Greetings Paul !
No problem with your criticism/correction. But
as I understand it (and I'm no expert) "oils ain't
oils" and Biochar ain't just biochar".
Depending on the soil analysis a good soil doctor
would produce a prescription biochar, which would
mean different temperatures etc as you
descdribe. The topic is complex and I
certainly can't describe it in a few linesand
neither am I qualified to. It's a bit like
worms. Some people say to me "Tell me all about
worms". I've written 3 books (Best Sellers) on
the topic and haven't covered it properly yet.
DJM.
On 09/12/2013 10:16 AM, Paul Judd wrote:
On 07/12/13 09:00, David Murphy wrote:
Greetings Biochar/Gasifier people !
Everybody & his dog seems to have something to
say about charcoal/biochar/biochar-compost mix
and so on. Well, here's another dog to bark
his piece !
Biochar is often seen as the great agricultural
panacea, but _it is not_.Biochar is a name
given to plain ordinary charcoal to indicate
that it is destined for use in soil
improvement, but basically it is still plain
ordinary charcoal, just crushed into smaller
particles. In some circumstances it is a very
beneficial tool but it is not magical as some
proponents seem to think. Just remember, all
charcoal has a bio-origin - wood.
In some Ag. trials in Australiait significantly
improved crop volume (treble in one case) but
in other instances, nothing worth writing home
about.It depends on what the soil is like to
start with.
Charcoal is stable.That means it does not take
part in any composting system (which is one
primarily of bacterial digestion) and it is
indigestible so that when offered as a dietary
supplement (in poultry food for example) it
passes through the digestive system physically
unchanged but will adsorb a high proportion of
the gases and some toxins produced in the
process of digestion, because that is what
charcoal does. For this reason, it's
adsorption capability, poultry will generally
do better on a little charcoal.
Quite a few pages could be filled on the
beneficial services provided by charcoal as it
travels through the digestive system, but it
does it as charcoal only and as nothing else.
By all means use a little in the feed, you can
only benefit.
The only physical way to change the nature of
charcoal is to burn it. That is why it lasts
in soil (or wherever it is) for thousands of years.
It has an incredibly high surface area of 360
m^2 (varies) and is a mass of minute tunnels
which in turn means a very high volume and
gases become trapped in these tunnels.It does
not _ab_sorb, it _ad_sorbs and traps only.The
difference between absorb and adsorb is the
same as the difference in liquids of suspension
and solution.Clay particles will be in
suspension, sugar and salt go into solution.
Charcoal is useful in an aerobic composting
system because again of the entrapment of air
in the tunnels.A composting system goes well if
there is enough oxygen bearing air available to
the bacteria which are a significant part of
the system.The more air, the higher the
population of bacteria (other factors being
OK). The charcoal itself is inoperative, and
doesn't change, nor is it a catalyst, it simply
provides a service. It will only provide a
haven for soil benevolent bacteria if there is
something trapped in the tunnels which the
bacteria can eat.
Charcoal is a good adsorber of gas and liquid
simply because that is what it does.Zeolite on
the other hand, can have an even higher surface
are per gram and has a propensity to entrap
gases, most particularly nitrogen in it's
various forms -- as gas -- ammonium for example
-- and in liquids as a salt of NO_3 .It
actually draws them in (like a magnet attracts
ferric objects) where charcoal just takes it as
it comes. It is easy to see also why
charcoal is so effective as a filter, but if
you have a solution rich in nitrogen, run it
through Zeolite and the N will be removed. Add
some to the litterin poultry grower sheds,
there will be fewer mortalities because the
ammonia which sometimes will asphixiate small
birds will be absorbed. Zeolite will take N
out of solution, charcoal will not. There's
40 natural forms of Zeolite and more than
another 150 can be synthesised, so choose
carefully for the one most appropriate to your
problem. Zeolite can perform an amazing
range of actions. Once used and applied as
fertiliser, Zeolite subsequently will release
the Nslowly and remain in the soil as a
balancer of N. Too much, it will take it in
(so that the soil pH is not lowered) and
release it as required.
Charcoal's great stuff though, it's easy to
make and holds answers to a lot of problems -
but not all !
David Murphy.
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BioChar is not "ordinary charcoal".
Charcoal is usually made at temperatures above
1000C and all volatiles are removed.
Bio-char is made a lower temperatures, 400~600C
just above spontaneous combustion temperature of
organic material (wet or dry). It contains tars
and a different structure withing the hollows
than `ordinary charcoal`. It is the structure
and the tars that make a good home for soil
micro organisms. It also holds water and
minerals better than charcoal.
See http://www.biochar-international.org/ for
more detailed information and projects.
Local Australian groups:
http://biocharproject.org/
http://www.bioenergyaustralia.org/
--
Paul Judd B.App.Sc. Secondary Metallurgy, Dip Electrotechnology Renewable
Energy, Dip Sustainability
Trainer and Sustainability Advisor
PAJeco Sustainable Education
Sustainability: Learning to live today but leaving enough to live tomorrow
http://www.pajeco.com.au
[email protected]
+61415518134
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