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Burying charcoal to improve crop yield and offset CO2
I am involved in work to develop biochar technologies. Biochar involves the burial of charcoal in agricultural soils to improve crop yield and offset CO2. By converting decomposing, agricultural waste into biochar, we can sequester up to 2 billion tonnes of CO2 each year according to the journal Nature. This represents around 12% of global CO2 emissions. I am interested to hear the thoughts of the TED community on the potential of biochar, particularly in the developing world.
james greyson
Biochar is my pick for the practical solution with the greatest potential to really turn things around in time. Greenhouse gases can be removed from the air, soils can be revitalised, ecosystems and forests can be renewed, food security can be regained. All of this can be done in every country, cheaply, simply and fast - let's do it.
I'd like to open-source my design for an easy make-it-yourself biochar woodgas cooker so if anyone has thoughts on possible start-up funding or international collaborators please contact me via my TED profile. Thanks!
Lindsay Newland Bowker 50+
Jason Aramburu
Janice Tetlock
João Jesus
First, what source of energy do you use to create the pirolysis process? And how do you retain the formed gases?
Jason Aramburu
Lindsay Newland Bowker 50+
João Jesus
João Jesus
Debra Smith 200+
Salim Solaiman 50+
Later fertilizer & insecside marketers made them to de-learn their that practical and instinctive knowledge ................ Good news you are working on that, success depends on commercial success. In this era nothing is implemented if it is can't proof it's immediate commercial or economic profitability in terms of dollars only.
Lindsay Newland Bowker 50+
james greyson
Biochar is vital for reviving both soils and climate so I want to see people using woodgas cookers daily in both 'developing' and 'developed' countries. Most of the energy value of dry biomass is in the woodgas rather than the charcoal! Woodgas cooking should coincide with a world-wide end to charcoal making processes that emit unburnt woodgas to air since this is hostile to both health and climate. With unseasoned wood it's also ridiculously inefficient for delivering heat for cooking.
I'm fond of hardwood twigs for my cookers since the same volume of fuel burns for longer. However a preference for hardwood seems to be a legacy of wanting hardwood for cooking-charcoal. When using softwoods or agricultural wastes in woodgas cookers with biochar byproduct you can get any desired cooking time just by adding more fuel. The resulting lighter-weight charcoal is easier to crumble into compost so better than hardwood biochar IMHO.
Well done Jason with your excellent work. Also well done you and Lindsay for your sensitive help for George, who I'm hoping will be curious now to try it for himself :-)
Rolf, the question of scale is interesting. Big biochar machines is one way to get scale. Large numbers of small machines (woodgas cookers) is another. Both can provide large-scale agricultural use though the potential for mishandling of biomass is greater with the big-business approach. The economics is also interesting; a combination of biochar business finances and wider economic reforms that have barely begun, http://bit.ly/CoLabEntry
Rolf Wenzel
As biochar plants get big and economies of scale improve, the feedstock radius increases raising the price of the straw or wood etc. We've blue-skyed a bit and mused that it would be theoretically most efficient to have combines that pyrolyze straw during harvest, but residence time required for pyrolysis would likely make the required onboard storage massive.
To get the industry off the ground, small high value markets are needed. Some small producers here are selling into retail horticulture as garden soil amendment. Other profitable niches could be the hydroponic greenhouse market as growth media. One of our government reserarch greenhouses under Dr. Nick Savidov here has done extensive testing and found that almost every type of biochar tested lasts much longer than the coconut coir they currently use so could lower labour costs with equal or slightly better yields. Biochar is also less susceptible to fungus growth in this application.
I know the USDA has several technical programs but is anyone aware of any North american farm application economics studies?
Keep up the good work!
Lindsay Newland Bowker 50+
Jason Aramburu
Great points. Horticulture has been named as one of the initial markets for biochar in North American and Europe. Yes, larger-scale biochar production is quite possible. We are very interested in community or home-scale biochar use in the developed world. The question for us is-- do Western consumers prefer to purchase a simple device to make their own char, or purchase already made char? In Africa, cost constraints and abundant labor favor the former, but things could be different elsewhere. Any thoughts?
