to make the most of it, else you do  
> not alter the "slash-and-burn" cycle enough and thus your crucial  
> added benefit - that of reducing deforestation - can get lost.
>
> Efficient does not necessarily mean "large". One of the Biochar  
> Fund's goals is precisely to develop a village-scale plant that  
> uses the syngas for power production (capacity smaller than 20kW),  
> and use it in this specific context.
>
> Small kilns or retorts made for use by individuals in other  
> (agroecological) contexts might be quite interesting, provided they  
> don't emit too much methane. So I wasn't warning against this at all.
>
> Apologies for any misunderstandings.
>
> Regards,
> Lorenzo
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