Terra Preta - The parent thread which started it all

[Philip Small]

Greetings friends. I am new to the Hypography Science Forums, so a quick intro. I consult in Washington state. I am a soil scientist trained first in pedology (soil mapping mostly) and then ported over to edaphology (ag mostly, then another career change into environmental). I blog, somewhat sadly in fits and starts. I shepherd the National Society of Consulting Soil Scientists internet efforts. As "paleorthid", I helped start the Wikipedia Soil WikiProject.

I am fascinated by Terra Preta.

[Philip Small]

The Pilot-Scale Retort: Simple and Fun

In pursuit of soil science's Holy Grail, Terra Preta Nova, I made some char last summer using a small retort on the BBQ. My retort was along the lines of what I had learned when Making Char Cloth as needed for Flint and Steel Fire Making but my retort was bigger to accommodate wood and such. I made it from a soda cracker tin, and used wood scraps and maple tree self-prunings from around the yard. One thing I learned is that charcoal making with this approach works far better when the temperature outside is hot. If you must play with making charcoal on a mild day, do it before the wind picks up in the afternoon! Wind can be amazingly effective at sucking off the heat needed to complete the process.

An Intermediate Compost Stage Inoculates the Char

Next step, I soaked the char bits in a dilute solution of Miracle Grow, somewhat along the lines suggested by DD over at eprida.com. Then I worked them into my soil-inoculated maple leaf and kitchen scraps compost pile, where they sit to this day. I have a good feeling about this compost finishing approach. For one, the kiss of MG nicely goosed the compost process. I figure this intermediate compost stage will inoculate the charcoal with a wide variety of aerobic fungi, archaea, and bacteria prior to moving it the garden.

A Wood-gas Stove Would Be Better Than A Retort

I highly recommend the BBQ/Hibachi sized retort as a first step in experimenting with making char for your garden. However, with the retort, the precious wood gas gets wasted in the process. Not something I want to promote as a final solution. I think a wood-gas cooking stove is my next step. These are gasifiers that produce gas from wood and then burn the gas, leaving the charcoal. According to Wood fires that fit - Appropriate technology: Journey to Forever, they are reputed to be "...clean, fast and efficient. They burn small pieces of wood, sticks, wood chips, corncobs or nutshells, producing a clean, blue flame and no smoke. A lot of cunning engineering has gone into the development of these stoves, and yet they're easily made from locally available materials -- even tin cans. ..."

Note: I had intended this post to include links, but, apparently, until I get 10 posts, I can't do that. I'll post this with links to nscss.org/forum.

[InfiniteNow]

Thanks for the nice information PS. Please just be sure to check our rules page prior to posting links, especially the section regarding links to other forums.

So, when do you incorporate your compost to the garden?


Keep on charring...

[Philip Small]

Thanks for the welcome. The rules make good sense. When in Rome, of course, ...

I'm thinking the tomato plot this April on the char+compost mix.

[maikeru]

Welcome, Philip! Please let us know how your tomatoes do.

I have another question about terra preta. Would it be possible to coat the inner pores of charcoal with non-wood bio-oil condensates, such as from other vegetable or plant sources, to similarly favor the growth of microbes?

The reason I ask this is that now I use mostly spent coffee grounds and occasionally the swill from leftover soymilk bottles to fertilize my potted plants in the terra preta. When I brew coffee, I can see there are oils on top of the brew, and I imagine there still must be some, and many other chemicals, present in the spent grounds. Also, soymilk has quite a lot of plant oils. I wonder if these might be absorbed by the terra preta as decomposition takes place. Perhaps in agricultural settings waste vegetable or plant "juice," if rich in oils, could be used as a "bio-oil inoculant" for the terra preta?

