The Promise of Biochar

[WRETCHEDAVION]

If-it Doesn't Fix-Nitrogen From The-Atmosphere &-Grow Like REAL Terra-Preta ... Then It's 'Not'-Really R-PROMISE so-to-Speak. >(*~*)<

[Tenatiouz]

5:23 game over

[Tenatiouz]

4:23 nuff said.

[stonerj0e]

problem is, they want to modify it and put a patent on it ! these global warming nuts are playing right in to the hands of large corporations !

[inheavenswake]

not necessarily being a botanist dependant on your soil. this culd be used to agregate soils but experiments would have to be conducted i would add a mixture to get a well rounded soil.

[magiliw2]

Particle size I would say that from my experience as a chemist as fine as you can be bothered to grind it.

[bunga40]

This is very cool. You burn 50% of the energy from plant matters and returns the rest of the 50% back to enhance the soil. Make farmers part of the solution.

[mazy500]

does the manufacturing or burning of this 'biochar' give off any bad gases to the atmosphere

[panstriato2]

@mazy500 There are ways to capture or burn all gases other than CO2 and water vapor. Since biochar is buried and plants are grown again on the land, the net effect is carbon negative. Eventually the biochar is degraded, investigation to get the terra preta effec is ongoing

[Firefly804]

what is the ideal biochar particle size? i'm making my own but i dont know how fine to crush it.

[JamesHookway]

I have been making biochar out of saw dust and wood shavings which saves crushing it or you can put it through a garden shredder, but wear a mask!

[88simran]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

[shengar1]

Every 1 ton of Biomass yields 1/3 ton Charcoal for soil Sequestration, Bio-Gas & Bio-oil fuels, so is a totally virtuous, carbon negative energy cycle.

Biochar viewed as soil Infrastructure; The old saw, "Feed the Soil Not the Plants" becomes "Feed, Cloth and House the Soil, utilities included !". Free Carbon Condominiums, build it and they will come.

As one microbologist said ; "Microbes like to sit down when they eat". By setting this table we expand husbandry to whole new orders of life.

[impalapez]

Eliminating organic waste from the waste stream...leftovers from restaraunts etc...would keep the methane down in the landfills, and add carbon sequestration into our depleted soils...this is a win, win, win, win...unless of course Monsanto has anything to say about it...

[MaxTperson]

Excellent. Wonderfull :)

Perhaps instead of mineral fertilizer, Biogassing digester, leftover slurry from plant materials could be used for local sustainability as well as then also preventing Methane emissions that now normally occur from all composting, as well as from overnutrified waters ? Methane seems to be even nastier climate change gas.

This could give double bonus: removing carbon and methane. low tech if needed. Also cleaning waters and greening depleted sand areas for good.

[roidroid]

interesting tidbits of info in this:

when biomass is turned into biochar, 50% of the carbon mass is released into the air, and the remaining 50% is turned into biochar.

Growing crops of the fastest growing plant: Algae, and then turning it into biochar, could be th emost effective way to solve climate change AND increase soil fertility.

It's hopeful. As we normally use fossil fuel based fertilisers. Perhaps we can use less of them, and offset the released CO2 from the fertilisers we DO use.

[InventorGadget]

naa its HEMP that is the best ever crop to grow and turn into biochar! It grows lite a weeed and need no pesticides and u can do soo much with it, and still have residue to char! Industrial HEMP is truly amazing :)

[roidroid]

But the male plants in the industrial Hemp crop could pollinate the female flowers in any nearby smokeable Cannabis crop, ruining it :(

It'd make it harder to grow smokable Cannabis.