Comment deleted
Jason Aramburu
I've answered all your additional questions below. Unfortunately, this will be my last response to you unless you wish to engage in a meaningful discussion. When you asked for 'data,' I provided you scientific papers. I'm a scientist, and I know of no better data than peer-reviewed scientific papers. Also to clarify, we have ongoing collaboration with several universities including Oxford U and Princeton. We have also raised considerable funds from private investors and grant foundations. In all cases where we have communicated with fellow scientists, professors or investors, they have greatly appreciated reading the peer-reviewed journal articles we send. Thanks for your time.
Charcoal is a form of mineral or inorganic carbon, unlike organic carbon (compost, humus etc). Organic carbon is typically in the form of cellulosic materials like lignin and can be decomposed by microorganisms, mineral carbon cannot.
Adding organic carbon to soil itself does little to stimulate plant growth. At best, it can help insulate roots during periods of cold temperatures. When organic carbon is composted, the microbes in the compost pile digest the organic carbon and concentrate the small amount of NPK present in the green waste. If one can produce sufficient amounts of compost and add it to soil, this does improve plant growth.
Biochar improves the physical structure and adsorption of soil (as I have said several times). It improves the soil's ability to retain nutrients (NPK), water and microorganisms. In practice, adding biochar to soil makes compost or fertilizer much more effective by reducing runoff. It also fosters microbial activity in soil, which improves nutrient cycling. It is not as though biochar is a replacement for compost or vice versa. Feedstocks that make poor compost (wood chips, husks, cobs, pits, shells etc) make the best biochar.
Burning ag waste is totally energy efficient. The only energy 'lost' is the energy in the match used to light the waste.
Jason Aramburu
As I've said, I don't understand what you mean by an 'energy flow chart.' Burning ag waste does not require additional fuel inputs. We work with poor farmers in Kenya who farm totally by hand. They manually load and unload the units.
We find up to 10 tonnes/ hectare of char can be added to agricultural soils before improvements in yield plateau. Studies have tested concentrations up to 20 tonnes/hectare and found no adverse effects on yield or germination. It is conceivable that concentrations higher than 20T/hectare could reduce yield or lead to 'nutrient imbalance' but it would likely take decades to produce that much char in-field.
Fast-growing, water-hungry crops like corn and rice respond the best to char, followed by vegetable and green crops. There is currently insufficient research on the effects of biochar on slow-growing tree species, but this is an emerging topic for many scientists. In general, acidic, weathered tropical soils respond the best. As I said, it's not as though biochar is a replacement for compost. It improves the effects of compost. We find that in Western Kenya, manure+biochar outperforms DAP (chemical fertilizer) 2:1 and plain compost 1.5:1 in staple crops including corn and beans.
We have 750 smallholder (1-acre) farmers in Western Kenya using biochar. They are our focus. Charcoal is produced from sugarcane and corn waste that is otherwise burned in the field. This is about as 'down to earth' as one could get, and would have been clear if you read my previous responses. As I've said, please take the time to read and understand before jumping to conclusions and responding.
Christophe Cop 500+
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQBp6z4j704
=> listen to putting the carbon in the swamp producing spirulina algea
A lot of literature!
http://www.powerplantccs.com/ccs/cap/fut/alg/all_alg_ra.html
George Kalogridis
Ethanol thrives here because Ag Corporations wanted to loot more taxpayer dollars from the US Treasury. The US ethanol policy has successfully tied the cost of food to the cost of energy, it's a complete disaster.
Ethanol is done right in Brazil.
The real problem here is that you've haven't completed all your homework on this project. When you get all your data together, not hidden behind firewalls or such, make a clear concise presentation as you would for any presentation, as opposed to asking readers to do their own research.