[redgreenblue]

Originally Posted by erich

WOW.............This is the first I've seen of a process like Dr. Danny Day's on the market:

BEST Pyrolysis, Inc. | Slow Pyrolysis - Biomass - Clean Energy - Renewable Energy - Char - green coal - pelletized fuel - syngas for electrical generation - carbon credits - increases rural jobs and construction development

It seems that Eprida and BEST seem to be the two main companies focusing on using char as a soil amendment... And in a previous post you mentioned the flash carbonization process which may be able to contribute as well. They're now marketing the process on this website: carbondiversion.com

But there are also several other companies out there using similar processes (pyrolysis) who produce char, but they generally focus more on using the char for producing energy or activated carbons.

dynamotive.com
ensyn.com

Originally Posted by Taildragerdriver

First I work professionally in what is called fire management working with US public land management agencies. We have a great deal of interest in a way to use biomass produced when we try to reduce fuels in projects designed to reduce fire intensity around areas of human developments. If we can get an interest going with agriculture to incorporate large quantities of charcoal a commercial charcoal industry could be developed to use these biomass products produced in fuels reductions projects.

Some companies in Canada are recognizing this opportunity and developing mobile pyrolysis units.
agri-therm.com
advbiorefineryinc.ca

Advanced Biorefinery Inc's technology was recently profiled in MIT's Technology Review (technologyreview.com/Energy/17298/) and also here: biopact.com/2006/09/biomass-to-liquids-bring-factory-to.html

So interest in technology that produces char is definitely growing... But what could be a future issue though is the economic value of char as a fuel versus char as a soil amendment.

[erich]

Great finds RGB:


Dr. Antal's site is well done: Carbon Diversion

Dynamotive Energy Systems | The Evolution of Energy

Ensyn - Environmentally Friendly Energy and Chemicals

Agri-Therm, developing bio oils from agricultural waste

Advanced BioRefinery Inc.

Technology Review: Turning Slash into Cash

[redgreenblue]

Here's some more information on char studies in the southeastern US. These are related to the collaboration between the University of Georgia and Eprida.

Pickens County Charcoal Research Project
http://www.pickensmg.com/CharResearc...l-TextCopy.pdf
A gardening club got a hold of some bio-char and did their own field tests on tomatoes and blueberries. The report should be interesting for home gardeners who want to try this themselves. It's pretty well documented and includes pictures and diagrams of their setup.

...and from a conference this past November, there's some results coming in from university field trials. Char from peanut shells seems to perform better than char from forestry wastes.
Characterization of Pyrolysis Char for Use as an Agricultural Soil Amendment.

Abstract: Sandy soils in the coastal plain of the southeastern United States typically have very low nutrient content and cation exchange capacity (CEC). Char produced from peanut hull (PN), pine chip (PC), pine bark (PB), sawdust (SD), and hardwood chips (HW) pyrolyzed at approximately 380, 400, and 420° C were analyzed for properties that could increase the agricultural productivity of these soils. The available nutrient content of char varied with feedstock and pyrolyzing temperature. PN char pyrolyzed at 426° C (PN 426) contained the highest amounts of Mehlich I P, K, and Ca (769, 8,142, and 1,562 mg kg-1 respectively). PN pyrolyzed at 371° C (PN 371) contained the highest total N (2.03 %), but only a very small fraction was plant available based on a 24-day N mineralization study. Cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the char varied with feedstock and pyrolysis temperature. CEC ranged from 44.0 cmol kg -1 char for PN 402 to 14.1 cmol kg -1 char for the HW pyrolyzed at 426° C. CEC was significantly lower for feedstocks pyrolyzed at 420° C. Peanut hull char had a significantly higher CEC than the other feedstocks.

Effect of Pyrolysis Char on Corn Growth and Loamy Sand Soil Characteristics.

Pyrolysis of biomass for hydrogen fuel produces a char byproduct that may be beneficial to plant growth, improve soil conditions, and contribute to stable soil carbon. We measured corn (Zea mays) growth response and CO2 efflux in microplots (1.8 x 2.2 m) amended with peanut hull and pine chip pellet char produced at 400o C. For each char type, the treatments were: 11.2 Mg char ha-1, 11.2 Mg char ha-1 plus fertilizer, 22.4 Mg char ha-1, 22.4 Mg char ha-1 plus fertilizer, a control, and a fertilizer check (4 replicates). Soil samples were taken before plots were amended, week 4, 16 after planting, and at harvest. Soils were analyzed for pH, nutrients and C. Soil moisture and CO2 efflux from the soil surface were measured periodically during the growing season. Analyses of the char indicated that the peanut hull char at the 11.2 Mg ha-1 rate added 213 kg total N ha-1, 1.3 kg P ha-1, and 56 kg K ha-1. Nutrient additions with the pine chip char were low. Small increases in CO2 evolution in the field were observed following char incorporation. Similar short-term increases in CO2 were seen in related laboratory incubations. There was not a significant total biomass or yield response due to the pine chip pellet char. There was a significant response of stover to peanut hull pellet char alone, but total biomass and yield were not significantly higher with the char plus fertilizer treatment compared to fertilizer alone.

