---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Paul Olivier <[email protected]> Date: Wed, Apr 17, 2013 at 6:57 AM Subject: Re: [Stoves] More on the Alternatives to Charcoal. To: Corey Berman <[email protected]>
See comments below. On Wed, Apr 17, 2013 at 2:10 AM, Corey Berman <[email protected]>wrote: > Paul, > > Hello, fellow stover here. I have some questions on a few things you've > proposed to the Stoves lists: > > "Once farmers understand, through this research, that they can double or > even triple their harvests through the addition of biochar" > > Can you provide references to cases where yields have been doubled or > tripled by application of biochar? > https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/22013094/Biochar/Agronomy_Carter%20et%20al%202013%2002%2017.pdf http://www.lrrd.org/public-lrrd/proofs/lrrd2501/chha25008.htm http://www.lrrd.org/lrrd23/2/siso23032.htm http://www.lrrd.org/lrrd24/2/siso24026.htm http://www.lrrd.org/lrrd24/2/siso24039.htm http://www.lrrd.org/lrrd24/2/siso24034.htm https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/22013094/Biochar/Biochar%20utilization%20in%20Rice%20crop%20on%20Tuk%20Vil%20Luvisol.pdf http://www.lrrd.org/lrrd24/11/leng24199.htm At least 20 studies were done with rice hull biochar from my gasifiers, and all studies showed large increases in plant growth. > It is my understanding that biochar may improve very poor soil, but has > less improvement in already rich soil. > Yes, if soils are rich and are not degraded through the use of chemical fertilizers, biochar will not make a difference. But where in Vietnam, for example, do we find rich soils? Almost all soils are heavily abused and degraded. > Therefore it is not so much biochar specifically, but rather any > improvement to the soil that these farmers need. > If you really want to understand the benefits of biochar, please read: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/22013094/Biochar/Johannes%20Lehmann%2C%20Stephen%20Joseph-Biochar%20for%20environmental%20management_%20science%20and%20technology.pdf > Increased SOM, water capacity, CEC, ect. Farmers may see just as much > improvement by applying more mulch, burying wood (as in hugelkultur), or > terracing on contour with logs, and these methods do not require any > machinery. > You are right: the addition of biochar is not the only way to improve soil conditions. I strongly advocate that biochar, compost containing humus, and vermi-compost be added to the soil. They all have something unique to contribute. Please see: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/22013094/Paper/Presentations/Sustainable%20Agriculture.ppsx > If they are following practices that remove soil organic matter such as > removing all residue or slash-and-burn, it would be better to amend those > improper practices instead of continuing them while trying to apply biochar > as a solution. > I do not advocate that farmers continue to abuse the soil, while adding biochar to make amends for such abuse. > "each rice farmer might have his own pellet machine" > > Running a pellet machine is not a casual hobby. > In Vietnam rice hull pellets can be produced for less than $20 US per ton in electricity. Rice hull pellets sell for about $75 US per ton. There is money to be made here, and many rice farmers in Vietnam will jump at the opportunity. Can Vietnamese rice farmers master a pellet machine? Many of them could. But you are right: we might have to move up to the level of the rice mill. Even the small rice mill could master the art of running a pellet machine. Please see: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/22013094/Paper/Presentations/Gasification.ppsx > They require frequent maintenance on the die and rollers, and careful > process control of the temperature, moisture and particle size of feedstock > material as well as monitoring temperature and pressure in the pelletizer. > The rice hulls coming out of a mill do not have to prepared in order to be pelleted.Here grain size and moisture content are ideal for pelleting. > Poor quality pellets will just fall apart back into dust. You need to be, > or work closely with, a steel fabricator for service work. It is a full > time business just to run the pelletizing operation and ensure high > quality, I don't think "each rice farmer" would be up to this task. Also > with logistics it makes more sense to have 1 local pelletizing operation > doing maybe 1-2 ton/hr and handling the residue of many farmers > > The effort of running the operation is not worth it if you're producing > only a few hundred pounds per hour. There are realities from the global > commodities market, coal is about $80/ton, pellets can be $100 to $200 per > ton. > Rice hull pellets sell in Saigon for about $75 US per ton. > And they'll need to be making a return on their pelletizer investment > which could be anywhere from $10k to $40k depending on capacity and quality. > Small rice hull pelleting machines sell in Vietnam for about $2,000. They do not have to be big in order to be profitable. > > I just want to make sure we aren't over-selling some aspects of biochar or > pellets and misleading people. > Thanks so much for your comments. Paul Olivier > > Thanks, > Corey Berman > Mechanical Engineer, Chip Energy > UIUC 2012 > -- Paul A. Olivier PhD 26/5 Phu Dong Thien Vuong Dalat Vietnam Louisiana telephone: 1-337-447-4124 (rings Vietnam) Mobile: 090-694-1573 (in Vietnam) Skype address: Xpolivier http://www.esrla.com/ -- Paul A. Olivier PhD 26/5 Phu Dong Thien Vuong Dalat Vietnam Louisiana telephone: 1-337-447-4124 (rings Vietnam) Mobile: 090-694-1573 (in Vietnam) Skype address: Xpolivier http://www.esrla.com/
_______________________________________________ Stoves 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/stoves_lists.bioenergylists.org for more Biomass Cooking Stoves, News and Information see our web site: http://stoves.bioenergylists.org/
