Terra Preta in the news

[Eclipse Now]

Folke's visionary for how fast cities can transform into other forms.

“A normal city is changing all the time – buildings grow old and are replaced. Just look at a picture of your city fifty or a hundred years ago. If the average building life is 60 years, then the city changes at the rate of 1.6% per year. I took as the basis for this scenario the average size of an average Swedish municipality – 36,000 inhabitants. I assumed that instead of building the houses on that same plot as the one demolished you build eco units on the periphery of the city, along the roads preferably. Then you start to ruralise at the same pace as the normal replacement rate. After 50 years, only ten percent of the city is left.”

Folke Günther talks about re-ruralisation with Stephen Hinton | Global Public Media

[Michaelangelica]

Single-desk carbon trade 'could earn billions'

THE former Australian of the year Tim Flannery has proposed a single Australian Government trading desk ? similar to the former wheat desk ? to sell carbon credits to the United States.

Breaking News | Author unknown | Fri Jul 31 11:50:31 EST 2009

Single-desk carbon trade 'could earn billions'
I am not sure about this, when the yanks have been around with open cheque books buying up most of our pyrolysis technology. Certainly the immanent Cabon Trading Scheme is concentrating everyone's minds. Nothing like the $ to make a difference!

Burn, bury and bargain with it: biochar ticks the green boxes

Have your say: Will biochar make a difference? What unites Malcolm Turnbull, Tim Flannery and James Lovelock? Enthusiasm for biochar: one of the most intriguing solutions to global warming and a...

Breaking News | Author unknown | Sun May 31 01:19:36 EST 2009

Burn, bury and bargain with it: biochar ticks the green boxes

in the Boy Scouts we had to Burn Bash and Bury our tin cans. I wonder if that is still a good idea?

I don't seem to make the videos in this CNN report work. Which button need I press?
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science...tml#cnnSTCText

[erich]

Biochar Job;


EngD Studentship – Manufacturing and Engineering the Mechanisation of Biochar Application Impact on Nutrient Status in Arable Soils
Organisation: Cranfield University
Location: Bedfordshire
Hours: Full Time
Contract: Permanent

Cranfield University, in collaboration with The Douglas Bomford Trust and The Crichton Carbon Centre, has an exciting research opportunity for a motivated graduate to undertake this four year project in an area of research that could prove significant in terms of waste management, food productivity and climate change.

Biochar is the carbon-rich product that remains when biomass is heated to high temperature (as in pyrolysis or gasification) in reduced oxygen conditions. Rather than being burned and oxidized to gaseous carbon dioxide, as would happen in combustion or incineration in an oxygen-rich environment, a proportion of the carbon in the biomass is retained within a solid residue. This ‘charred’ residue exhibits similar characteristics to charcoal.

The feedstock that is treated to create biochar can be grown biomass, for example wood or bioenergy crops, or it can be biowaste of various forms, such as green waste, paper, livestock manure or sewage sludge. This research aims to determine the optimum type of biochar that could be applied effectively to soil in order to influence the nutrient dynamics.

...

Please mention lowcarbon.com when responding to this ad.

*
More information




Lowcarbon.com: EngD Studentship – Manufacturing and Engineering the Mechanisation of Biochar Application Impact on Nutrient Status in Arable Soils







Not exactly TP NEWS,
However, there is a certain great opportunity for using this news as parody in reply to deniers, Maybe if real money is being make, by the physical reality of no ice , it will hit home to them.


Climate change opens Arctic’s Northeast passage
Climate change opens Arctic’s Northeast passage | Distant-Help
Two German ships set off on Friday on the first commercial journey from Asia to
western Europe via the Arctic through the fabled Northeast Passage a trip made
possible by climate change. Niels Stolberg, president and CEO of Bremen-based
Beluga Shipping, said the Northern Sea Route will cut thousands of nautical
miles off the [...]


