Mark, I suspect that with minerals, it is how dilute they are in the water. Then there is capillary action that can encourage water to come out of the pores and with it bring the dissolved mineral. Ammonia for example is soluble at room temperature and normal pressure (not on top of the Rockies or Himalayas) at >20% w/w. Potassium as potassium chloride also has a high solubility in water. Same again. More to the point, I believe it is the micro organisms that do most of the movement of water and minerals at this level.
Rex Zietsman Principal Consultant Mobile: +27 82 457 7311 Email: [email protected] -----Original Message----- From: Mark Elliott Ludlow [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 09 March 2015 08:12 AM To: 'Discussion of biomass pyrolysis and gasification' Subject: Re: [Gasification] Cool Planets and biochar Hi Rex, In an ordinary situation (sans mycorrhizae) where the soil is drying-out, it's easy to see where the char would attempt to maintain an equilibrium with its environment by transporting water to the surrounding soil matrix. It's much tougher for me to visualize the admix of minerals being transported as part of this same phenomenon. Their vapor pressure in this situation would be much lower. If the soil and the char were saturated with water one would expect transport of minerals, given that the molal concentration of target minerals in the soil moisture was less than that in the saturated pores of the char. But as a vapor phase transport? I think the minerals would remain in the char. Best regards, Mark -----Original Message----- From: Gasification [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Rex Zietsman Sent: Sunday, March 08, 2015 10:19 PM To: 'Doug Williams'; [email protected] Cc: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Gasification] Cool Planets and biochar Gents, We have a gentleman in our village who has a biochar business. Pore size in the biochar is apparently important though I have not pried into why this is so. My suspicion is that it has something to do with the uptake and "holding" of minerals so that fertilizers can be absorbed. As the water partial pressure reduces as the soil dries out, the pores slowly give up their water and the minerals at the same time. At least, I think that this is the case. I once worked on a polymer plant where this polymer could absorb something like 5x its own weight in water when immersed (read when it is raining and the soil is sodden). It then gives up the water as the soil dries out. A wonderful product for arid regions. What my friend does differently from Cool Planet is that they add mycorrhizae to the biochar. This kick starts the improvement in soil health tremendously. If you go and research what mycorrhizae do, you will see that they improve the delivery of minerals and water to plant roots. A mycorrhizae count will tell the agronomist the state of the soil's health. Have fun! Rex Zietsman Principal Consultant Mobile: +27 82 457 7311 -----Original Message----- From: Doug Williams [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 08 March 2015 09:06 AM To: [email protected] Cc: [email protected] Subject: [Gasification] Cool Planets and biochar Hi Bren, It was nice to hear from you and a nice surprise. My Web Page is www.fluidynenz.250x.com The latest File is the "Shasta Gasifier and Charmaker" of my visit at the end of January. Tom Miles the Consultancy I work with in Oregon is www.trmiles.com Tom owns these Specialist Group Forums and they are linked to his other groups. [email protected] You can also search out Terra Preta which Tom also runs a Forum for, so plenty to research. I will also send a couple of Papers I received last week on biochars, but remember why I said about the differing production methods affecting outcomes, because few researchers have any real appreciation regarding the differences between char groups. This article below was sent only this week to me, and what they say about the benefits are basically true. Read the comments after the article as it offers some interesting other uses for charcoal. http://www.triplepundit.com/2015/03/cool-planets-biochar-reduces-water-use-i ncreases-crop-yield/ Hope this is of interest, Hug, Doug. --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. http://www.avast.com _______________________________________________ Gasification mailing list to Send a Message to the list, use the email address [email protected] to UNSUBSCRIBE or Change your List Settings use the web page http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/gasification_lists.bioenerg ylists.org for more Gasifiers, News and Information see our web site: http://gasifiers.bioenergylists.org/ --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. http://www.avast.com _______________________________________________ Gasification mailing list to Send a Message to the list, use the email address [email protected] to UNSUBSCRIBE or Change your List Settings use the web page http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/gasification_lists.bioenergylists.org for more Gasifiers, News and Information see our web site: http://gasifiers.bioenergylists.org/
