EVERYTHING YOU ever WANTED to KNOW about BIOCHAR đ„
Summary
TLDRThis video script offers an accessible explanation of biochar, a type of charcoal made from biomass through pyrolysis. It highlights the process's distinction from combustion due to the absence of oxygen, resulting in a pure carbon product. Biochar's high porosity makes it valuable for soil and water remediation, attracting nutrients to improve soil quality. The script also discusses the importance of inoculating biochar to prevent nutrient depletion in plants, and suggests methods for doing so, such as using it in compost piles or as chicken coop bedding.
Takeaways
- đż Biochar is a type of charcoal created from biomass through pyrolysis, a process of thermal decomposition in the absence of oxygen.
- đ„ The difference between pyrolysis and combustion is oxygen; pyrolysis occurs without oxygen, leading to a pure form of carbon, while combustion requires oxygen and results in ash.
- đł Biomass, such as wood, is commonly used to make biochar, but any recently living organic material can be converted into char.
- â»ïž Biochar has been used for over 2500 years, with its origins in the Amazon basin where it contributed to the creation of nutrient-rich Terra Preta soil.
- đ§ Biochar's high porosity allows it to have a large surface area, which can be equivalent to half an acre, making it effective for soil and water remediation.
- âïž Biochar is environmentally friendly, capable of sequestering carbon and turning waste into a beneficial soil amendment.
- đš Crushing biochar to a quarter inch or smaller is an important step to increase its surface area and effectiveness when used as a soil amendment.
- đ± Inoculating or preloading biochar with nutrients is crucial before adding it to soil to prevent it from drawing nutrients away from plants.
- đ The speaker has found success using biochar as livestock bedding in chicken coops, which helps absorb nutrients and reduce odor.
- đ The speaker recommends watching more videos on the topic for a deeper understanding of biochar production and usage.
Q & A
What is biochar?
-Biochar is a type of charcoal created from biomass through the process of pyrolysis. It is a very pure form of carbon resulting from the thermal decomposition of organic material in the absence of oxygen.
What is biomass?
-Biomass refers to living or recently living organic material. In the context of making biochar, wood is commonly used as the biomass source.
How is biochar different from regular charcoal produced in a fireplace?
-Biochar is produced through pyrolysis, a process that involves thermal decomposition in the absence of oxygen, resulting in a very pure form of carbon. Regular charcoal from a fireplace is produced through combustion, which involves oxygen and leaves behind ash and other byproducts.
What is the significance of the fire triangle in relation to biochar production?
-The fire triangle consists of heat, fuel, and oxygen. For a fire to occur, all three elements are needed. In biochar production, the process of pyrolysis removes oxygen, preventing combustion and resulting in pure carbon.
What is the biochar retort and why is it preferred in the script?
-The biochar retort is a system used for creating biochar. It is preferred in the script because it is hands-off, allowing the creator to light the system and return the next day to collect high-quality char with minimal interaction.
What is Terra Preta and how is it related to biochar?
-Terra Preta, or black Earth, is a dark, rich, fertile soil with nutrient and water-retentive qualities, discovered over 2500 years ago in the Amazon basin. It is related to biochar because it is believed to have been created through the application of biochar by indigenous people.
Why is biochar considered environmentally friendly?
-Biochar is environmentally friendly because it can sequester carbon that would otherwise decompose or end up in a landfill. It also improves soil quality and can be used to remediate soil and water.
What is the importance of porosity in biochar?
-Biochar has an incredible amount of porosity, with one gram of well-made biochar having a surface area equivalent to half an acre. This allows it to attract and retain positively charged chemicals and nutrients, which is useful for soil and water remediation.
Why is it necessary to crush biochar before using it in soil?
-Crushing biochar increases its surface area and makes it easier for the pores to be filled with nutrients, preventing it from competing with plants for those nutrients when used as a soil amendment.
What is the process of inoculating biochar and why is it important?
-Inoculating biochar involves filling its pore space with organic matter to prevent it from drawing nutrients away from plants. This is important because a 'blank slate' biochar can negatively affect plant growth by absorbing nutrients needed by the plants.
How can biochar be made hydrophobic and what is the significance of reducing this property?
-Biochar can become hydrophobic due to the solidification of tar and resin on its surface during cooling. Reducing this hydrophobic property is significant because it allows the biochar to absorb water and nutrients more effectively when used in soil amendments.
