Green Your Head

Why Green Your Head?

Why green your head? Because the first requirement of sustainability is to change how we think. We must start by abandoning our fantasies of unlimited growth. Technology can help us, but only if we are conscious of technology's limits. Great life, like great art, only flourishes within constraints. This blog documents my adventures with biochar and other mind-greening initiatives.

It's showtime for soil biodiversity

Nice artcle in the NYT: The Hidden World Under Our Feet. To restore soil biodiversity, it recommends to "avoid synthetic chemicals". Good idea!

Here's a quote:

A 2003 study in the journal Ecosystems estimated that the biodiversity of nearly 5 percent of the nation’s soil was “in danger of substantial loss, or complete extinction, due to agriculture and urbanization,” though that was most likely a very conservative guess, since the planet’s soil was even more unexplored then than today, and study techniques were far less developed.

That means that species critical to some important functions could have already disappeared or be on their way out. That’s why the global soil assessment is a matter of some urgency.

There are numerous threats to soil life. Modern tillage agriculture is a big one, because it deprives soil life of organic matter it needs for food, allows it to dry out and adds pesticides, herbicides and synthetic nitrogen. Soil “sealing” from the asphalt and concrete of suburban sprawl destroys soil life, as do heavy machinery and pollution. Even long-ago insults like acid rain still take a toll on life in the soil by having made the soil more acidic.

THE problem is global. In nearly half of Africa, for example, overgrazing and intensive agriculture has destroyed topsoil and led to desertification.

Cone Kiln yield - about 35 gallons

The volume of the cone kiln is about 35 gallons (or about 4.5 cu ft). The yield of biochar pretty much equals the volume. I usually have to toss out a few brands (incompletely charred pieces) but not many. One secret to maximizing the yield is to finish off the burn with small stuff like twigs or a couple of buckets of wood chips that burn quick and hold in the heat to finish charring the bigger pieces. Of course the volume of char is reduced by half at least (have not measure it yet) when I run it through the compost shredder to turn it from chunks to powder. Anyway, here is what 35 gallons of chunks looks like:

More on the Cone Kiln

Here are quick specs on the cone kiln if you want to try making your own: It was made from a 4x8 sheet of 14 16 gauge steel with 3/8" rod welded around top and bottom rims for stability. Top diameter is 43". Bottom diameter is 16" and height is 16". It is open on the bottom so you just roll it away when you are done. That's it. My welder had a heck of a time bending the steel to make the seam weld. Needs a couple of strong guys or preferentially a differential slip roller to roll the form into shape. You could also make it from lighter weight steel.

Here is a paper that looks at biochar characteristics produced by this type of kiln. And here is a marketplace where you can buy one of the Japanese kilns. They are stainless steel, I believe and they come in different sizes. The 100 cm kiln is very close to the size of my version.

EZ Biochar - The Japanese Cone Kiln

I love my Japanese Cone Kiln. I had a welder make it for me 2 years ago, but I did not understand how to use it. I finally figured it out about a month ago and it is so easy! It is basically just a cone-shaped fire ring - a truncated cone. All you do is start a small fire in the bottom, and once that is all burned to glowing coals, you add small stick wood or branches on in layers. Each time the wood gets black and starts to ash, you add another layer. The layers underneath continue to cook out tar and gas, but they don't burn because air is excluded. When the cone is full you quench it with water. If you like, you can throw a grill on it and cook your dinner before you put it out.

It takes about 2 hours of very easy work. You can do other chores (like splitting wood) while you watch the fire. And the yield is very impressive. I start with two 6 cu ft wheelbarrows full of 2" kindling wood. I end up with about 5 cu ft of nice, crumbly biochar (water quenching really helps make your biochar hydrophilic).

Compare this with my JRO (Jolly Roger Oven) TLUD and my retort kiln, both using 55 gallon drums:

My JRO TLUD takes about 45 minutes when loaded with big wood chips. The yield is about 2 cu ft. Finding, screening and drying wood chips is a pain. And the tall stack of afterburner and chimney is hard to handle for me (at 5' 2" I need a step ladder).

My retort kiln takes about 2 hours to complete. The yield is about 1.5 cu ft and I usually use about one full wheelbarrow load of wood to fire it, sometimes more. The feedstock prep is similar to the cone kiln, although I can use any size wood to fire it.

See why I love my Cone Kiln?  Here is a video clip and some pictures:

use the heat to cook dinner

After quenching - lots of biochar

Here is a report on the Japanese "Cool Veggie" program that uses these cone kilns to make biochar for small farms in Japan: A Rural Revitalization Scheme in Japan Utilizing Biochar and Eco-Branding: The Carbon Minus Project, Kameoka City.

