Category: Ecology
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Septic Systems and Cesspools as C-sinks
by Kathleen Draper Make carbon sink, not rise. Most of the world’s toilets are not connected to sewers but drain into septic systems or cesspools. With new smart biochar based septic designs, this human derived waste carbon could become long term carbon sinks. Refashioning our subsoil waste disposal into safe systems of carbon sequestration could Read more
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Waste water treatment and biochar
by Kathleen Draper Organic residuals from wastewater treatment may just be one of the world’s most renewable, yet underutilized organic waste streams. One of the most common end uses, land-application, is increasingly restricted so communities across the globe are seeking alternative management practices. Carbonizing this waste stream may solve many of the problems associated with Read more
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Biochar in poultry farming
by Henning Gerlach & Hans-Peter Schmidt The poultry industry is struggling more and more with livestock disease. Often this can be traced back to microbial pathogens and ammonia in the litter. The addition of highly porous biochar can serve to reduce toxic ammonia pollution in the coops and regulate the moisture level of the litter. Read more
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Treating liquid manure with biochar
by Hans-Peter Schmidt One of our oldest preconceptions is that a cowshed inevitably stinks. But the pungent odour of liquid manure is first and foremost the sign of a microbial decomposition process that has gone out of control. That which stinks to high heaven is not only an offence to delicate citizens’ noses but above Read more
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Permanence of soil applied biochar
by Hans-Peter Schmidt, Samuel Abiven, Nikolas Hagemann and Johannes Meyer zu Drewer An executive summary for Global Biochar Carbon Sink certification Biochar that was produced at pyrolysis temperatures above 550°C and presenting a molar H:C ratio below 0.4 is highly persistent when applied to the soil. 75% of such biochar carbon consists of stable polycyclic Read more
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Planting Urban Trees with Biochar
by Bjorn Embrén Urban trees face various challenges which frequently lead to high tree mortality, shorter lifespans and increased maintenance cost. To improve tree health and survivability the Swedish capital Stockholm has been testing and refining the use of structured soils and biochar for nearly 10 years. These structured soils consist of gravel mixed with Read more
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Anatomy of a Field Trial: Wood-based Biochar and Compost Influences a Pacific Northwest Soil
Jim Ippolito, Art Donnelly and Jim Grob The discovery of elevated fertility of the Amazonian Terra Preta soils was widely reported in the news media starting in 2006, coinciding with the initial public awareness of the existential threat of climate change. Small groups of people worldwide seized on the idea of Terra Preta and biochar as a climate solution, Read more