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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">Joe, you might find it of interest to
look up John D. Hamaker on the net. He was an American Mechanical
Engineer who turned his mind (and subsequently devoted his life)
to improving soil by the addition of rock dust. He saw global
warming as a precursor to the next ice age. He saw an ice age as
essential refurbishment of the earth's resources. His argument
has a lot of good solid logioc to it and it's worth adding to your
store of knowledge on the general topic. If he's proven right,
then we're in a lot of trouble ! If you want to study it
further I have a DVD I made from a tape he produced I could let
you have.<br>
<br>
Rock dust is a storehouse of minerals, all of which are essential
to growth. First to plants and then to the animals which eat
them - including us humans. Rock dust is insoluble to water but
not to enzymes which are produced by soil benevolent bacteria -
bacteria which are present in soil with good OM and in
compost. Many readers of this string will be aware of it's
benefits when used as fertiliser.<br>
<br>
Seeking to remedy climate change purported to be caused by
anthropomorphic global warming is an extraordinarily complex
question. And seeking to make a contribution by sequestering
carbon as charcoal is in itself another complex range of issues.
The charcoal must be first ligneos carbon - wood - and it is
probably almost as good to lock up some of that carbon in timber
for building houses or making furniture.<br>
<br>
I'd promote the first step by making the sequestration of the
carbon as part of a broader program of building building soil
organic matter OM. This includes animate carbon as well as
vegetative. At least get it up to 5% to plough depth, say 10
inches (250mm) as a minimum, aiming at 20%. That in itself locks
away a lot of carbon, but of a different nature, in that it's
available to contribute to plant growth, growth without the need
for chemical or artificial fertilisers. <br>
<br>
Every 1% increase in soil OM (world wide) would be a lockup of
around 30 billion tonnes of carbon in a world which generates now
(probably) 20 million tonnes annually. Just for the record, the
biggest emitter of CO2, bigger than every other agency combined -
every factory, airplane, car truck tractor etc and so on - is the
soil of the earth as it respires. So, the more land we put down
under crop to feed the increasing billions, the more CO2 we
produce and put into the atmosphere. <br>
<br>
So, it's a race against a proven runner - so called mother Nature
- and she's a proven stayer.<br>
<br>
On the other hand, some of the wise owls are now saying it's not
CO2 at all, but PCB's causing the damage. Maybe they're right -
who knows <u>for sure ?</u> Nobody I'm aware of despite what
they say. It's all conjecture, some of it soundly based, but
still conjecture relying on historical info compiled over a
geological blink.<br>
<br>
Using charcoal and zeolite together is a bit like wearing belt
& braces with self-supporting trousers. It certainly works
!<br>
<br>
The easy and less costly way is to just get the OM into the soil
and plant stuff to grow and suck up all the CO2 and N.<br>
<br>
But whatever you do, don't stop the good work.<br>
<br>
David Murphy.<br>
<br>
On 08/12/2013 12:33 PM, Joe Barnas wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote
cite="mid:CANweOnyYUHiVhye-g3G2XaXc5EGaVp6oQ_KyJXpCmfVJoMrhsw@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">DAVID,
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Thankyou for the insightful overview of biochar and
comparative functionality of Zeolite, of which I was not
familiar. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>However one thing I am focused on is how to address
catastrophic global climate change and for that having
billions of gardeners sequestering carbon, while building
healthy soil and hence healthy food is not something that
Zeolite can provide. It is another tool in growing food, yes,
but let's not lose sight of the long term benefit of promoting
biochar. I might even try mixing some with biochar just to
gain the N adsorption benefits.</div>
</div>
<div class="gmail_extra"><br>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Dec 6, 2013 at 2:00 PM, David
Murphy <span dir="ltr"><<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:djfmurphy@dodo.com.au" target="_blank">djfmurphy@dodo.com.au</a>></span>
wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0
.8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <br>
<font face="Verdana">Greetings Biochar/Gasifier people !</font><br>
<p class="MsoNormal"><big>Everybody & his dog seems to
have something to say about
charcoal/biochar/biochar-compost mix and so on.<span>
Well, h</span>ere’s another dog to bark his piece !
<br>
</big></p>
<big> </big>
<p class="MsoNormal"><big>Biochar is often seen as the
great agricultural panacea, but </big><big><u>it is
not</u></big><big>.</big><big><span> </span></big><big>Biochar
is a name given to plain ordinary charcoal to indicate
that it is destined for use in soil improvement, but
basically it is still plain ordinary charcoal, just
crushed into smaller particles. </big><big><span> </span></big><big>In
some circumstances it is a very beneficial tool but it
is not magical as some proponents seem to think.
