Biochar - agrichar - Terra Preta

[tubenotter]

soil degradation plays a major role in climate change. un millenium report reports ONE THIRD of all arable land depleted between 1950 and 1990. soil restoration is improving food security water renewal, draught and flood prevention and local climate regulator all the same. woodgas technology is great to make power , heat and charcoal, woodgas stoves are simple to cook with and produce the biochar for teh kithcen waste and excreta terra preata sanitation is a way towards water protection too.

[jarrahEmarginata]

and destroying the soil again with mono-cropping and broad acre farming... Braod acre and mono-crop farming should be made illegal the world over!!

[pcangeldust]

I don't see the point here, they cut down trees or use tree waste to make the char which is then used to fertilise the soil. How is this a renewable energy?

Trees already are a form of "biochar" since they suck the C02 from the atmosphere without the need to waste energy making a substance that does the same job indirectly.

[ExternalDolphin]

@pcangeldust Trees are renewable as far as I'm aware, but as carbon sinks not very permanent. A little added biochar to soil appears to lock in carbon and nitrogen raising the fertility in the process.

[stap0510]

Instead of talking about biochar this video talks about global warming all the time.

Can you spell "pushing an political agenda"?

[Blackrain4xmas]

How much does the system cost & how many gallons per yr does it clean?

[MatthewBanchero]

I don't like when they say that "this small amount of char won't change the world, but industrial production will". I totally disagree, small home sized wood gassifiers and small pellet mills are exactly what will change the world. The point of biochar is that it will stay in the soil for thousands of years so even small deposits over time will make a big difference.

[treverbettis]

This is a lost hope im sorry it is not realistic

[DISPENSER4HIRE]

This may improve your soil, but man made global warming is a bunch of hot air.

[BiocharProject]

Biochar industries kunghur Australia likes this Video.

for more down to earth details on biochar visit Biochar Project.

Thankyou

Charmaster Dolph

[cdimmm]

you a-holes, HAARP causes climate change not co2. Chemtrails are poisoning the soil with aluminum hence monsantos aluminum seeds.

[tappakeggaday1]

algae could be dried and pelleted and then go through the same pyrolysis and then because it is dense because of compaction could be used this way and algae is the fastest growing plant matter on earth.

[gr33nman]

The only thing biochar should be used for is plant matter - leaves, stems and maybe roots. 'Biochar' derived from garbage, sewage sludge or bioremediation crops contains too many truly toxic wastes to be spread on an avocado orchard, let alone _any_ ecosystem.

Also: this method doesn't pull carbon directly out of the air as suggested by the video. The plants do that. We're just burying the carbon they made after converting their work into biochar.

I want to see a study on the released gases.

[TheWebock]

@7:30 we see a comparison of two crops. 1a had no soil amendments or additions to the soil and in 3a there was chicken manure AND biochar added. Could the chicken manure alone have made some measurable difference without biochar? If so; could this comparison be considered bias?

[anybody6142]

true that! go to ripify [dot] com to download youtube music to mp3s.

[highskilledsibby]

Is it an idea from the Aztecs? Maybe this is the reason they decapitated so many people. They made biochar out of the people and produced terra preta?! :)

[hablerz]

@highskilledsibby Not the Aztecs , more likely the Incas.

[Xare420]

Hemp is a fast growing plant and it will grow great in Terra Preta ! It will sequester alot of carbon with is Solar Panels... Leafs hehe And it will turn that energy into Fibers and Seed. We can use that to make food, energy and textiles, ect

[Loosertroete]

@Xare420

yeah but most motherfuckers on earth don't realize that cuz they only know hemp as marijuana aka a "very very bad drug" that makes our kids go crazy. dumb fucktards!

[RTJaKaL]

lol, its funny, as I watched this video I was anticipating the nay sayers and that assessment was spot on. Ok, let me break it down into a broader more simplistic view. Many new ideas or reinvented processes that are developed may not be perfect in their infancy, but as a step in the right direction this is a HUGE step. In the long run it is the combination of the more successful processes that yield the best results.

[FATGIRLSRHOT]

Oh yeah! All we need to do is go down and tear up the rainforest for the NEWEST FUEL EVER!

