Biochar and natural farming

Upstream

Say my name wrote: »

https://www.thesun.ie/news/3432325/fertility-irish-fields-fallen-farming/

Teagasc are gradually getting there.

Expect to see carbon and soil profiles mentioned in the next few years instead of buy more n and p and k.
The mention of dung and slurry is stepping in the right direction. So at least biology is gradually being understood.
Penetromotors will be used.

There are some people in Teagasc who are thinking the right way all right and I think a couple feature in this program tonight, so it should be worth a look.

Rte 1 @ 8:30
10 Things to Know About
Episode 3: Soil

The science behind soil, with Jonathan McCrea finding out the importance of retaining, protecting and restoring Ireland's few remaining peat bogs in the battle against climate change. Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin travels to Teagasc's research centre in Wexford to find out about some of the 213 different types of soil in Ireland and Kathriona Devereux take a closer look at DNA analysis of soil.

Say my name

You have to love the internet when stuff like this pops up on YouTube.

Biochar making with scale in Austria and farmers get paid for carbon in their soil.

https://youtu.be/XsN6bh9jTbk

ganmo

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mjbgxH8rSQM
How about trying that :P

Say my name

New Zealand farmer Kem Johnson asks BBC world service's Crowd Science team

"Is Soil The Secret To Slowing Climate Change?"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3cswvxl?fbclid=IwAR1-DJAqugeaCKAsIzeHJiRVcZsjovrB3ES-aWBt6Ftd9HqXqaegxLoYCzk

Say my name

This might interest a few here.
It's the latest newsletter from the International Biochar Initiative.

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/IBI-Newsletter--November-2018.html?soid=1130041240013&aid=h5Nwh8SXn8g

There is no profession which for its successful practice requires a larger extent of knowledge than agriculture, and none in which the actual ignorance is greater.

- Justus von Liebig

Say my name

There was a Pyrolyses plant in Thurles producing biochar and electricity featured last night on RTE 1 on

10 things to know about Bioenergy.

They had an interesting note on it's performance during the drought this year.

Available on the RTE player.

timfromtang

Say my name wrote: »

There was a Pyrolyses plant in Thurles producing biochar and electricity featured last night on RTE 1 on

10 things to know about Bioenergy.

They had an interesting note on it's performance during the drought this year.

Available on the RTE player.

you dont mention on which programme
tim

Say my name

timfromtang wrote: »

you dont mention on which programme
tim

The one last night.

There's a science series being broadcast every Monday evening for the last few weeks called ...

"10 things to know about .... (insert relevant topic) "

Yesterday evening's one was called - "10 things to know about Bioenergy".

The week before it was "10 things to know about False memories and Fake news"

Before that it was "10 things to know about Soil"

Say my name

https://youtu.be/gMW7v0vkn_w

Say my name

A bit of a talk on enchanced weathering at the climate talks in Poland recently.

https://youtu.be/0iAqxOMy61U

I can personally confirm that grass greens up after rainfall when crushed basalt is applied to land.



*Applied there ^^ in 2017.

Upstream

Say my name wrote: »

A bit of a talk on enchanced weathering at the climate talks in Poland recently.

https://youtu.be/0iAqxOMy61U

I can personally confirm that grass greens up after rainfall when crushed basalt is applied to land.



*Applied there ^^ in 2017.

A few questions

How much did you apply per acre?
Where did you get the basalt?
Do you have an after picture to show what is like now?
I wonder what's the brix reading of the grass compared to the grass beside it. It should be higher.

Say my name

Upstream wrote: »

A few questions

How much did you apply per acre?
Where did you get the basalt?
Do you have an after picture to show what is like now?
I wonder what's the brix reading of the grass compared to the grass beside it. It should be higher.

There was 3t/acre went on that bit.
It also got 2t/acre of calcium lime at the same time.
The basalt dust was got in a localish quarry but it's a clay shale soil here so i had no worries about applying. I won't name them because I believe you'd probably need a dept license to sell for agricultural land spreading and it is really just sold as quarry dust for road toppings.