There is no doubt about your sincerity, only your data.
Thanks for the conversation.
PS: Look into to Exhaust farmings, where the exhaust from the tractors is cooled then pumped into the soil as the tractor moves across the fields. Yields are up and pollution is down, http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2010/12/08/269141_print_friendly_article.html
Lindsay Newland Bowker 50+
Jason Aramburu
Jason Aramburu
Jason Aramburu
Please read through the above paper, which is freely available, from the leading biochar research lab at Cornell U. It explains the sequestration benefit in very clear terms with supporting data. I'm not sure what you mean by a flow char. Are you interested in the energy cost of making biochar?
To paraphrase the above article: Biomass waste normally decomposes and converts to CO2, methane and other carbonaceous gases. When it is converted to char, it will not decompose back into CO2. When the inert char is buried, the carbon is sequestered on Earth rather than returning to the atmosphere.
George Kalogridis
..."These economic aspects as well as any social aspects are not resolved in this paper, beyond considering the implications of C emission trading, but are important for the successful implementation of a bio-char system and such studies should be conducted in the future.".....
...."Additionally, the decomposition of bio-chars is most likely reduced when it is transported down in the soil profile or buried in river, lake, or sea sediments...."
...."It appears that the effects of bio-char on N dynamics in soils is not entirely understood."....
Char is beginning to sound a lot like Ethanol
Jason Aramburu
Anna Koffi
On the question of bio-char.... I want to experiment with this in the garden and on the allottment especially since there's no water and the South East of England is already (it's only April!) ina a state of semi drought). But apparently ordinary charcoal is treated in some way that would be harmful to the soil. How can I know which kind of charcoal to buy? (Will be making my own but need to get a shredder etc and not enough finance for that)
Lindsay Newland Bowker 50+
Jason Aramburu
Yes, community-scale biochar + liquid fuel plants are very exciting. There are still some technical challenges to implementation, but I foresee Northern Latitudes being the ideal first markets. These regions have abundant wood waste, and a need for low-cost heating oil.
I do not recommend using ordinary charcoal briquettes for agricultural amendment. Most charcoal briquettes in the west are made from treated wood, and are often impregnated with lighter fluid. However, if you can find a source of 'natural, lump hardwood charcoal' it could serve as a viable alternative until you can make your own. I'm not sure of availability in the UK, but Whole Foods in the US offers a viable product.
Reuben Ausher
Nice hypothesis. I just wonder what empirical evidence did you acquire under an african setting. Which soils and crops, respectively respond positively to charcoal burial. Would you compare the results with compost, fertilizers?
Any side effects on the soil microflora on both beneficial microorganisms or soil-borne diseases? What are actually the sources of charcoal in the african countries and their costs? Is this technology addressing the smallholders or the large farms? You address the issue on a global perspective, I wonder whether you master any down-to-earth results?
Wish you success and would appreciate an answer to the problem areas I put forward.
Reuben Ausher
Christine Perala Gardiner
Jason Aramburu
http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate1091.html
George Kalogridis
Crop waste is best processed when composted; composting creates it own heat and the finished product is readily available to the soil microbes which sequester carbon.
Farmers have been adding carbon, in the form of soft coal and/or burning off their field stubble for centuries.
As an Ag guy I'm not seeing the advantage.
Lindsay Newland Bowker 50+
George Kalogridis
If you want to make claims about the char then please supply data links not platitudes. I need the results of the testing, and the baseline for your testing methodology, to believe this sales pitch.
I've worked with organic farmers all over the US and the world, different soils, climates, crops, and scales of farms from corporate to poor farmer collectives. We get that carbon is important but I have seen so many silver bullet products, that have promised unbelievable results in the fields, only to discover yet again there are no silver bullets.
In the early days of organics farmers would study old Ag books from the 1800's or earlier, reviewing many farming methods, even of ancient peoples, anything that could make organic farming better. Dumping car into the soil never came up. Too much char could knock your N off the colloid. Too much of any Ag input can be bad for your soil.