Anybody ever heard of fuel from H2O?

Look it up here on youtube, it's called a 'hydrogen generator'

or even look up 'fire from salt water' for another awesome video.

This GREEN movement is nothing more than the NWO preping the globe for their 'sweet' uninhabited paradise.

Too bad God is coming to fix that, and install his new kingdom here instead.

[craigshole]

I'm confused, @ 7:49 the guide says one lott of corn(sickley) with knowthing added compared to an other lott of corn(healthy)with "chicken manure char" added to the soil. WTF! Any plant will grow bigger with manure added to the soil (and you don't have to cook it) I thought this(video) was to back up "char" as in plant matter thats burnt. If your going to burn shit and call it biochar lets take it to the next level - human manur char !

[FATGIRLSRHOT]

That was PhunnE

[hablerz]

@craigshole Yea i noticed the fundamental flaw in her experiment.

[endday2012]

This whole bio char thing is stupid. Terra preta is an acient midden, waste pit that turned into compost, which is were all of the fertility is derived from. This is just an attempt to sell charcoal to gardeners to use in soil my oppinion. Any 'real' gardener knows how to make good soil just like they did with simple compost and mulch.

[GenjiKilpatrick]

uhm.. Biochar locks the nutrients from compost added to it in place.

i.e. biochar + compost = Terra preta

And since you can make Biochar from wood chips sealed in any steel container..

Any 'real' gardener would just make their own. = P

[blockguru]

get unreal and end your day in the sewer dufus. Your opionion means very very little in the face of human progress

[MrRunestone]

Some people have commented that plants in Biochar made from chicken manure will grow better for the reason that chicken manure is a fertilizer. In fact, fertilizers are a range of materials that contain certain nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium based chemicals. In pyrolysis most of these chemicals are released as part of the Syn-gas product. The plants in the example grew better for the simple fact that Biochar is porous and can hold water and nutrients longer than regular soil.

[WoodsEndLaboratory]

It's hard to believe this "quick-fix" carbon belief system

Just fuel up with more fossil energy and make more "Terra Preta"!

[ColinHall1a]

Informative and very inspiring: a source of real hope. Colin

[distressed7]

Koporate Amerika and her foreign Nazi allies will kill this dead. It will be "proven wrong", "unessential", "overly rated" etc. etc. We are led by the filthiest and most self aggrandizing profiteers ever.

[blockguru]

then get the "f" out!

[distressed7]

@blockguru We are being raped globally by the "profitability" factor that causes the bottom line mentality of dinosaurs who largely lead us. The old antiquated rule is, "maximize" profits. Mussollini said himself, "Corporatism is fascism." The world system everywhere is running on this law of the dinosaur. There is no where to go.

[blockguru]

@distressed...Then escape into Spirit! This world is a dream, and materialism will eventually pass away. Biochar was an ancient technology used at the height of the Golden Age, and is just trying to be reproduced now, in the Bronze Age. The secret is to commune with the Higher Cosmic Gardener who will reveal the mysteries of Biochar in 2012. Yee of little faith should still depart our beloved America and use your body, mind and soul to help those in need today and get out of negativety

[distressed7]

@blockguru All I can say my friend is that what you say is amazing. There are, eventually no more words.

[marthale7]

Yes the earth is getting warmer, it is called.... Sunshine... look at the real data and one will see that the "global warming" is just a scam. Bio char is a great thing it works. I am glad they are showing syngas, it is the awesome way to go.

[romedeiros70]

Or you could read real science and stop listening to Rush and "christian science" (oxymoron) radio.

The Earth should be COOLING now due to a wobble in the orbit around the sun which means we are farther than usual from the sun.

Science is much more complex than simple assumptions made by people with access to microphones and only an interest in getting paid to say whatever people will listen to. That is usually whatever is inflammatory.

[soylentgreenb]

James Hansen figures you could suck out 8 ppm of CO2 per 50 years using biochar.

That's not nearly good enough by itself. We need to get rid of coal power fast and that means nuclear.

