lump charcoal fines: do they have a place? mike urban biochar merchants

Lump Charcoal Fines:

Do they have a place?

Mike Urban Biochar Merchants

US Biochar Conference2012

US BIOCHAR CONFERENCE 2012 WWW.BIOCHARMERCHANTS.COM

Chars resulting from primitive means of charcoal production

Lump Charcoal Fines

Charcoal fines produced from kiln production

Lump Charcoal Fines

Small fines (by-product) resulting from mass production of grilling, lump charcoal.

Lump Charcoal Fines

What would happen if………….

I’m just

sayin………

Death Valley, CA

Missouri kiln

What’s right with them?

They’re completely legal

Lump Charcoal Fines

They’re abundant

Lump Charcoal Fines

They can be screened for finite sized fines

Lump Charcoal Fines

They’re inexpensive (except for the freight)

Lump Charcoal Fines

Successful in use by green roof architects

Lump Charcoal Fines

Successful in Orchid mixes

Lump Charcoal Fines

Successful in raised beds

Lump Charcoal Fines

Lightens soils by improving tilth

Lump Charcoal Fines

Tilth Creates pathways for moisture, roots, worms, microorganisms

Where I live the soil is either clay or sand. Its all clay if the property was developed in the past 30 years – leaving most people with clay.

This year the clay has been as hard as cement since early June. An hour of sprinkling wets it to a depth of 1” – except where char is present.

Mesquite ProductionSonora Desert, Mexico

Mesquite Production

Mesquite is a renewable resource of the Sonora Desert.

Charcoal from Mesquite

It’s a shrub.

When harvested, suckers replace the branches that are cut.

Suckers develop into branches and are cut again.

It’s a rare, desert cash crop.

Some say……………

It is planted by the government of Mexico.

Its exportation is taxed.

This material is a by-product of grilling charcoal production.

Charcoal Fines

It would exist whether or not someone used it in their garden

Charcoal Fines

We re-cycle carbon when we use it

Charcoal Fines

There is a significant concern with air pollution by charcoal producers.

Lump Charcoal Fines

Top lit updraft (TLUD) biochar stove

Popular methods of char production don’t make any effort at capture and re-use of off-gases.

Pollution

Described romantically as one of the stages in the

magic of making biochar

Some designs either don’t capture

off-gases or offer options for capturing them.

Another concern with lump char…………….

Mobile Matter

Or Volatile Matter (VM)

defined mobile matter in his article:

The Basics of Biochar; A Natural Soil Amendment

Joshia Hunt U of Hawaii

Mobile Matter

• …..“tars, resins and other short-lived substances”….

Mobile Matter

“…..short-lived”….

Mobile Matter

Results from low temperature production

Low Temperature

Desirable in grilling charcoal

Helps it burn

Mobile Matter

Can effect soils by capturing nitrogen and depriving the plants the char is intended to benefit.

“Mobile matter can block porosity and initial adsorption

but (it) is highly susceptible to biological decay,

which can mitigate those effects”

Joshia Hunt

“ ……….highly susceptible”….to decay,”

Joshia Hunt says mobile matter is…

Can block porosity and initial adsorption

IF MOBILE MATTER

Mobile matter is removed by biological decay?

? WHAT HAPPENS WHEN

Director of Biocarbon Research at Alterna Biocarbon

Taken from Hugh’s work “All Biochars are not created equal and how to tell them apart”

Hugh McLaughlin

“ elevated amounts of mobile matter (found in lump charcoal fines) are likely to disappear in the first growing season.”

Taken from Hugh’s work “All Biochars are not created equal and how to tell them apart”

Hugh says

Pre-treatment of chars by different means including in the compost bin, will mitigate impact of mobile matter impact

Chairman; Markets and Business Committee2010 US BiocharConference, at Iowa State University

Eco Technologies Group Technical AdvisorWell known biochar raconteur and The Black

Swan of Biochar, he has used it with success in his landscaping business

Erich Knight

“ I’ve seen studies where high mobile matter holds back benefits in the first year…………...”

Erich Knight

but he didn’t say

“its been my experience”

Erich Knight

“biochar additions to soils seem most forgiving”

Erich Knight

“Cowboy charcoal outperformed the (designer biochar) in the 2009 Rodale trials”*

(*conducted by Erich) in 2009”

Erich Knight

Mobile Matter, once eliminated by decayLeaves the biochar we so seek

CONCLUSIONS

But the Rodale trials demonstrated that mobile matter

was not a factor.

CONCLUSIONS

If the char is pre-treated or inoculated these detrimental effects (if there are any) may be

eliminated before they reach the soil

CONCLUSIONS

All biochars are not created equal……

CONCLUSIONS

Or if the material is introduced to the soil in the fall and can rest in situ until planting

season

CONCLUSIONS

Or if the material has been in the compost bin/heap

CONCLUSIONS

What remains when the mobile matter has decayed???????

Just this……………..

Albert Bates

Taken from his article “Home-Scale Biochar” that appeared in the March/April issue of BackHome Magazine

Albert Bates

“…….charcoal, (is) something that has been used on tomatoes, peppers, and other vegetable crops with good effect since at least the 18th century………..”

Albert Bates

While he distinguishes charcoal from biochar as

material produced as biochar as its primary purpose.

Albert Bates

but still observes that the old time chars had

a ‘good effect’.

These fellows probably took some to put on their home gardens.

horticultural charcoal

What name should we give the small fines remaining when lump char is produced?

BIOCHAR

“A rose by any other name…………..”

Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater

The Rodney Dangerfield of the biochar ‘space’….......

Lump Charcoal Fines

”I don’t get no respect”

We can pretend they aren’t there.

Lump Charcoal Fines

We could protest their existence – like whaling.

Lump Charcoal Fines

In frank discussions with Hugh and Jonah – the message I get is this:

Its good to know what you have – just don’t present it as something its not……..

they could be boycotted.

Lump Charcoal Fines

Instead…………………….And in answer to the question do they have a

place?

Lump Charcoal Fines

Yes: and that place is in the garden!

Thank you

Questions?

Where did this material come from?

Partially burned biomass may have been created by accident because the feedstock was wet (rainforest) and the fire was quenched (rain) before it turned to ash.

Terra Preta

The resulting char ended up in the soil and the soil was strengthened and the process was repeated year after year.

Terra Preta

lump charcoal fines: do they have a place? mike urban biochar merchants

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