[Terrapreta] Fwd: Your input needed: "Soil health" at Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels

[Michael Bailes]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Adriana Downie <adriana at bestenergies.com.au>
Date: 2008/5/2
Subject: RE: [Terrapreta] Your input needed: "Soil health" at Roundtable on
Sustainable Biofuels
To: Michael Bailes <michaelangelica at gmail.com>, Laurens Rademakers <
lrademakers at biopact.com>
Cc: Stephen Joseph <joey.stephen at gmail.com>
Forwarded with permission to the TP list
m

 Hi Laurens,



As you probably know there has been a lot of work done on the sustainability
of biofuels. There is many good references available through the IEA
bioenergy (http://www.ieabioenergy.com/). Dr. Annette Cowie has done a
report for them on biochar, I am not sure if it is available online yet but
if not, should be in coming months.



In Australia there is also some very good analysis available on
sustainability through CSIRO and RIRDC. One such reference is provided
below.



http://www.rirdc.gov.au/reports/EFM/BiofuelsSummaryWEB_READY.pdf



BEST Energies has a collaborative research with the NSW Department of
Primary Industries who are leaders in Australia in soil science,
environmental health and agronomy. We have tested around 20 different
biochar products made from a range of feedstocks under a range of process
conditions for their influence on soil health and productivity. We have
established several field trials with biochars that meet ISO9000 scientific
standards. We now have 158 plots making up trials in pasture, vegetable
cropping, sugar cane, macadamia nut and avocado orchards. Biochar feedstocks
investigated include typical bioenergy residues such as sugar cane bagasse
and wheat straw.



If you have any specific questions on our technology or our agronomic
research into biochar application, please let me know.



Regards

Adriana Downie







-----Original Message-----
*From:* Michael Bailes [mailto:michaelangelica at gmail.com]
*Sent:* Thursday, 1 May 2008 11:48 PM
*To:* Laurens Rademakers
*Cc:* terra pretta group; Stephen Joseph; Adriana Downie
*Subject:* Re: [Terrapreta] Your input needed: "Soil health" at Roundtable
on Sustainable Biofuels



Hi Laurens
That is not a problem
You should probably get in touch with Dynamotive in USA who are producing
pyrolysis based biofuels
To my knowledge BEST energies, at least in Australia, is looking at
electricity production from waste .
I will cc a copy of this email to Adraina Downie and Stephen joseph from
BEST here. They would no doubt be interested in what you are doing; if they
have time may be able to supply some research info for you.
Also check out the Hypography science sites on plants for biofuels and Terra
preta.

Good luck with the conference/meeting.
Warmest wishes

-- 
Michael Bailes
"Politicians will never solve The Problem;
because they don't realise they are the problem.
-Robert ( Bob ) Parsons 1995.

CC Adriana and Stephen
Can you help?
Michael

2008/5/1 Laurens Rademakers <lrademakers at biopact.com>:

Hi,

I'm part of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (at the Ecole
Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne's Energy Center), which is developing
social, environmental and other sustainability criteria for biofuels. It
does so in a set of discussion groups.



The upcoming discussion (number 8 of the Working Group on the
Environment) will address criteria for soils. It will basically conclude:
biofuels should *improve* soil health and maintain soil ecosystem services.



Please have a look at the background document in attachment, which will be
the starting text for the negotiations.



I will obviously introduce a discussion about biochar coupled to biofuel
production. No doubt many participants at the roundtable will be surprised
to hear about terra preta's potentially great effects on soil health.



However, I would very much appreciate your input and advice on how to
present the issue. I think this roundtable presents an excellent opportunity
to get news of the existence of biochar / terra preta out.



The roundtable is extremely stringent in designing its sustainability
criteria, so I would love to hear some strong arguments in favor of coupling
biochar to biofuels production.



The meeting on soils is planned for next week, May 7th (apologies for this
short notice).



Kind regards,

Lorenzo










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-- 
Michael the Archangel
"Politicians will never solve The Problem;
because they don't realise they are The Problem.".
-Robert ( Bob ) Parsons 1995
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