[Terrapreta] Synthetic Agrichar?.....& UCLA's ZIFs CO2 Sponge

[Shengar at aol.com]

To Terra,   
This is the first system I've seen to produce "Agrichar" from fossil  fuel.
I would first like to see this "Agrichar" side by side with Biochar  under a 
microscope to see if the fungi like it as well;



Synthetic Agrichar?
 
The Toronto Star _reported_ 
(http://www.thestar.com/columnists/article/284015)  earlier  this month on an interesting new technology that promises cleaner 
burning  natural gas with potentially valuable solid carbon as a by-product.  
_CarbonSavor_ 
(http://www.ah2inc.com/?section=10&subsection=18&PHPSESSID=14ccb3b74abe521978362190f8558c5b)   is the trademarked name of this new technology 
privately developed by Atlantic  Hydrogen Inc. It uses a "low temperature 
plasma reactor process" to separate  hydrogen gas and solid carbon from the 
natural gas stream without releasing any  carbon dioxide in the process. The 
gaseous hydrogen is then re-routed back into  the natural gas line creating a 
hydrogen enriched mixture that is about 20%  hydrogen gas. 
Hydrogen enriched natural gas is purported to be compatible with existing  
appliances, furnaces and automobiles. According to the Toronto Star article the  
hydrogen enriched natural gas burns with a 7% reduction in carbon emissions.  
Furthermore, they claim that automobile exhausts have 50% to 60% reduced  
nitrogen oxide content when using the hydrogen enriched natural gas fuel. Two  
demonstration applications are slated for 2008. 
The solid carbon by-product created in this process may have several uses. It 
 may have manufacturing applications, such as a in components for automobile 
or  airplanes.  
Then, the Toronto Star takes one step too far: 
"It could also be permanently stored in soil – used alongside fertilizer to  
regenerate depleted farmland. This approach, often referred to as  biochar 
sequestration, could fetch revenues in the form of  saleable carbon credits." 
Biochar sequestration? Not really. 
_Biochar_ 
(http://www.biochar-international.org/aboutbiochar/informationaboutbiochar.html)   looks like charcoal and is sometimes referred to as agrichar 
or terra preta. It  is primarily carbon and is made by heating bio-mass in the 
absence of oxygen.  Bio-mass comes from plants and animals. It contains carbon 
removed from the  atmosphere during plant growth. When biomass is made into 
biochar and used as a  soil amendment it sequesters carbon in the soil for 
hundreds of years.  Production of biochar also generates a number of _carbon 
negative_ (http://www.worldchanging.com/archives//007427.html)   bio-energy 
options. 
Carbon separated from natural gas is a poor substitute for biochar with  
respect to global warming. It is derived from fossil fuel, not bio-mass. It  
converts fossil carbon to soil. It does not sequester atmospheric carbon. It is  
"synthetic agrichar". If synthetic agrichar is cheap and abundant, it may stifle 
 the adoption of genuine biochar. 
On the other hand, I can't argue with a 7% per unit volume reduction in  
carbon emissions for natural gas. Synthetic agrichar could be the catalyst that  
American agriculture needs to start examining the potential benefits of soil  
carbon sequestration. Farmers need more research to determine the usefulness 
and  correct application rates of agrichar on various soil types. This synthetic 
 product may generate the funding for that research.  
Synthetic agrichar leaves me scratching my head. More technology gives us  
more options. But, do I want more fossil fuel options? Is hydrogen enriched  
natural gas a step towards a hydrogen economy? Will carbon from natural gas  
actually prove valuable? I welcome your thoughts.
By B Goodspeed at  2007-12-26 03:34


_http://www.ea2020.org/drupal/node/479_ 
(http://www.ea2020.org/drupal/node/479) 




Also...a little off topic but looks promising;


Carbon capture gets crystal powered
UCLA researchers have created a new material that could  replace toxic 
chemicals used to filter greenhouse gases.

CO2 has been  captured in the lab using a new class of materials designed by 
UCLA chemists  called zeolitic imidazolate frameworks, or ZIFs.

The UCLA team also said  the ZIFs can store five times more carbon dioxide 
than the porous carbon  materials that are available today, with each liter of 
ZIF holding 83 liters of  carbon dioxide.

_http://media.cleantech.com/2495/carbon-capture-gets-crystal-powered?[EmailLin
k]_ 
(http://media.cleantech.com/2495/carbon-capture-gets-crystal-powered?[EmailLink]) 


Erich J.  Knight
1047 Dave Berry Rd.
McGaheysville, VA.  22840
540-289-9750
shengar at aol.com




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