On the brix readings it'd be pointless here as I covered the whole farm in it at 2t/acre with some ploughed and reseeded land this year getting 5t/acre. (Go hard or go home!)

It has some benefits I believe. Works well with dung and slurry. I'm getting a better response now I believe from dung/slurry than before. The farm did go into drought very quick this year so there may be something there but then I came very quickly out of it too when as soon as I got a smidgen of rain.

20th August 2018.


As soon as any rain came I went into surplus and that field was grazing ground so it was cut.

Today's pic will follow.

Say my name

Today.
An average looking field.



I'd be hoping that it would bring some minerals into the diet.
That's kind of why I went for this malarkey and maybe some paramagnetism too.

Interesting though, in Oz there's an enterprising company selling compost with biochar, basalt dust and compost mixed together.

GrasstoMilk

Say my name wrote: »

Today.
An average looking field.



I'd be hoping that it would bring some minerals into the diet.
That's kind of why I went for this malarkey and maybe some paramagnetism too.

Interesting though, in Oz there's an enterprising company selling compost with biochar, basalt dust and compost mixed together.

When was it grazed last?
Would you think about grass measuring and putting some figures onto the stuff your trying?

Say my name

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

When was it grazed last?
Would you think about grass measuring and putting some figures onto the stuff your trying?

I'm supposed to be in a grass measuring group and all..

Grazed start of Nov.

I'll get the hang of this measuring stuff sometime.

Say my name

A paper on how much emissions Biochar can eliminate from Sweden's livestock industry if incorporated as a feed additive.

http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?fbclid=IwAR13MZ8LFkcSeP4FExOCLskiLucGaNt3CU1pCvhyOvgkDoCd5fMdyPY4Ij8&pid=diva2%3A1272674&dswid=-7265

Say my name

It's as good a thread as any to post this in.

California has announced plans to invest millions in greenhouse gas reduction technologies.
Biochar gets a few quid.

http://sgc.ca.gov/news/2018/12-21.html?fbclid=IwAR2WeIDU7_gCgfq4358PgADFt88RidBXeNRq6UuYboSziEIp5pgUoHHiw9A

Needless to say the authorities don't pay the blindest bit of notice to Mr.Trump.

Edit:
It's interesting that the biggest beneficiary of all this development research seems like it will be the livestock and dairy industry. It's a pity that our loudest commentators in this country on greenhouse gases completely ignore biochar due to their vegan preferences and blind belief that killing an animal is somehow bad for the planet.
Thankfully other parts of the world are more pragmatic in their approach.

Say my name

Bloody hell!



https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/video/4001771-steam-sunday-meet-a-pair-of-water-harvesters/

Meanwhile our own government propose a carbon payment to all householders to help pay for carbon taxes. Those yellow vests have frightened the bejaysus out of them it seems.
No mention of carbon payments to the only industry in Ireland actively taking down that carbon from the atmosphere.
Me thinks we need a dictatorship to actively achieve something rather than pandering to the public politicians.

Say my name

Discussion about carbon sequestration and bringing blockchain payments to the farmers for doing so, based on soil samples. Reviving rural economies and bringing more young people into the industry and getting active on climate change mitigation.
Pity the discussion was on the far side of the pond.

https://youtu.be/3grYtkACooA

Say my name

This is a talk I came across there now on YouTube.

But if Reggie is reading this it features that machine you were thinking of buying.
He's showing it being used in "Keyline farming". You basically run the legs deeper every year and the plant roots grow deeper every year as the soil gets broken up deeper every year.

https://youtu.be/3d1DThVcUt0

Say my name

A paper published that looked at Ammonia and Nitrous Oxide emissions from soil over a 3 year period that had been treated with urea, tithonia green manure and biochar.

http://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/ammonia-and-nitrous-oxide-emissions-from-a-field-ultisol-amended-with-tithonia-green-manure-urea-and-biochar(04e58494-7fee-48c2-82f4-b7b13c2969bf).html

Say my name

Using a "brand new special carbon powder" to grab (adsorb) carbon dioxide from out of chimney stacks in coal or gas power plants to prevent release into the atmosphere.

