[Terrapreta] char & vascular systems

[Robert Klein]

I think lignite roasted will do very nicely if it is then ground.  I cannot comment of appropriate temperatures but think experiments are in order.  This is because powdered lignite is fairly easy to produce and roasting  could even popcorn the powder.

This would fit nicely into the chemical fertilizer industry and  likely cut down on the waste of soluble salts.

If the temperature goes very high, we may have a less usable product.  I learned that coked coal is very porous but also extremely hard and tough.  This returns to the problem with the use of wood charcoal.  The wood does not naturally breakdown into a powder which is preferred for soils.

That is why I am convinced that the bulk of terra preta was made from crop waste and corn stover in particular whose product would naturally be a powder.

On th farm land that I grew up on, it was not uncommon to find small pieces of charcoal left over from the original clearing of the land over a hundred and fifty years earlier that served no purpose and resisted pulverization.

arclein


----- Original Message ----
From: Roy Lent <rwlent at gmail.com>
To: terrapreta at bioenergylists.org
Sent: Saturday, June 7, 2008 10:24:11 AM
Subject: [Terrapreta] char & vascular systems

When I asked about lignite as TP I was told that lignite does not work since it contains no real vascular system. At least one list member was of this opinion. Now I see the discussion on the list about making TP char from algae, May I point out that no algae has a vascular system. Is there something I'm missing here?

Roy



      
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