Erich

[Eclipse Now]

What happens to phosphorus in sewerage waste when run through a biochar cooker? I'm interested in a system we could build that would prepare for "peak phosphorus" and if biochar can help with that, all the better.

Or should biochar be mainly focussed on council green waste, lawn clippings, agriwaste and forestry waste? Is there another more appropriate means by which we can enable sewerage to become food? Some people visualise sewerage pouring into massive fields where certain biomass crops are then harvested for ethanol, and the ethanol byproduct sludge used as cow fodder, etc. Any thoughts on better using sewerage?

[Michaelangelica]

I just made a long post here and then Firefox crashed-arhh well, probably guff anyway

Eric, how about a new thread TP Jobs/employment business opportunities/?/

Phosphorus/Eclipse Now

In 2007, at the current rate of consumption, the supply of phosphorus was estimated to run out in 345 years.[25]
However, scientists are now claiming that a "Peak Phosphorus" will occur in 30 years and that "At current rates, reserves will be depleted in the next 50 to 100 years."

-Wiki

Today phosphorus production is larger than ever. It is used as a precursor for various chemicals,[30] in particular the herbicide glyphosate sold under the brand name Roundup

.

For plants, we may have to go back to getting it from soil biota?, as happened before 1900?(I will make a post on this in "wee beasties' soon -waiting for an article to be published on line).
or
stop making glyphosate,Sodium tripolyphosphate, methamphetamine,organophosphorous insecticides, napalm,chemical warfare and other assorted POP-organophosphates?
or
recycling bodies instead of 'formaldehyding' them?

An average adult human contains a little less than 1 kg of phosphorus, about 85% of which is present in bones and teeth in the form of apatite, and the remainder inside cells in soft tissu

e

Phosphorus was discovered by German alchemist Hennig Brand in 1674 or 1675.
Working in Hamburg, Brand attempted to distil some kind of "life essence" from his urine, and in the process produced a white material that glowed in the dark.[4]
The phosphorus had in fact been produced from inorganic phosphate, which is a significant component of dissolved urine solids

Phosphorus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Piss that glows in the dark.

Black phosphorus is the least reactive allotrope and the thermodynamic stable form below 550 °C. It is also known as β-metallic phosphorus and has a structure somewhat resembling that of graphite.[15][16]

graphite=carbon???

twenty-three isotopes of phosphorus are known

lots of potassium is found in piss too!

History of production

Historically, niter-beds were prepared by mixing manure with either mortar or wood ashes, common earth and organic materials such as straw to give porosity to a compost pile typically 1.5 meters high by 2 meters wide by 5 meters long.[3] The heap was usually under a cover from the rain, kept moist with urine, turned often to accelerate the decomposition and leached with water after approximately one year. The liquid containing various nitrates was then converted with wood ashes to potassium nitrate, crystallized and refined for use in gunpowder.

Urine has also been used in the manufacture of saltpetre for gunpowder. In this process, stale urine placed in a container of straw hay is allowed to sour for many months, after which water is used to wash the resulting chemical salts from the straw.
The process is completed by filtering the liquid through wood ashes and air-drying in the sun.[3] Saltpetre crystals can then be collected and added to sulfur and charcoal to create black powder.[4] Potassium nitrate could also be harvested from accumulations of bat guano in caves.
This was the traditional method used in Laos for the manufacture of gunpowder for Bang Fai rockets.

The earliest known complete purification process for potassium nitrate is described in 1270 by the Arab chemist and engineer Hasan al-Rammah of Syria in his book al-Furusiyya wa al-Manasib al-Harbiyya ('The Book of Military Horsemanship and Ingenious War Devices'), where he first described the use of potassium carbonate (in the form of wood ashes) to remove calcium and magnesium salts from the potassium nitrate.[5]

During the 19th century and until around World War I, potassium nitrate was produced on an industrial scale, first by the Birkeland–Eyde process in 1905, and then later from ammonia produced by the much more efficient Haber process.
The latter process came online during World War I, and supplied Germany with nitrates critical for the warfare that it otherwise had no access to because the deposits of natural nitrate in Chile were in British hands.
It is assumed that this prolonged World War I. Today practically all nitrates are produced from the oxidation of ammonia made by the Haber process.

