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 Charcoal Green® PURE BIOCHAR (MIXED)
Charcoal Green® PURE BIOCHAR (MIXED) is made from MIXED hardwoods - oak, maple, alder, white alder, black hawthorne, birch, cherry, black walnut and lilac. Using a slow cook time (pyrolysis) virtually all volatiles have been cooked off leaving a very pure biochar with high adsorption qualities. Charcoal Green® PURE BIOCHAR helps bind organic toxins (such as herbicides) from soil to provide a safer environment for new or existing root systems much like Amazonian terra preta soils. Charcoal Green® PURE BIOCHAR provides the following plant health benefits: ******Improved Soil Drainage ******More Neutral pH ******Reduced Soil Compaction ******Increased Nutrient Cycling ******Greater Retention of Water In Dry Soils ******Improved Germination ******Improved Plant Resistance To Fungal Disease, Root Feeding Nematodes and Insect Infestations Great for organic gardeners who want to restore soil damaged by chemical treatments. Very High Activity Levels. DIMENSIONS: ½ in. to powder WEIGHT: 30 lbs (poly sacks) MULTIPLE SACKS or PALLET ORDERS - please contact us for PRICE BREAKS & SHIPPING COSTS (308-665-1566) See Charcoal Green® PURE BIOCHAR Application Information Link below. See Also
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Biochar 101 Biochar, the GREEN Charcoal - the new face on plain black charcoal. As one researcher concluded “biochar [as we understand it] is at the end of the beginning and has the potential to play a dynamic role in the future of humanity and its societies. The “beginning” revolves mostly around the discovery and initial investigation of the charcoal rich “Terra Preta” soils of the Amazonian rainforests of South America. The realization that these biochar-rich soils 1) maintain balanced moisture levels during wide climate changes, 2) improve air permeability in otherwise dense clays soils, 3) elevate cation exchange capacity in otherwise sluggish soils, 4) increase buffering of soluble organic carbon, 5) and all the while facilitating synergistic interactions with soil microbes, seems all to good to be true. But, there is more. 6) Like activated carbons some biochars have activity levels high enough to act as detoxifiers of poisoned, sterile or dying soils. As for its impact on the environment, it could actually be global. Biochar may even be part of the solution to man’s destructive impact on the thin veneer we call our atmosphere. Biochar may be able to somehow detoxify our earth ship’s air supply of excessive CO2 just as activated charcoal adsorbs CO2 in nuclear submarines and space stations. So what is biochar? More technically, biochar is “thermally-modified
biomass.” Biomas is living matter, or dead or decomposing matter that was once
living. Biochar is what is left over when the volatile material in biomass is
cooked off, and the remaining carbon has been structurally changed, such that
it does not biologically decay as all forms of biomass eventually do. This
unique characteristic allows biochar to remain stable in the soil for long
periods of time. This modification process combines pyrolysis and
carbonization. Pyrolysis is a chemical breakdown of organic material into
gasses that boil off. Carbonization is the chemical buildup of carbon atoms
into solid structures which remain. You might better understand this process by burning a wooden match. As the flame moves down the matchstick charcoal is left behind. These remaining carbon structures are extremely random yet equally stable chemically. Consequently this biochar is quite indigestible even for microbes. So…? Biochar, as a soil amendment is very stable. Unlike other raw material like fertilizers, additives, composts, or manures, biochar is not assimilated, transformed, or broken down, but remains in the soil through successive generations of biomass. This dry land reef, if you will, acts as both a water and nutrient reservoir during times of extended draught. Does biochar actually benefit soils and increase crop production? YES! Can biochar rich soils decrease the dependency on commercial fertilizers? YES! Can biochars sequester CO2? YES! Can biochars help to retain essential soil nutrients from being leached out by rain or irrigation? YES! So, where can I get some? As we leave “the beginning”, the interest in biochar, helped along by such diverse interests as economics, climate control, giant pumpkin growers, organic gardeners, development workers, researchers… has created its first hurdle - finding some biochar to experiment with. Having found a source how does one know if it is a “good” biochar or not? Sources Biochar from Lump Charcoal “Conventional lump charcoal was a widespread product prior to WWII, but has been replaced by charcoal briquettes after the war. Currently, most charcoal briquettes are a mixture of powdered devolatilized coal, a small portion of raw or carbonized sawdust, and intentional ash additives - intended to create the “complete charcoal cooking experience.” All that lovely white ash, indicating the coals are ready for cooking, is limestone, straight from the mine. Nowadays, lump charcoal is a boutique cooking fuel, which is gaining popularity