Terra Preta Sanitation at Home

How did the indigenous Amazonians create their miracle black soil? No one knows for sure, but it seems obvious that human waste - poo and pee - were important ingredients in the brew.

The ancient Amazonians were ahead of us in many ways. We have embraced the Amazonian practice of adding charcoal to soil. When will we also adopt the practice of gifting our own excreta to the soil microorganisms? Can we call ourselves an advanced civilization when we still engage in barbaric practices like pooping in our own drinking water? 

Personally I have not pooped in my drinking water for more than 20 years. I have a two-hole “composting” outhouse with two separate compartments at my remote home in the woods. About every 5 years when one compartment of the vault gets full, we switch to the other hole. We alternate sides so that the composted poo is stored for nearly 10 years before it gets applied to soil. It has been stored so long that there are not likely to be any pathogens left. 

When I built my biochar workshop down in the village, however, I had a problem. The building code in my area requires an expensive septic with a sand filter – lots of plumbing and pumps that don’t work when the electricity goes out. What are people supposed to do – poop in a bucket?

Actually, pooping in a bucket is the answer as far as I am concerned. Following the guidelines established by Dr. Ralf Otterpohl of the Hamburg University of Technology, I set up a lactic acid fermentation system for my poo. Terra Preta sanitation is big in Germany, which figures, since they have a lot of sauerkraut juice available to use. Lactic acid fermentation is what produces yummy foods like sauerkraut, yogurt and Asian pickles. Pickled poo may not be “yummy” but it has one great virtue – it eliminates the poo smell. That’s right, pickled poo does not stink. It doesn’t smell wonderful, but it’s really not offensive. So you can keep your bucket indoors right in your bathroom and no one will complain.

The buckets in my bathroom. Note the plumbing for a flusher if I ever need it. I hope I never do.

Here’s what my system consists of:

• Two buckets – for pee and poo - with nifty spin on lids (I get them from a company called Gamma Seal). You want these because the buckets need to be tightly sealed and regular bucket lids are hard to pry off – especially when you are in a hurry and really need to “go”.

• A bag of bokashi. I can buy bokashi in my local garden store. It is a mix of organisms developed in Japan that includes lactic acid fermenters.

• A supply of biochar. I make my own in various small kilns and stoves.

• A place to empty the results. The poo is destined for my orchard. The pee goes in the compost. 

The poo bucket up close. White mold is a good sign. Green or black mold would be bad. You can see an avocado peel in there along with a nice fresh, bokashi-covered poop. There’s no smell, really!

 

Spin-on lids are essential for easy access and tight sealing.

To use my system, I start by filling the poo bucket one third full with biochar. Each time I use it, I add a big handful of bokashi on top of the poo. The bokashi I use is a dry bokashi that has been cultured with bran husk and molasses. If you cannot find bokashi in your area, make some homemade sauerkraut and add it along with some sugar or sweet food scraps (like apple cores) to the poo bucket. You need a sugar source because apparently the lactic acid bacteria cannot live on poo alone (not a surprise, really). After I close the lid, I give the bucket a shake to mix the contents a bit.

I fill the pee bucket about three quarters full with biochar chunks. The pee will just fill in all the spaces in and around the biochar. You want plenty of biochar because there is a lot of odor to absorb. I don’t use bokashi in the pee, but I may try it. Professor Otterpohl says it will help retain the nitrogen in the pee.

I don’t use a toilet seat because the special spin-on lid comes with a heavy rim that you snap on to the top of the bucket. This is comfortable enough to sit on, but you may want to have a better seat for yours. Separating pee from poo is usually not hard. When pooing, some pee may show up, but that’s not a problem. It would be worse to get poo in the pee bucket because that goes directly into the compost for the garden with no further treatment. Adjust your strategies accordingly.

Researchers in this field are looking at bucket based systems for less developed countries and for refugee situations. They have found that lactic acid fermentation for four weeks kills most bacterial pathogens. Six more months of vermicomposting should take care of the rest. The jury is still out on parasite eggs, but one study in the Philippines that looked for worm eggs after this regimen could not find any.

Now that my worm boxes are going well, I will start adding pickled poo to their diet. And I’ll add plenty of biochar and shredded leaves to keep the C:N ratio up – apparently pickled poo is a strong dish for worms and it’s best to dilute it with a bit more carbon. After a emptying a worm box, I will store the results for 6 months and then I will feel pretty safe using the material on fruit trees and flowers. I may store it for another few years before using it in the veggie garden. My feeling is that we have been way too selfish with our personal produce. Instead of feeding it to the fish – who really don’t want it – lets give it to the soil.