[erich]

The following post I plan to submit to Slashdot and some other online news sites. I thought I would run it past you all for review first. Of course much of this is drawn from this forum and you have seen before.

I used the EngineerPoet's Carbon PPM numbers ,

"Just pulling the atmospheric CO2 level from today's 379 ppm down to 350 ppm (a level which would probably stabilize Greenland and Antarctica) requires the net capture of about 230 billion tons of carbon dioxide."

I was wondering if his source for this from IPCC?

The Ergosphere: Sustainability, energy independence and agricultural policy

His 230 ton carbon remediation number to stabilise the climate fits elegantly with this estimate from Dr. Bill Ruddiman at U. VA. , who's work is cited by Duane Pendergrass:
Energy, the carbon cycle and greenhouse gas management


"Best estimate is that the total loss of forest and soil carbon (combined
pre-industrial and industrial) has been about 200-240 billion tons. Of
that, the soils are estimated to account for about 1/3, and the vegetation
the other 2/3. Some estimates have said that 1/3 of the total was
pre-industrial and 2/3 industrial. I think it may have been more like
50/50.
Regards,
Bill Ruddiman"



Thanks for any editorial help
Erich




Time to Master the Carbon Cycle

Man has been controlling the carbon cycle , and there for the weather, since the invention of agriculture, all be it was as unintentional, as our current airliner contrails are in affecting global dimming. This unintentional warm stability in climate has over 10,000 years, allowed us to develop to the point that now we know what we did and that now we are over doing it.

The prehistoric and historic records gives a logical thrust for soil carbon sequestration.
I wonder what the soil biome carbon concentration was REALLY like before the cutting and burning of the world's virgin forest, my guess is that now we see a severely diminished community, and that only very recent Ag practices like no-till and reforestation have started to help rebuild it. It makes implementing Terra Preta soil technology like an act of penitence, a returning of the misplaced carbon.

Energy, the carbon cycle and greenhouse gas management
Energy, the carbon cycle and greenhouse gas management


On the Scale of CO2 remediation:

It is my understanding that atmospheric CO2 stands at 379 PPM, to stabilize the climate we need to reduce it to 350 PPM by the removal of 230 Billion tons.

The best estimates I've found are that the total loss of forest and soil carbon (combined
pre-industrial and industrial) has been about 200-240 billion tons. Of
that, the soils are estimated to account for about 1/3, and the vegetation
the other 2/3.

Since man controls 24 billion tons in his agriculture then it seems we have plenty to work with in sequestering our fossil fuel co2 emissions as charcoal.

As Dr. Lehmann at Cornell points out, "Closed-Loop Pyrolysis systems such as Day's are the only way to make a fuel that is actually carbon negative". and that " a strategy combining biochar with biofuels could ultimately offset 9.5 billion tons of carbon per year-an amount equal to the total current fossil fuel emissions! "
http://www.css.cornell.edu/faculty/l...ochar_home.htm


Carbon Negative Bio fuels and Fertility Too

This new soil technology speaks to so many different interests and disciplines that it has not been embraced fully by any. I'm sure you will see both the potential of this system and the convergence needed for it's implementation.

The integrated energy strategy offered by Charcoal based Terra Preta Soil technology may
provide the only path to sustain our agricultural and fossil fueled power
structure without climate degradation, other than nuclear power.

The economics look good, and truly great if we had CO2 cap & trade in place:

These are processes where you can have your Bio-fuels, Carbon sequestration and fertility too.

