[Greenbuilding] Biochar as Annual Cycle Building Dehumidifier
RT
ArchiLogic at yahoo.ca
Sun Jun 28 19:46:34 CDT 2015
On Sun, 28 Jun 2015 19:22:12 -0400, <conservationarchitect at rockbridge.net>
wrote:
>My last posting on biochar was somewhat of an introduction to the
> subject. >This video about charcoal in Japan shows its use as an annual
> cycle dehumidifier in a home
Eli;
I have to confess that the notion of promoting charcoal as being Green
struck me as being perverse.
That opinion was formed in the early 1970's after having read a charming
little booklet entitled
"A Reverence for Wood" by Eric Sloane, most likely purchased as a result
of having seen it mentioned in one of the Whole Earth Catalogues.
I recall Sloane having described the process of making charcoal and the
lives of the men who made it in early America. They were shunned and/or
feared, not only because of their appearance but also because of the
strange life they necessarily led due to the demands of tending the
charcoal mound 24/7/365.
Anyone who heats with wood will know that charcoal is the result of
incomplete combustion -- ie a dirty, smouldering fire.
Its seems (to me anyway) that to promote charcoal "aka BioChar" as a Green
resource is akin to promoting a 1967 Buick Electra with a 430 cubic inch
V-8 engine as environmentally-friendly transportation.
It would also seem that instead of using 4500 kgs (almost 5 tons) of
charcoal as a desiccant for dehumidification , simply using clay or salt
would achieve the same result with far less embodied-energy. I suspect
that Norbert Senf would have a pretty good idea of actual figures but my
wild-@$$ guess would be that something like 10 tons of hardwood would need
to be burned in a very dirty manner to make 5 tons of charcoal.
However, I could be completely off-base with my antiquated 1970's
impression/opinion of charcoal.
--
=== * ===
Rob Tom DT7-64
Kanata, Ontario, Canada
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