For more information, visit Professor Otterpohl’s site at www.terra-preta-sanitation.net

Making Biochar in Burn Piles

I wrote an article on making biochar in burn piles that was published in Firebrand newsletter of the Rogue Valley Fire Prevention Cooperative. This newsletter was distributed as a newspaper insert to households in Southern Oregon this winter.

One reason that the Fire Prevention Coop liked my article is because of the requirement for water to quench fires. The local firefighters are always having to respond to out of control burn piles because people don't bother to put them out completely.

Since I wrote that article, I have discovered another easy way to make biochar from brush piles. This works best with small diameter stuff less than 3 inches. Start a small fire next to your brushpile. Slowly feed it with brush so you start to build up a pile of glowing coals. You do this in layers so that once the top of the pile is hot and starting to ash (the glowing coals turn white on top), you add another layer of brush. Wait for that to heat up and then add another, until all your material is used. You should have a nice big pile of red hot coals. Now put it out with water. You could also smother it with dirt if there is no water nearby, but you must put it completely out or the coals will continue to burn and you will not get biochar.

Another advantage of this method is that it burns much cleaner so you will get less smoke, and fewer complaints from the neighbors.

Make sure you compost your biochar (try manure, worm castings, kitchen scraps or bokashi) before you add it to the garden. You can also soak it in pee before composting for more nitrogen - it really sweetens up those chamber pots!

Launching my Biochar eBook Store with the first title!

"Make Your Own Biochar Stove - Quick & Easy" by Biochar eBooks on Ganxy

Vilsack recommends agroforestry in the face of drought

Well, climate change induced drought may force big ag to change its ways. US Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack is open to new ideas. Here are some quotes from this news report:

"It occurred that perhaps we should be focused more acutely on the need to encourage multi-cropping throughout the United States in order for us to do a better job of conservation, in order for us to create additional biomass that could be a revenue source, and potentially allow us to conserve precious water resources with the use of cover crops from multi-cropping," Vilsack said.

"Which in turn would allow us to get through these drought circumstances in a more favorable circumstance. And so we have begun a process of looking at ways in which we could provide assistance."

Vilsack described the operation of Ohio farmer David Brandt, who gave a presentation to the conference on his no-till nutrient management system that has been put in place since the 1970s that involves multi-cropping and double-cropping.

"He tells us that this has increased the organic soil matter in his soil," Vilsack said. "It saves about $100 an acre on nitrogen. It's increased his corn yield seven to 10 bushels an acre and his soybean yields 8 percent.

"That is something that ought to get everyone's attention, and at USDA, we ought to be looking at ways in which we can reduce the manmade barriers to multi-cropping, so that that can be another strategy for managing risk, recognizing that there are different types of multi-cropping, whether it's double-cropping or cover crops or an integrated crop-livestock arrangement or even agroforestry."

Influential climate science work remains under the radar - Environment wire - The Olympian - Olympia, Washington news, weather and sports

For those who need it all boiled down to a few numbers, this article does a good job of explaining what our carbon budget needs to be. The Deficit that we need to worry about is not the money deficit (just an artefact of a fictional fractional reserve banking system anyway) but the Carbon Deficit. We've spent too much earth-sequestered carbon (oil, gas, coal) on an economic growth binge. We need to save massive amounts of carbon and put it back in the soil banks or we will create a wildly de-stabilized earth climate system with hugely greater impacts than any measly little economic recession or depression.

Influential climate science work remains under the radar - Environment wire - The Olympian - Olympia, Washington news, weather and sports.

The perfect mobile biochar machine - maybe?

 

This sure looks good to me. So simple - a well-insulated container, a clean afterburner, a small water tank for quenching, a light-duty loader for materials handling, and an engine for hauling the container. No feedstock processing other than cutting to length. The standard practice here in Oregon for fuel load reduction treatments is open piling and burning. The cost difference between that practice and this process would be in the capital equipment and cost to haul it to the site, yarding or forwarding the logs to the landing and loading them into the kiln. The cut to length is essentially the same.

The biggest cost difference is this: it takes a lot more time to process the material into biochar than to run around and light several hundred piles that all burn at once.

But the benefits are: eliminates smoke pollution (including climate killing black carbon), the biochar product (sells for $200 - $300 a cu yd), and the carbon sequestration benefit. In Australia, the climate benefits are starting to be worth money. This should work.

Oh, and one more benefit that rarely gets mentioned. This will CREATE JOBS! Green jobs are real and very much needed. We are not meant to just sit around on our butts all day surfing the Internet and watching TV while the world burns. We are meant to do something about it.