Agrichar seems much more useful for soil fertility and production of industrial chemicals( don't waste the precious syngas making fuel for internal combustion engines; make ammonia for fertilizer and explosives, make raw materials for glue, plastics, pesticides, medicines...)

[belneste]

Discard Nuclear Energy! it is not an option (other than study uses and medical uses). One disaster with a nuclear-plant and you have a huge region uninhabitable for centuries to come! Next to that risc, there's the dangerous waste it produces. Just google-news some of the stories from nuclear plants and their issues in France and Germany etc.

[soylentgreenb]

Coal power in the US kills several Chernobyls worth of people per year from particulate polution alone, absent any accident.

Coal will, absent any accident, cause large areas of the Earth to become uninhabitable for centuries.

As for having watermelons and coal-shills lie at me, no thank you. If a nuclear plant releases an amount of tritium that exposes nearby inhabitants to the same amount of radiation as eating one banana it's a "major radiation leak".

[tomterrific1947]

At 7:49 they show a test comparing a test bed with no amendments against one with chicken manure and char. That doesn't seem to be a fair test. Chicken manure is a fertilizer - of course it's going to do better.

Am I missing something?

[DingoBabyEat]

i'm guessing that they use chicken manure becuase they have an arrangement with a chicken farm to collect biomass for making their gas... I doubt the fertilizer properties of the manure are the same once its been reduced to charcoal ...nutrients are destroyed when you apply that kind of heat

[dektronic07]

Actually, you are missing something.

She said "chicken-manure char", not "chicken manure and char".

She was clearly referring to char made from chicken manure, not a mix of chicken manure and char.

If you want to see an experiment in which there is a comparison of biochar+fertilizer vs. just fertilizer vs. nothing then see the "Promise of Biochar" video. In it, there is just such a comparison in a tropical area following use of traditional slash-and-burn techniques.

[BarneyEire0900]

It was char produced FROM Chicken Manure ya fuckin Donkey!!

Its certainly is the way forward but how does one produce massive amounts of Char....

[komatsukid1]

I wish they had used a char base other than chicken manure for their corn crop demonstration. Chicken manure by itself is a potent fertilizer. I would like to have seen a control group with non charred chicken manure. Interesting idea. Could provide a solution for poor soils.

[lookatthewholething]

Wonderful idea. I hope I can apply it to my farm as soon as possible. Thanks so much for this information. The other wonderful thing about this is that by holding nutrients in the soil it will reduce the runoff into rivers and water tables and may actually help clean up our biosphere by sequestering not only carbon but pesticides and herbicides until they have time to break down fully. It can help to reduce use as well. Listening to the past prevents repeating the wrongs. Thanks again.Excellent!

[ipodkiller6]

I thought this was Georgia Universities idea?

[UniqueExposures]

No UGA is just one of the schools reasearching and applying this.

[dektronic07]

I'm sure that, like any technology, Biochar will need to continue to be watched carefully for unexpected side-effects as it is implemented (sometimes these side-effects will be positive, as in decreased nitrous oxide emissions form biochar soils); however it is important to remember that this is an exciting technology that could revolutionize agriculture and simultaneously help freeze greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere (and possibly even help lower them to earlier levels). It's worth a try

[88simran]

This is what i call Authentic Technology!!!

[impalapez]

Is that Max Igan doing thevoice commentary??

[AnimalGenius]

We should also determine how much carbon sequestration would be enough - and what problems would occur from sequestering too much. We've had too many problems on this planet already from not determining how much is enough.

[andrewcongressed]

What about all the energy it would take to power the pyrolysis plants?? And it seems unlikely that no CO2 would be released during the kiln firing of the biomass. I understand that pyrolysis is just breaking organic matter down by heat but there would have to be some exhaust from the kiln, even if it was just after firing when they opened it. But if it was coupled to existing power plants and utilized waste heat from those plants then it could be very effective.

[jestertru]

It's syngas from the agricultural waste which means it came from CO2 from the prior season so it's carbon neutral to burn syngas. They mention it at 9:20.

Because the char absorbs CO2 it's carbon negative (9:50).

[earthmimic]

Biomass IS the energy source.