Outlines
đ„ Understanding Biochar: Creation and Basics
This paragraph introduces biochar as a form of charcoal derived from biomass through pyrolysis, a process of thermal decomposition in the absence of oxygen. The speaker clarifies that biomass refers to living or recently living organic material, commonly wood, which is heated to its ignition temperature to produce biochar. The process differs from combustion, which requires oxygen and results in a fire. Biochar is described as a pure form of carbon with some residual oil and tars. The speaker shares their experiences with various methods of creating biochar, including the biochar retort, which they find to be a hands-off and successful method. The historical context of biochar's use in the Amazon basin over 2500 years ago is also mentioned, highlighting its ancient origins.
đ± Biochar's Environmental and Agricultural Uses
The second paragraph delves into the environmental benefits and agricultural applications of biochar. It is noted for its high porosity, with one gram of biochar having a surface area equivalent to half an acre. This characteristic makes it effective for soil and water remediation, as it can attract and retain positively charged chemicals and nutrients. The speaker emphasizes the importance of pre-loading or inoculating biochar before adding it to soil to prevent it from drawing nutrients away from plants. Various methods for inoculation are suggested, including using compost or livestock bedding. The paragraph also touches on the hydrophobic nature of biochar due to its tar and resin content, and the need to reduce this property by introducing it to water. The speaker shares their personal methods of inoculation, such as using biochar in compost piles and chicken coops, and encourages viewers to explore more about biochar through provided video resources.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄBiochar
đĄPyrolysis
đĄBiomass
đĄCombustion
đĄThermal Decomposition
đĄPorosity
đĄTerra Preta
đĄInoculation
đĄHydrophobic
đĄRetort
Highlights
Biochar is charcoal made from biomass through pyrolysis, a thermal decomposition process.
Biomass refers to living or recently living organic material, commonly wood for biochar production.
Pyrolysis is a process that occurs in the absence of oxygen, unlike combustion.
The absence of oxygen during pyrolysis results in a pure form of carbon known as biochar.
Biochar production can be hands-off, with systems like the biochar retort allowing for minimal interaction.
Kilns are another closed system option for pyrolysizing wood to produce biochar.
Biochar has origins dating back over 2500 years to the Amazon basin's Terra Preta.
Terra Preta is known for its nutrient and water retentive qualities, beneficial for plant growth.
Biochar's high porosity gives it a large surface area, equivalent to half an acre per gram.
Biochar can remediate soil and water by attracting and retaining positively charged chemicals and nutrients.
Biochar is environmentally friendly and can sequester carbon for thousands of years.
Before using biochar in soil, it should be crushed and inoculated to prevent nutrient competition.
Inoculation can be done with various materials, filling the pore space to reduce the biochar's thirst for nutrients.
Biochar can be made hydrophobic by cooling tar and resin, which is important to counteract for soil use.
Inoculating biochar can be achieved by adding it to compost piles or using it as livestock bedding.
Using biochar in chicken coops can absorb nutrients from manure and reduce odor.
Transcripts
have you ever wanted to know what
biochar is and then you've attempted to
look it up or had somebody try to
explain it to you in very scientific
terms and your eyes just gloss over I'm
going to explain to you in layman's
terms what it is how it's made and the
things that it can be used for
stick around
so what is biochar it's just charcoal
it's charcoal that's been created from
biomass through the process of pyrolysis
biomass is nothing more than living or
recently living organic material in the
case of making biochar quite commonly
what is used as wood but many different
substances that were once living could
easily be made into char
there's a number of different
thermochemical conversion processes used
in making biochar however the vast
majority utilizing wood as a biomass is
made with the process of pyrolysis so
what's happening when we make biochar
this material undergoes a form of
thermal decomposition it's decomposing
due to the heat that's being applied and
that process is called pyrolysis I'm
going to explain now the difference
between pyrolysis and combustion and
what makes this different from what you
get out of your wood stove or your
fireplace organic material undergoing
the process of pyrolysis and you'll be
left with this
organic material undergoing the process
of combustion
and you'll be left with this what's the
difference the difference between these
two is that this has undergone that
thermal decomposition in the absence of
oxygen so in order for a fire to occur
you need three things it's called the
fire triangle you've got heat you've got
fuel
and then you've got oxygen if you remove
any one of those three things of the
triangle a fire cannot occur this needs
that third element and it doesn't have
that it's got the heat the fuel exists
but there's no Oxygen so this can no
longer burn and what you're left with is
you're left with a very very pure form