Just remember, all charcoal has a bio-origin - wood. <br>
</big></p>
<big> </big>
<p class="MsoNormal"><big>In some Ag. trials in </big><big>Australia</big><big>
it significantly improved crop volume (treble in one
case) but in other instances, nothing worth writing
home about.</big><big><span> </span></big><big>It
depends on what the soil is like to start with. <br>
</big></p>
<big> </big>
<p class="MsoNormal"><big>Charcoal is stable.</big><big><span>
</span></big><big>That means it does not take part in
any composting system (which is one primarily of
bacterial digestion) and it is indigestible so that
when offered as a dietary supplement (in poultry food
for example) it passes through the digestive system
physically unchanged but will adsorb a high proportion
of the gases and some toxins produced in the process
of digestion, because that is what charcoal does.
For this reason, it's adsorption capability, poultry
will generally do better on a little charcoal. <br>
</big></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><big> Quite a few pages could be
filled on the beneficial services provided by charcoal
as it travels through the digestive system, but it
does it as charcoal only and as nothing else. By all
means use a little in the feed, you can only benefit.
<br>
</big><br>
<big>The only physical way to change the nature of
charcoal is to burn it. That is why it lasts in
soil (or wherever it is) for thousands of years.</big></p>
<big> </big>
<p class="MsoNormal"><big>It has an incredibly high
surface area of 360 m</big><big><sup>2 </sup></big><big>(varies)
and is a mass of minute tunnels which in turn means a
very high volume and gases become trapped in these
tunnels.</big><big><span> </span></big><big>It does
not </big><big><u>ab</u></big><big>sorb, it </big><big><u>ad</u></big><big>sorbs
and traps only.</big><big><span> </span></big><big>The
difference between absorb and adsorb is the same as
the difference in liquids of suspension and solution.</big><big><span>
</span></big><big>Clay particles will be in
suspension, sugar and salt go into solution. <br>
</big></p>
<big> </big>
<p class="MsoNormal"><big>Charcoal is useful in an aerobic
composting system because again of the entrapment of
air in the tunnels.</big><big><span> </span></big><big>A
composting system goes well if there is enough oxygen
bearing air available to the bacteria which are a
significant part of the system.</big><big><span> </span></big><big><span> </span></big><big>The
more air, the higher the population of bacteria (other
factors being OK). </big><big><span> </span></big><big><span> </span></big><big>The
charcoal itself is inoperative, and doesn’t change,
nor is it a catalyst, it simply provides a service.
It will only provide a haven for soil benevolent
bacteria if there is something trapped in the tunnels
which the bacteria can eat. <br>
</big></p>
<big> </big>
<p class="MsoNormal"><big>Charcoal is a good adsorber of
gas and liquid simply because that is what it does.</big><big><span>
</span></big><big>Zeolite on the other hand, can have
an even higher surface are per gram and has a
propensity to entrap gases, most particularly nitrogen
in it’s various forms – as gas – ammonium for example
– and in liquids as a salt of NO</big><big><sub>3 </sub></big><big>.</big><big><span>
</span></big><big>It actually draws them in (like a
magnet attracts ferric objects) where charcoal just
takes it as it comes. It is easy to see also why
charcoal is so effective as a filter, but if you have
a solution rich in nitrogen, run it through Zeolite
and the N will be removed. </big><big>Add some to
the litter in poultry grower sheds, there will be
fewer mortalities because the ammonia which sometimes
will asphixiate small birds will be absorbed.
Zeolite will take N out of solution, charcoal will
not. There's 40 natural forms of Zeolite and more
than another 150 can be synthesised, so choose
carefully for the one most appropriate to your
problem. Zeolite can perform an amazing range of
actions. Once used and applied as fertiliser,
Zeolite subsequently will release the N slowly and
remain in the soil as a balancer of N. Too much, it
will take it in (so that the soil pH is not lowered)
and release it as required.<br>
</big></p>
<big> </big>
<p class="MsoNormal"><big>Charcoal’s great stuff though,
it's easy to make and holds answers to a lot of
problems - but not all !</big></p>
<span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"> <big>David
Murphy.</big> </font></span></div>
<br>
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</blockquote>
</div>
<br>
<br clear="all">
<div><br>
</div>
-- <br>
<span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><font
face="verdana, sans-serif">Joe Barnas</font></span>
<div><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><font
face="verdana, sans-serif">Portland, OR</font></span></div>
<div><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><font
face="verdana, sans-serif">541-525-1665<span></span><span></span></font></span></div>
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