and distributed almost anywhere outdoor cooking supplies are sold, including
most hardware stores. It is generally made from clean wood scraps, such as
residues from furniture making, and appears as solid lumps that still exhibit
the grain of the original wood. While it is not inexpensive, lump charcoal is
certainly affordable in the smaller quantities that a home garden might require
to achieve recommended biochar levels in the soils of 3 to 10 weight percent of
the soil mass in the root zone. However, an underlying issue remains: Is lump charcoal a good candidate for use as a biochar?” The author gathered a number of samples of popular retail lump charcoal and analyzed their respective activity levels – that is, how much adsorption capacity did each lump charcoal have. Two things were clear from the study. 1) not all charcoals/biochars are created equal. 2) the process of carbonization has a direct bearing on the respective activity levels. One of the selling features for cooking lump charcoals is the ability to light easily. To achieve this some producers cook the wood quickly at low temperatures (below 450°C) which leaves behind higher levels of low molecular weight combustibles which help the lump charcoal ignite more easily. But… These low molecular weight components compose most of what has been termed as “mobile matter”. According to the author this soluble mobile matter has two important features when reviewing biochars. “First, there is evidence that mobile matter leaches into the soil and provides a soluble carbon source, which can cause a short-term nutrient deficiency for the plants by stimulating soil microbe growth that competes with the plants for available nitrogen.” This initial draw down on certain soil nutrients can be crucial for some plants and could determine whether a crop will mature in time for harvest or not. The mobile matter level in lump cooking charcoal is a concern because the charcoal is expected to light without the addition of liquid charcoal starter. Consequently the carbonization process may be regulated so as to achieve more of these low molecular weight volatiles (mobile matter), which may be counterproductive when thinking of an ideal biochar. Second, the elevated amounts of mobile matter are likely to disappear within a single growing season and not contribute to the long-term properties of the soil. As such, the mobile matter portion in biochar is bought and paid for, but represents less long-term value as a soil amendment. Water and ash provide similarly reduced long-term value in the biochar, but most people recognize that situation and purchase accordingly. NOTE: As a work around to this potential draw down on soil nutrients CHARCOAL GREEN® BIOCHAR PLUS begins as a pure biochar then is inoculated with beneficial soil microorganisms and enriched substrates. You can see the RESULTS for your self. In addition to
the Mobile Matter assay, Adsorption Capacity was tested because that is a
crucial property of biochar that is created at the time of manufacture and is
unlikely to improve over time. 15 randomly selected commercial lump charcoals
were tested. In general, the best of the lump charcoals had adsorption
capacities comparable with other wood biocarbons (not manufactured for the lump
charcoal market). Unfortunately, the average lump charcoal mobile matter was
over twice the average level of 10% for the biocarbons. Furthermore, it was
apparent from extremely random percentages among the 15 samples that one cannot
assume the mobile matter or adsorption capacities based on the relative bulk
density of the end product. Eighteen samples of different lump charcoals produced by the same manufacturer were also tested for adsorption capacities to see how much lump charcoals might vary when produced under the same cooking process. The results showed that when different woods are cooked under the same process it results in a much more uniform range of adsorption capacity and relative density. Considering there was as much as a 700% (seven-fold) difference in adsorption capacities among the various samples of commercial lump charcoal, the authors stressed, these three main conclusions:
Charcoals
from Small Retorts http://www.holon.se/folke/carbon/simplechar/simplechar.shtml Charcoal
from Gasifiers www.bioenergylists.org/andersontludconstruction The “good feel” test Ignited, Quenched, Perished, Endowed |
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