Potassium nitrate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

sewerage
no I don't get it either. Our best fertiliser goes to grow sea weed
Some say it contains heavy metals. But i can't see why unless industry is discharging waste illegally into the sewrage system. ?
Surely human urine is full of phosphorus,(?) as is pig's (where the Chinese used to get it for firecrackers)

,100 L of urine to make about 60 g of phosphorus

Wiki.
How much urine does a city of a million people produce?

The Importance of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium Recovery from Urine for Solving Global Environmental Problems Linking between Water and Agriculture.
Accession number;02A0070800
Author;MATSUI SABURO(Kyodai Daigakuinkogakukenkyuka Kankyoshitsuseigyose)
Journal Title;Energy and Resources
Journal Code:Z0986A
ISSN:0285-0494
VOL.22;NO.6;PAGE.407-414(2001)
Figure&Table&Reference;FIG.6, TBL.1, REF.5
Pub. Country;Japan
Language;Japanese
Abstract;

Science Links Japan | The Importance of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium Recovery from Urine for Solving Global Environmental Problems Linking between Water and Agriculture.

Such waste

NSW sugarcane burn-off trials to continue
Monday, 24/08/2009
NSW Cangrowers will continue to burn off their crop under trials conducted by the NSW Sugar Milling Co-operative.
The co-operative's CEO, Chris Connors, says burning off will continue until it establishes a viable process for converting green energy over the next few years.
Mr Connors says the co-op is currently testing processing methods such as taking all crop in the field, burning with and without extractors, and green cane harvesting.
"Certainly within the next three to four years, the target is to take all of that crop," he says.]
"So we will be looking to ensure growers aren't burning.
"We can't stop them, but at the end of the day, I think as long we get the economics right, I think we'll get the right outcome."

NSW sugarcane burn-off trials to continue - 24/08/2009


this is off-topic?, but fun
Not sure where it should go in hypography, but it should go somewhere.
Intersting comment that potasium is radio-active. IDKT.
I wonder if the light/energy it emits helps any soil bacteria, fungi, plants?
Plants are the Strangest People: Mr_Subjunctive Explains Modern Retail Horticulture to a Time-Traveller From the Year 1860

[erich]

My contacts tell me that;
"The Economist" will be running a 1000 word biochar article in the science & Technology section. Now this may not get the 100 million eyeballs a month that we got with the Sept 08 NGM cover story, but is read by many movers and shakers.

The editors are responsible for the veracity of the stories content and the authors are not named. This gives them much inside access to the workings of business and government.

I sent the editor , who was at Boulder but didn't meet, my updates,

Erich

[erich]

As Promised;


A new growth industry?

Aug 27th 2009 | BOULDER, COLORADO
From The Economist print edition
Biochar could enrich soils and cut greenhouse gases as well


The virtues of biochar: A new growth industry? | The Economist

[Essay]

Wow Erich,

Great to see this biochar information mainstreaming so nicely.
Good going with your comments to the Economist's article; I'm still reading them....

I'll try to add some also, if I can fiind time this weekend.

Thanks for the notification here. I'll include this article with the biochar presentation, for a service organization, that I'll be preparing this weekend.

Originally Posted by erich

As Promised;


A new growth industry?

Aug 27th 2009 | BOULDER, COLORADO
From The Economist print edition
Biochar could enrich soils and cut greenhouse gases as well


The virtues of biochar: A new growth industry? | The Economist

[Michaelangelica]

Fascinating how something as simple as terra preta can flumox so many.
The latest victim?- the boffins at the illustrious-sounding Royal Society. Methinks the Pommies must of had too many G&Ts when they wrote this report

good things
?