'Terra Preta' soils I feel has great possibilities to revolutionize sustainable agriculture into a major CO2 sequestration strategy.
I thought, I first read about these soils in " Botany of Desire " or "Guns,Germs,&Steel" but I could not find reference to them. I finely found the reference in Charles Mann's "1491", but I did not realize their potential .

I have heard that National Geographic is preparing a big Terra Preta (TP) article.

Nature article: Putting the carbon backBlack is the new green: Access to articles : Nature (subscription needed)

Here's the Cornell page for an over view:
Biochar home

This Earth Science Forum thread on these soils contains further links, and has been viewed by 13,000 folks. ( I post everything I find on Amazon Dark Soils, ADS here):
http://hypography.com/forums/earth-s...rra-preta.html


The Georgia Inst. of Technology page:
http://www.energy.gatech.edu/presentations/dday.pdf

There is an ecology going on in these soils that is not completely understood, and if replicated and applied at scale would have multiple benefits for farmers and environmentalist.

Terra Preta creates a terrestrial carbon reef at a microscopic level. These nanoscale structures provide safe haven to the microbes and fungus that facilitate fertile soil creation, while sequestering carbon for many hundred if not thousands of years. The combination of these two forms of sequestration would also increase the growth rate and natural sequestration effort of growing plants.


Here is a great article that high lights this pyrolysis process , ( Research Home Page ) which could use existing infrastructure to provide Charcoal sustainable Agriculture , Syn-Fuels, and a variation of this process would also work as well for H2 , Charcoal-Fertilizer, while sequestering CO2 from Coal fired plants to build soils at large scales , be sure to read the "See an initial analysis NEW" link of this technology to clean up Coal fired power plants.
Soil erosion, energy scarcity, excess greenhouse gas all answered through regenerative carbon management Soil erosion, energy scarcity, excess greenhouse gas all answered through regenerative carbon management


All the Bio-Char Companies and equipment manufactures I've found:

Carbon Diversion
Carbon Diversion

Eprida: Sustainable Solutions for Global Concerns
Eprida: Sustainable Solutions for Global Concerns


BEST Pyrolysis, Inc. | Slow Pyrolysis - Biomass - Clean Energy - Renewable Ene
BEST Pyrolysis, Inc. | Slow Pyrolysis - Biomass - Clean Energy - Renewable Energy - Char - green coal - pelletized fuel - syngas for electrical generation - carbon credits - increases rural jobs and construction development

Dynamotive Energy Systems | The Evolution of Energy
Dynamotive Energy Systems | The Evolution of Energy


Ensyn - Environmentally Friendly Energy and Chemicals
Ensyn - Environmentally Friendly Energy and Chemicals


Agri-Therm, developing bio oils from agricultural waste
Agri-Therm, developing bio oils from agricultural waste


Advanced BioRefinery Inc.
Advanced BioRefinery Inc.


Technology Review: Turning Slash into Cash
Technology Review: Turning Slash into Cash

Korea:
International K&K Enterprise Others
International K&K Enterprise Others



The upcoming International Agrichar Initiative (IAI) conference to be held at Terrigal, NSW, Australia in 2007. ( International Agrichar Initiative 2007 Conference )
.

If pre-Columbian Indians could produce these soils up to 6 feet deep over 20% of the Amazon basin it seems that our energy and agricultural industries could also product them at scale.

Harnessing the work of this vast number of microbes and fungi changes the whole equation of EROEI for food and Bio fuels. I see this as the only sustainable agricultural strategy if we no longer have cheap fossil fuels for fertilizer.

We need this super community of wee beasties to work in concert with us by populating them into their proper Soil horizon Carbon Condos.

I feel Terra Preta soil technology is the greatest of Ironies.
That is: an invention of pre-Columbian American culture, destroyed by western disease, may well be the savior of industrial western society.

Thanks,
Erich

[redgreenblue]

Here's more info on some of the Australian research.

Plant trials are underway with char from paper mill waste:
CHARging soils with carbon | NSW Department of Primary Industries

Presentations from the Energy from Waste Division Seminar "When to Char and When to Compost?" (More info on plant trials and presentation by BEST Energies)
WMAA - Divisions - Energy from Waste - Papers and Presentations - Seminars