Remember that CO2 + H2O + energy from sunlight = photosynthesis. That is where the energy comes from, sunlight.

Pyrolysis is an exothermic process, which means it gives off heat just as burning wood gives off heat. Its somewhat the same process as a campfire just much more advanced in that the burn reaction is controlled within a vessel in such a way as to produce the desired products, such as biooil, syngas, biochar... depending on desired outputs.

[josephdupont]

this will not fly.. there are to many people like Monsanto who will try to defeat this kind of technology.

[dpatrick86]

Knowledge is power. This kind of process doesn't require major corporate involvement (it's a simple process). It could easily be a DIY thing, particularly the biochar part.

[impalapez]

perhaps big AG won't allow this, because it obviously destroys their market...but every single individual organic farmer/food producer, needs to know about this....Clean Coal is a misnomer, it does not exist...this is a PROVEN technology, and it's a win win win....we just need to get enough people the INFO!!!

[adamnealis]

So instead of burning your fields, you gather the remains of the plants and use them in a nearby pyrolysis unit?

How does biochar differ from charcoal?

[earthmimic]

Yes, that is the idea anamnealis. Instead of letting all that carbon in ag waste biodigest away, the idea is to turn it into a form that doesnt evolve into CO2, yet still get the benefits of the carbon.

They are basically the same thing, biochar, charcoal, agrichar... all the charred remains of biomass. But just as anything, there are different qualities and types of char's. Depending on process, some will be better for heating, some will be better for cooking, some will be better soil.

[adamnealis]

I think terra preta shows promise. I'm always nervous of a sales pitch preasching an apparent panacea. What are the potential risks associated with TP? Maybe science supports some limited uses already.

Would you agree that there is still a lot of basic science to be done around the subject before we try to elevate biochar to the status of bioethanol? Because look how that has turned out in the US.

[dektronic07]

What exactly do you mean by "look how that has turned out in the US."?

Are you attempting to blame high food costs on biofuels like so many others have (incorrectly) attempted?

The world already is capable of producing a huge agricultural surplus, only most of it tends to be produced in highly developed areas, like the US, where the necessary technology and infrastructure exist... The transport costs are too high to ship this food to starving nations profitably, so it rots in warehouses.

[dektronic07]

The main problem is, as I said before, transportation costs, mainly due to high fuel costs (due to the high cost of oil- and of deisel as a result). Biofuels actually help to relieve high fuel costs, thus placing a downward pressure on the price of food in starving countries.

The cost of food in the US may have gone up in part because of the rising cost of oil (which is used to make many agrochemicals) and increasing competition for food supplies by international markets...

[dektronic07]

All in all, biochar should help solve some of the problems and inconsistencies of how modern argicultural production is structured by making it possible for farmers in developing (often also starving) countries to attain much higher crop yields at a reasonably low cost via a relatively easy to employ technology (Biochar). Biochar could relatively easily be adopted by subsitence farmers in many developing nations, increasing crop yields where they are needed the most.- combatting world hunger...

[alexsunlover]

I live in a an equatorial country with a climate similar to the Amazon basin but had no "terra preta" has ever been found in Malaysia yet, specifically because it is alleged to be anthropogenic. What we have here is peat soil which is "natural" or non-anthropogenic. I also do composting and experimented with it. My take is all organic matter irrespectively will breakdown eventually, it is a matter of time scale. Faster aerobically and slower anaerobically. Only GOLD lasts forever irrespectively.

[VTOseeker]

dsoil humic is right that it's just basic decomposition, and that it's wet and sometimes anerobic in the tropics... however, i have char - amended beds for propagating bamboo which i just turned after two years. they are still full of relatively fresh looking char - though softened.... low till/no till systems may benefit... but think about it humus lovers, those are the best remedies for degraded soils. may have a big impact on rice growing methods.

char PERSISTS in soil.

[De4sher]

Of furthermore, CO2 is not a pollutant, because it's a natural component of the atmosphere, and we only add a 3% surplus, so that's not by far, an imbalance.

There really are other pollutants, like industrial polymers and every other chemicals that don't appear in nature.