Basically it's about using activated carbon (which is a fancy way of saying steam cooled biochar) made from agricultural sources.

https://www.firstpost.com/tech/science/new-powder-can-capture-carbon-pollution-from-power-plants-cheaply-effectively-6189201.html

What's most interesting is the talk of the adsorption properties of biochar with carbon dioxide. And increased carbon dioxide in soil means increased plant growth.

ganmo

they'll need to perform better than existing scrubbers to survive in that world

Say my name

Here's an ongoing trial in England about a group of farmers feeding biochar to cattle.

Hopefully results will be posted up in this link when it's completed.

https://www.innovativefarmers.org/field-lab?id=0a0868eb-8fe1-e711-816a-005056ad0bd4

They all use the one kiln seemingly.

_Brian

How can biochar be produced on a scale to add to soils.

Say my name

_Brian wrote: »

How can biochar be produced on a scale to add to soils.

By producing it in household and industrial heating systems and then using the remaining char.
Special pyrolysis units would have to be built and used instead of the standard stove or fossil fuel burners.

That said there are already fertilizer companies producing it and charging it on an industrial scale.
https://carbonearth.co/carbon-x-fertilizer/

timfromtang

Say my name wrote: »

Here's an ongoing trial in England about a group of farmers feeding biochar to cattle.

Hopefully results will be posted up in this link when it's completed.

https://www.innovativefarmers.org/field-lab?id=0a0868eb-8fe1-e711-816a-005056ad0bd4

They all use the one kiln seemingly.

Sadly I was unable to login to view the details as they require a uk postcode but I'd imagine they are using a flame cap open kiln.

These are easy and fast and clean to use and work well with a variety of input feedstocks, hedging remnants for example. A flame cap open kiln is relatively cheap too, and has significant advantages over a simple open pit. primarily much more even charring, bottom quenching of the char, and tipping to empty on some designs.


Something as simple as an old iron bathtub and a screen of old corrugated iron will work. Most designs are sheel metal approximations of a cone with an air screen around to help with air preheating, edge vortex maintenance and clean combustion (no smoke unlike the last dry pile of bushes you burnt to waste in your field). the screen also facilitates the continuous feeding required as it protects the operator from the radiant heat of the vessel.


some links
https://wiki.opensourceecology.org/wiki/Kon-Tiki_Kiln

https://greenyourhead.typepad.com/backyard_biochar/flame-cap-kiln/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275097537_Kon-Tiki_flame_cap_pyrolysis_for_the_democratization_of_biochar_production
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0176378


I'd be happy to help anyone who wants to get started with a flame cap kiln. I just love to play with fire. Recycling farm waste into carbon and storing it in soils makes sense in my humble opinion.


tim

timfromtang

_Brian wrote: »

How can biochar be produced on a scale to add to soils.

flame cap open kilns are scalable (can be made VERY large) and fast to operate, the kiln is portable and moved to the waste to process it, reducing the amount of pulling and dragging involved, note that quench water will be required at the end of the burn for optimum char quality and yield.


So to answer your question, to make biochar on a farm scale,,,,,
Do your little bit of research,

get some iron weld it up into your chosen shape (cone, trough, 4 sided inverted pyramid, etc), install a bottom water entry valve, and air preheating screen.
Perhaps an old skip could be modified for the job, although you'd need a BIG pile of sticks to fire that baby, I'd say the size should be from .7m³ to 2m³ in volume.
A 2m³ kiln will process 4m³ of input material into 2m³ of char. 4 solid cubic metres of woody material is a pretty large heap of bushes.

Pile up some bushes and hedging waste brash etc into a pile,

wait for it to dry
visit with your new kiln
feed the fire till the pile is gone or the kiln is full,

quench,
dump,
repeat as necessary,
and so on,
not much more trouble than throwing diesel at the pile and burning it in place really.



tim

uck51js9zml2yt

Uk Postcode BT36 4LB. It's parcel wizard in NI.

timfromtang

Genevieve Screeching Below wrote: »

Uk Postcode BT36 4LB. It's parcel wizard in NI.

Thank you.
tim