of carbon now there are going to be some
residual oil and some residual tars and
things like that but essentially this is
very very pure so what's happened in
this instance is that this has been
heated to its ignition temperature when
it reaches that ignition temperature it
starts to off gas and it starts to drive
off all of the volatile gases that are
flammable
I've experimented with and had some
limited success with some of the
different processes that are out there
where you build a pile burn it from the
top down and before it turns to Ash you
want to go ahead and quench it and then
extract your charcoal from there I've
experimented with the cone pit I've
experimented with the trench method
however the system that I've currently
had a lot of success with and I've
settled on is the biochar retort if
learning more about that system
interests you I'll put a link in the
description directing you to some of the
videos I've made on how that system was
designed and how it operates the thing I
like about the system that I'm currently
using is it's very hands-off I can
essentially light the system come back
the next day and I've got high quality
Char and I've had very limited
interaction with it from the point at
which I light it to the point where I go
ahead and collect it I do not have any
experience using a kiln but I thought I
would mention it in the context of this
video as another option of a closed
system that is used quite commonly for
pyrolysizing wood for biochar
I think it's important to note that
biochar got its start more than 2500
years ago in the Amazon basin the
indigenous people in that area at the
time had discovered this dark Rich
fertile soil that had nutrient and water
retentive qualities highly sought after
for growing plant matter it's called
Terra Preta or black Earth in Portuguese
and aside from its moisture retentive
and soil building qualities it has a lot
of other specific uses and I'd like to
go ahead and highlight those now one of
the very unique things about biochar is
just it has an incredible amount of
porosity the surface area of one gram of
well-made biochar is said to be
equivalent to a half of an acre or 2 000
square meters
foreign
uses of this is to remediate both Soil
and Water
biochar is negatively charged so it's
going to attract positively charged
chemicals and or nutrients it's going to
draw those elements into the Char and
it'll be retained I think that's pretty
cool about biochar is just that it's
environmentally friendly this piece of
char
could potentially be around for
thousands of more years it's a really
effective way to take a waste stream
something that would ordinarily either
go into a landfill or just naturally
decompose into the atmosphere and
sequester it in a way that it does
something beneficial by putting back
into the Earth
before inoculation
Char in this form needs to be crushed
and ideally it needs to be crushed down
to
a quarter inch in diameter
or smaller
crushing is another important step but
it takes time and I generally do it in
kind of more of a passive way where I
will either crush it in the wheelbarrow
or I will put this in a feed sack and
then walk on top of the feed sack I've
created a video detailing that process
I'll put a link as well into the
description one thing that's very
important that you do before you add
this to your your soil as an amendment
is that you pre-load it or you inoculate
it it's very important that you do that
because again this is a blank slate this
is very very absorbent with all that
poor space and what it's going to do is
it's going to have a negative effect if
you take something like this and put
this directly into the soil it's going
to actually draw nutrients away from the
plants who are competing for those
nutrients here's a list of some of the
items that may be used to inoculate your
char it's not as important on which of
these items that you choose but it's
important that you choose one of them
essentially what you're doing is you're
filling up that pore space with
something so that that pore space isn't
going to be thirsty for the nutrient and
competing against the plants that you're
trying to grow a natural byproduct of
this process is when this cools tar and
resin will solidify on its surface
essentially making it hydrophobic
meaning that it will not absorb water so
it's very important to try to get that
hydrophobic property lessened or
completely eliminated by introducing it
to water I typically don't worry too
much about that issue because it's going
to remain in this compost yard this Char
that I've crushed is going to wind up
being in the chicken yard and it's going
to have plenty of time for all of those
resins and oils and tars to break down
and then the inoculation process is
going to take place it's going to be in
that compost absorbing nutrient from the
compost that's been generated in that
yard for at least two months the two
primary ways that I inoculate my Char is
put it directly into the compost piles
or I'll utilize it as livestock bedding
within my chicken coops utilizing the
Char in the bedding areas of my chicken
coop has a couple of different benefits
it's going to absorb the nutrient from
their manure but it's also going to
absorb and reduce the amount of odor
that comes from that manure
they seem to like it quite a bit
if you're interested in learning more
about biochar click now to enter my
video playlist
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