Talk:Biochar

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This page should include a link to "Wood Gas". The pyrolysis of wood produces a solid; the charcoal, and also gasses; the "wood gasses". These are all related concepts. I haven't figured out how to add links or I would do it myself. Alexander SelkirkAlexselkirk1704 (talk) 17:41, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

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It would be nice if someone would tell us how to make biochar at home. Is low temperature 150 degrees c or 1000 degrees c? How can we capture the gases and vapors to avoid poluting the atmosphere? Ccpoodle 23:01, 19 October 2007 (UTC)

I added a link to the Terra Preta Discussion List in the Further Reading section. The discussion archives contain a lot of information on making biochar, on both a home and industrial scale. Chuck Y (talk) 12:38, 27 November 2007 (UTC)

Biochar seems to be produced somewhere between 400-500 celcius in the EPRIDA process , some people call it low temperature some medium temperature . But basically charcoal produced at any sort of temp. is useful in the soil , all char performs most of the functions that it's supposed to , it's just some char last longer in the soil than others and is slightly better at holding on to nutrients . Flumstead (talk) 15:32, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

The presence of condensed woodgas aka wood vinegar in low/medium temp charcoal is a critical distinguishing characteristic of biochar from high temp char and its subset, activated charcoal. --Paleorthid (talk) 17:06, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

By condensed woodgas/wood vinegar do you mean bio-oil ? Also , if bio-oil is the important factor in bichar , would it be a good idea to add the bio-oil that separates out in pyrolysis to the charcoal ? It would be useful if there was more info about this . Flumstead (talk) 15:41, 5 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Charcoal Particle Size .

It's logical to think that the size of charcoal particles in the soil is important . If the particles are of the smallest size they must have the greatest surface area which is crucial for maximising the Cation Exchange Capacity . Also , if the particles are small then worms can ingest the charcoal and intimately mix it with mineral and organic matter , continually bringing it to the surface in their wormcasts , so that it becomes part of the living topsoil . I imagine that worms are capable of crushing the charcoal into even smaller particles in their digestive system . If the pieces of charcoal are too large they would slowly migrate deeper into the subsoil as topsoil is deposited ontop . Comments welcome . Flumstead (talk) 20:55, 5 March 2008 (UTC)