On Tue, Dec 15, 2009 at 6:26 PM, John Nissen <[email protected]> wrote:
> > You seem to think that the biochar process implies throwing vast quantities > of the charcoal residue into the air. That would be plain stupid. [..] > I am now convinced that biochar has tremendous potential benefits: John, I think Jim raised an important point that your response doesn't address. He didn't say charcoal residue is thrown in the air, as you put it. He stated that its application appears to release large amounts. I wasn't able to download the study but found the following reference to the study Jim cited on Biomass magazine<http://www.biomassmagazine.com/article.jsp?article_id=2669> : A significant concern during the spreading of this material was loss due to biochar’s fine particle size, according to the report. Although some biochar was lost at various stages of handling, losses while it was being spread on the fields were the highest. Although wind velocity was low at the time of spreading, loss rates were visually estimated to be significant, totaling approximately 30 percent. While it may be possible to reduce this loss through the method you mention, that doesn't mean it will always be done this way. This is clearly a serious concern that needs to be researched before recommending large scale field applications. Manu -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en.