But new types of bacteria have evolved during the recent years that can now decompose polymers... so Nature really solves these problems faster then we become aware of them.

climate change could be a lie:

watch?v=JAu68OsFggw

[De4sher]

Climate change is real, however it always was.

The CO2 crisis, could actually a lie, as it seems. watch this: watch?v=FOLkze-9GcI

However, if agrichar helps crops, do it!

[soilhumic]

There is no doubt that it will last longer than the average compost, but it's still very short lived in an aerobic soil and therefore cannot be claimed as a long lasting carbon bank in soil. For a longer or more sustainable solution we need to instigate the formation of the humic acids in soil which involves the mycorrhizae's production of Glomalin. Glomalin is protein and only protein is the precursor of the humic acids the bio-chemicals we call humus.

[takadi]

You're saying that Terra Preta lasts because of it's anaerobic environments. Would it be possible for you to provide links to your own studies on the Terra Preta or provide some data? I would like to compare it to what other leading scientists in the field, particularly Lehman, has to say about it. I can't bring myself to believe that so many scientists have simply, according to you, forgotten biochem 101.

[soilhumic]

Char was used in potting mixes for generations and it never lasted long,breaking down rapidly, once air, water and N were in the mix. Just like compost it is rapid cycling carbon if conditions allow. The experiment in this video used a combination of Poultry Manure (rich in Nitrogen) combined with the Bio Char. So which can be attributed to the added growth, the N or the Carbon from the bio char? This is poorly done science and not the savior of soils!

[takadi]

Uhh wow, have you ever heard of "controls" before? There are numerous of studies out there that have proven again and again that biochar increases yields and thus sequesters carbon.

Can you explain how the Amazon's terra preta has remained fertile for the past thousands of years if biochar breaks down so rapidly?

[soilhumic]

I've just completed reading a technical paper sent to me by a Bio Char company promoting the concept. The paper summarizes many studies generated from Japan and all use very poor scientific method with poor or no controls. The statistics are even worse! I've studied in person and first hand the Terra Preta sites and all had anaerobic soils, which explains the long lasting nature of the char. Once made aerobic it breaks down fast.

[takadi]

Have you read anything from Johannes Lehmann? He's the leading expert in the field. From all my research from pretty recent peer reviewed studies, I have not read a single thing about carbon degradation in aerobic soils. Can you point to a study that proves this?

[soilhumic]

I know who he is. Basic soil chemistry, when you add oxygen to organic matter that contains calories, plus water and saprophytic microorganism, your going to get rapid decay and that includes char. There's no reason to study that, it's biochem 101. I've studied the Terra Preta sites long before Johannes and the first thing I noticed is that they resemble acid peat soils in bogs where the conditions are waterlogged and acidic which inhibits aerobic decomposition. Peat accumlates because of this.

[soilhumic]

Char is not the answer to building healthy and sustainable soils. Only Humus (the Humic acids) are the answer. Chemically Humus has a half life measured in many decades and it won't decay as it has no calorie value. Nothing else in nature or science can do what Humus and the Mycorrhizae can do! Mycorrhizae are involved in the production of humus in a round about way because of Glomalin. We must Prime the Pedogenesis (soil creation) to save or make top soil.

[earthmimic]

Soilhumic,

I think you are not understanding what 'char' is. Char is the process of oxidizing biologically reduced hydrocarbons like carbs into fully oxidized carbon. Char has no organic carbon left and can be considered in-organic carbon much like CO2 is also an in-organic carbon .

I think you are also confusing 'Terra preta' as a whole soil system and char as a single piece of that puzzle. While TP soils might somewhat digest away, the char in the soil itself will not digest away.

[soilhumic]

Organic Carbon? Your splitting hairs! The point is when put it into a terrestrial biosphere with micorbes, moisture and N char will break down. I've done it many times and continue to show that process in my work with farmers all over the world. Humus on the other hand is a carbon rich molecule that will not biodegrade. To fix soils we must instigate humus formation Pedogenesis.

[earthmimic]

Are you saying that if I put charcoal in the soil, it will quickly degrade? Unless its anaerobic? Which is what the amazon terra preta sites are, anaerobic? But humus will not biodegrade?