I look forward to the data
Lindsay Newland Bowker 50+
Jason Aramburu
http://www.springerlink.com/content/qw2jg522346226t6/
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B7CSX-4Y8GDVJ-6&_user=10&_coverDate=12%2F31%2F2010&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=gateway&_origin=gateway&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1721433856&_rerunOrigin=scholar.google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=c626f6f29c6fc7aa61055d45af8d0cae&searchtype=a
George Kalogridis
Sounds to me that char was an early precursor of composting. A lot of old farming ideas are very very good; early organic farmers would haunt used book stores for pre-1900 Ag text books, as well the practices of native peoples, to discover how people farmed without chemicals.
But most of those very very good old ideas need to be updated to meet todays farming realities.
Jason Aramburu
George Kalogridis
When I ask for a link it;s because I failed to find the info on Google or other search resources. Don't mean to be a pain the ass, I've been a proponent of living soil for 25 years and love new ideas, but this one is just not adding up for me.
Do you have an energy chart flow on Ag waste to char?
If the data is there to support your claims then it;s all good.
George Kalogridis
Carbon sequestration in Ag soil is a biological function of microbes absorbing the CO2, not physical sequestration as when CO2 is pumped deep into the earth.
I must be missing something about your product.
Jason Aramburu
Good questions. Biochar is a mineral form of carbon, so it is not absorbed or consumed by soil microbes (unlike organic carbon aka compost or humus). Biochar itself has few nutrients (nitrogen, phosphate etc). Instead, biochar acts as a soil amendment, meaning it actually improves the physical quality of the soil.
When added to soil, biochar acts as a sponge-- it holds onto nutrients, water and microorganisms. By reducing leaching and concentrating nutrients, we find biochar can significantly improve crop yield.
The carbon sequestration aspect is a bit unique-- biochar is made from waste that normally decomposes into CO2, methane etc. When it is converted to charcoal, the carbon in the ag waste is mineralized, meaning it can no longer be decomposed. Provided that charcoal stays in the soil and isn't burned, the carbon can remain sequestered for thousands of years.
Anna Koffi
Last week I was introduced to the woodgas burner, James greyson style, made from tins and a kettle, and using woodchip from garden waste. James boiled three kettles worth of water on about a litre of woodchip in 15 mins.(about 20-30 cups of tea-worth I reckon), and if we'd had sausages we'd have been able to grill them on the hot coals left over. The remaining biochar he carefully stored away to put on the compost pile at home. (apparently charcoal stores nutrients during the composting process that would otherwise be leached out). the burner gave off no smoke, but plenty of heat. My favorite aspect of Jame's burner is that I could make it myself, and all parts are replaceable by popping down to any local restaurant/school and asking fora couple of tins they're throwing out anyway.
I, along with most other garden owners, have wood waste that can be chipped for using in a woodgas burner and I reckon that it wouldn't take much to set up systems whereby local garden waste wood can be shreded, dried and used in woodgas burners that could supply heat to local schools, community buildings etc. It would save on carting the stuff away, and the resulting biochar could be given back to gardeners to put in their compost piles.
Jason Aramburu
Lindsay Newland Bowker 50+
Jason Aramburu
Lindsay Newland Bowker 50+
Another crop that might be a good target is artichokes. I get phenomenal yields here in Miane even since I started ammending my seafood based organic soils with charcoal. There again, the crp itself involves a huge amount of foliage and large stalks so the biochar might be selk generating at the site and in time a side business ( since once the charcoal reaches certain level no more is needed)
No one who tries it will ever go back..that much I know.
Of course I understand that the work you are doing now in Africa is critically important and your heart right now may be totally in winning suuport and help with that..and that is more than enough... may not be possible for a new company
Anna Koffi
Jason Aramburu
David Brown
Jason Aramburu
M.D Foster
Jason Aramburu