[Terrapreta] marketing charcoal

[Tom Miles]

Gerrit,

 

It seems from the description that the quality of the charcoal is more like
activated carbon which is only a fraction of the yield of carbon. A plant
producing this charcoal would not also be making biochar.  

 

You'll find  a number of these high-end - designer - charcoal products
including charcoal masks that make you feel good and pet deodorant. I wonder
if sales have borne out the (2005) projections in the article you cite. 

 

Nike has a number of recyclable materials on their list they give to
designers. I have talked with their designers about reusing materials. How
do you calculate the carbon sequestration benefit of charcoal impregnated
tennis shoes?  At least it would remove the smell for awhile. Ground up
tennis shoes make a good soil amendment for athletic fields. But Nike turns
the soles into "Nike Grind" which they use to resurface basketball courts in
needy schools and play pads. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike_Grind J

 

Tom

 

 

 

 

From: Gerald Van Koeverden [mailto:vnkvrdn at yahoo.ca] 
Sent: Friday, February 01, 2008 9:50 PM
To: Tom Miles
Cc: 'Terra Preta'
Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] marketing charcoal

 

Just discovered an astonishing niche market for charcoal - textiles.  On
Alibaba, one can find a whole slew of companies marketing 'charcoal fiber
yarn.'  They say that the core technologies concern grinding the charcoal
into nanometer-scale particles which are then impregnated into cotton
fibers...

 

            "Chen explained that the charcoal the MRL's technology utilizes
is made from the Makino bamboo, or Phyllostachys makinoi, carbonized at
2,800 degrees Celsius in traditional kilns. The core technologies concern
the processes for grinding the charcoal into nanometer-scale particles and
impregnating them in yarn.

        According to Chen, although the bamboo-charcoal yarn is
characterized by structural delicacy, it is nonetheless highly porous and
capable of absorbing large amounts of matter. The special properties of the
charcoal powder derive from its efficacy in filtering large molecules and
its ability to absorb body heat and transform it into infrared radiation.
Since the charcoal is distributed inside fibers rather than on their
surface, garments made with bamboo-charcoal yarn can be washed repeatedly
without diminishing the efficacy of the carbon powder's special qualities.

            Cheng Seng-mei, president of Taiwan Paiho, pointed out that Nike
Inc. of the United States has designated bamboo-charcoal fiber as one of the
materials that it intends to incorporate in products to be introduced this
year. Adidas and Reebok are likewise evaluating its applications, he said.
Potentially, he opined, the global market for bamboo-charcoal textile
products is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

        Although the cost of textile products made with bamboo-charcoal
fiber is about 20 percent higher than that of ordinary products, they will
prove to be highly competitive, particularly in the case of sports and
health-related apparel, Cheng opined."

http://publish.gio.gov.tw/FCJ/past/05011482.html

 

Gerrit

 

 

On 14-Jan-08, at 1:45 AM, Tom Miles wrote:





Gerritt,

 

Useful information. The producer is getting less these days. But these costs
apply to the retail mix or "black magic" market. If you are a producer you
want to reach those markets. If you are a consumer you want the lowest cost
charcoal possible.

 

Here the retail price can be $1/lb ($2000/ton). That means the producer can
deliver it to the Wholesaler at $0.35/lb($700/ton). Why bother with an ag
market that might be able to afford only $0.10/lb($200/ton)? Because the
high value market exists I don't think we'll see traditional charcoal
producers making a wholesale ag product unless it is a surplus.

 

If we go back to the smoldering trash heap model of terra preta (e.g.,
"terra preta is full of broken ceramics and organic debris with a high
charcoal content and evidence of concentrated nutrient recycling from
excrement, organic waste, fish and animal bones.") we might be able to make
something a grower can afford.  

 

Tom

 

 

>From my inquiry into charcoal marketing, I go the following response from
an importer of charcoal into Canada:

 

"As for costs - the following breakdown - if you look in the stores at say
Royal Oak or Cowboy at a 10 Kg bag it is composed like this:

 

>The retailer gets around 40%

>Distributor/ wholesaler 25%

>Producer (delivered to Distributor) 35%

 

>If a 10 Kg bag of Royal Oak retails for $15.00 the wholesale cost work out
to round $5.25 per bag or $525 per ton if you take shipping etc out of the
equation you >can not produce for more than $300.00 per ton to be
competitive. 

 

>Gerrit

 

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