Should temperatures rise to such a level where more rapid action needs to be taken, the following SRM techniques were considered to have most potential:

Stratospheric aerosols these were found to be feasible, and previous volcanic eruptions have effectively provided short-term preliminary case studies of the potential effectiveness of this method. The cost was assessed as likely to be relatively low and the timescale of action short. However, there are some serious questions over adverse effects, particularly depletion of stratospheric ozone.

Space-based methods these were considered to be a potential SRM technique for long-term use, if the major problems of implementation and maintenance could be solved. At present the techniques remain prohibitively expensive, complex and would be slow to implement.

Cloud albedo approaches (eg. cloud ships) the effects would be localised and the impacts on regional weather patterns and ocean currents are of considerable concern but are not well understood. The feasibility and effectiveness of the technique is uncertain. A great deal more research would be needed before this technique could be seriously considered.

bad things?

The following techniques were considered to have lower potential:

Biochar (CDR technique) the report identified significant doubts relating to the potential scope, effectiveness and safety of this technique and recommended that substantial research would be required before it could be considered for eligibility for UN carbon credits.

Ocean fertilisation (CDR technique) the report found that this technique had not been proved to be effective and had high potential for unintended and undesirable ecological side effects.

Surface albedo approaches (SRM technique, including white roof methods, reflective crops and desert reflectors) these were found to be ineffective, expensive and, in some cases, likely to have serious impacts on local and regional weather patterns.
Stop emitting CO2 or geoengineering could be our only hope
BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Engineering Earth 'is feasible'

Bio-fuel-Watch: biofuelwatch-Royal Society has "significant doubts" over "biochar"
So, much better to put umbrellas in space than have a white road or roof . (?)
Biochar "needs more research'; always the cry of those who haven' bothered to look for it.
So get out your aerosls, stoke up that volcano, buy shares in NASA and "cloud ships"; much better than to trust a proven tecnology that is simple and has only been around for a few millennia.

(PS at the same time the RS is giving awards to "developing nation's" research on biochar. Perhaps biochar is the poor man's solution and we, in the W, get to play with clouds, aerosols and space. I wonder if anyone has read that research either ?)

File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View
Royal Society Science Networking Award (Ghana-UK). Biochar-based soil management strategies for smallholder agriculture. Saran Sohi & Edward Yeboah ...
royalsociety.org/downloaddoc.asp?id=5897 -

http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=c...+biochar&hl=en

I will have more to say when I read the original article. Got to go now Stephen Fry is in the USA!

[Michaelangelica]

The Royal Society of New Zealand noted that the side-effects and consequences of many of the geoengineering schemes covered in the study are not well understood, but that some of them “deserve further attention from New Zealand”.
From the Royal Society of New Zealand paper:
On afforestation:
“Afforestation is the simplest way to remove carbon from the atmosphere and has a role to play for New Zealand.Using the wood to produce biochar and biofuels could be major new industries if it can be proven and verified that they reduce overall emissions of carbon.”
On ocean fertilisation:
“The addition of iron to help plankton grow, has been promoted optimistically and our easy access to the Southern Ocean suggests we could act as a staging point. However the limited research done so far shows that ocean fertilisation appears to be ineffective at locking away carbon from the atmosphere, suggesting that it does not offer the potential that some claim.”

On other geoengineering techniques:
“Proposals to reduce the heating of the planet by blocking or reflecting the sun’s energy include placing giant sunshields in space, increasing the reflectivity of the planet through planting reflective crops, placing reflectors in deserts, whitening roofs on buildings or paving, enhancing the reflectivity of clouds by spraying seawater from specially-constructed ships, or producing sulphate aerosols in the upper atmosphere.”
“These techniques could reduce global temperatures much more rapidly, if deployed on sufficient scale, but none are without side effects… these schemes could play a role as options of last resort.”
Further Information

Science Media Centre » Blog Archive » CO2 reduction favoured over untried geoengineering
The full text of the RS (bs?) article does not seem to be available on line.