This is completely baseless. Im not even going to bother offering data on the topic because the obvious lack of understanding and your insistance on the topic tells me its futile to do so.

I just ask everyone else to disregard and research for themselves.

Cheers

[soilhumic]

earthmimic,

It's not baseless at all and it's an easy assessment that you can do at home, try it. I and many Ph.D. Soil Scientists are working in this venue, doing research on Pedogenesis. The science of what I describe is well understood. As for Humus, that's a generic term for the Humic acids of Humic substances and we know that the chemical half life is greater than many decades, maybe centuries. It's not rapid cycling carbon!

[josephdupont]

charcoal does not break down as fast as just wood. I compost thousands of pounds of leaves in my garden every year to enhance my soil. I know that if I were to stop doing this my earth worm population would radically decline in a year or two.

Cooking with wood and saving the carbon could be a great idea. the volitols off the wood has much hydrogen in it.. the remaining charcoal is mostly all carbon.

[cheharmony]

Let me see if I have this right...Johannes Lehmann (prof at Cornell University), recognized leading research scientist in recent decades of this matter has it all wrong since he didn't notice that ALL Terra Preta sites were anaerobic and waterlogged (like peat bogs) which is why they haven't degraded over centurys. Amazing!! Or, at least amusing...and very perceptive of you. Can you provide any evidence of record that supports your opinion?

[soilhumic]

I've presented this point in cirlcles of scientists all over the world, and it opens eyes. I'm right and it's easily proven. Try it yourself, put some char into a compost tumbler with a small amount of soil and some compost and starting turning it daily to keep it aerobic. Also keep it moist but not wet. The char will breakdown just like the compost. Compost is not finished until it's gone! Professors are wrong all the time, that's what research is all about.

[takadi]

Soil, I've searched through several journals through the EBSCO the other day and not one of them mentioned the overall instability of charcoal in aerobic environments to the extent you do. Some do question it's permanence as a carbon sink and whether some forms are released back into the atmosphere, but none doubt the incredible yielding capability of biochar. Perhaps I'm missing something.

[soilhumic]

They won't because they are still trying to sell everyone on the longivity factor. But it's still basic biodegradation science just like in compost. When you add oxygen, calories, microbes, moisture and a little bit of N, your going to get decomposition. I've even done this with coal, a much more decay resistant substance than char.

[takadi]

I wonder how composting methods compare with biochar. It seems that though composting helps put back organic matter in the soil, the decomposition releases back NO2 and CO2 back into the atmosphere, whereas biochar turns the material directly into its stable usable carbon state.

[ronallarson1]

Rob: Very nice video; others should use this as a model. Note there is a nice figure of merit (FOM) here. Two kilos of water boiled away divided by one kilo of input fuel: FOM=2. But also some char! Rob - how much? (harder to cite as he quenched it - which is great for biochar anyway.) Rob - any boiling away possible from the second pot?

[AlecBGreen]

A high quality, informative video showcasing the multiple benefits biochar. Recommended!

[VTOseeker]

This is a great video!

Char has immediate mechanical benenfits; a fist-full to fist-full mix of clay and char turnS into a friable black loam, fast as you can get them together.

Looking forward to knowing more about advances in pyrolysis technology and syngas usage.

The carbon negative concept is a rich one; there already is a carbon cycling "pump" in effect but most of that carbon turns to CO2 instead of charcoal, which lasts in soil for around 5000 years.

[soilhumic]

The carbon found in char will only last if the soil is anaerobic (without oxygen), but if aerobic char breaks down fairly fast and in no way can last 5000 years. The Terra Preta soils are very anaerobic which explains the long lasting nature of the char. While not as rapid cycling as compost it is still not a long lasting sustainable way to rehabilitate soils. Char is not Humus - the generic term used to describe the glomeration of the Humic acids and it's Humus that is essential for soil!

[VTOseeker]

charcoal lasts way longer than the average compost. both are good for soil. char is extremely beneficial in the humid tropics which is why agrichar is widely used where it can be afforded. please explain your solution for long lasting soil rehabilitation...

[msf80]

cool.