[Terrapreta] History on the climate aspects of the terrapreta list

[Greg and April]

Interspaced in Blue.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kevin Chisholm" <kchisholm at ca.inter.net>
To: "Ron Larson" <rongretlarson at comcast.net>
Cc: "Greg and April" <gregandapril at earthlink.net>; "lou gold" <lou.gold at gmail.com>; "Terra Preta" <terrapreta at bioenergylists.org>
Sent: Thursday, June 05, 2008 2:53
Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] History on the climate aspects of the terrapreta list


> Dear Ron
> 
> I would suggest that every person on the TP List would agree that 
> burying biochar or using it as an agricultural supplement will tend to 
> reduce the CO2 content of the Atmosphere. The problem is that nobody 
> seems to know if Terra Preta will work and be economic outside of 
> Brazil, as an agricultural supplement.
> 
> Would you know of anywhere in the World North or south of the 20 Degree 
> of Latitude where char has recently been added to agricultural soils in 
> a commercially successful manner?
> 
> Would not the cause of Terra Preta Advancement be better served if we 
> directed our efforts at understanding how it works and how to make it 
> for different soil conditions and for different climates, rather than 
> focusing on the GHG benefits from TP that can only be realized if we 
> know how to make TP work economically??
> 
> Imagine if we had a "Terra Preta Farmer's Manual" that told the Farmer 
> how to improve his soil and his yields through biochar additions, and 
> provided a credible estimate of costs and benefits. If the process was 
> economic, then a very large market would develop for biochar. Success in 
> Agriculture is the engine that will drive the demand for biochar for 
> soil application. No sensible Farmer is going to spread biochar on his 
> land unless it will be advantageous. What is needed is extensive Field 
> Testing so that a Farmer will have a rational basis for spending money 
> on buying and applying biochar to his lands.
> 
> The payment or credit per tonne of Carbon sequestered will be determined 
> by Governments and Agencies and Markets far removed from biochar and 
> Terra Preta. Once these "Outside Forces" set the payment per tonne of 
> Carbon sequestered, there could be a mad rush to make charcoal and apply 
> it to the land, IF the Farmer can make money by doing it. Perhaps a 
> charcoal payment of $30 per tonne is enough to justify using biochar as 
> an agricultural supplement... perhaps $200 per tonne of char is 
> required. The sad thing is that at the present, we don't know.
> 

True we don't know and that is a problem, because until we have some economic numbers it can not be promoted as an economical solution.    I suspect that unless the payment is at or above the going price of BBQ char, it's going to be uneconomical to put it in the ground.


> I have some marginal land here in Nova Scotia. I want to grow bush 
> beans. Can you give me the name and address of anyone in the World who 
> can tell me how much biochar I should add to my soil, and what else I 
> should do, to get maximum economic results?
> I would like to know:
> * Can I use any wood to make the char?    

There is some indication that most woods ( and some non woods ) can be used.

> * What temperature should the char be made at?

Thats kind of open at this point.    The papers sent to me by Dr. Antal, indicate ( IIRC ) that pore size increased above 450*- 500* but that the pore size starts to decrease around 800* C - but this is also dependant on the type of material used, and how it is treated.

I would be happy to pass on those papers to anyone that wants them.

> * What size should it be for best application?

Everything I have seen indicates that depends on delivery method.    For slurry delivery almost dust in size, while if you are mixing with barnyard manure and spreading with a manure spreader I suspect that almost anything would work.

> * How much should I add per acre?

I did some real rough caculations this morning that indicate that around 230 million cubic yards, would give the top 6 inches of soil a 6% char content ( or about .4 inches of char over every inch of field ) to 100 acers ( very likly that my math is wrong ).

> * What other additives and treatments should I apply?

Additional nutrients to saturate the char.

> * What would be the expected increase in bean yield using the 
> recommended biochar based treatment?
> * What would be the "second best treatment"?
> * Would the increased cost of the char additions be justified by the 
> increment in yield?
> 

Dependant on what carbon credits pays.

> If Farmers had the answers to these questions, then it would be very 
> easy to decide in a rational manner whether or not they should add char 
> to their soil. Only if the answer was positive would they add biochar to 
> their soil. Only then would the World get a GHG benefit from their 
> biochar additions to the soil.
> 
> "To make a Rabbit Pie, first catch a Rabbit." Would you not agree that 
> to get a GHG benefit from New Terra Preta, we must first figure out how 
> to make and use New Terra Preta?
> 
> Would you also agree that whether we believe in, or disbelieve in GW, 
> nothing will happen with New Terra Preta unless the Grower can make 
> money by using biochar as an agricultural additive?
> 
> Shouldn't our first priority be to figure out how to make New Terra 
> Preta work? Only after we can demonstrate that New Terra Preta is 
> economic can we expect to get Green House Gas benefits from it. 
> Promoting the GHG benefits of New Terra Preta before we have a process 
> that works, is like selling chickens before we even have a hen to lay 
> the eggs.
> 
> Best wishes,
> 
> Kevin
> 
> 
> 
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