Collaborative Biochar Research Initiative - gwprojects.org

Collaborative Biochar Research Initiative
John Miedema, Thompson Timber, Philomath, OR
Markus Kleber, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
BIOCHAR AND BIOMASS OPTIONS FOR COMMUNITIES
Clark County Leadership Series for Developing Sustainable Communities
78thStreet Heritage Farm, Vancouver WA
October 22, 2010

Timely Ingenuities
“I am enthusiastic over humanity’s extraordinary and
sometimes very timely ingenuities. If you are in a
shipwreck and all the boats are gone, a piano top
buoyant enough to keep you afloat …makes a
fortuitous life preserver. But this is not to say that
the best way to design a life preserver is in the form
of a piano top. I think we are clinging to a great
many piano tops in accepting yesterday’s fortuitous
contriving as constituting the only means for solving
a given problem.”
Buckminster Fuller,
Operation Manual For Spaceship Earth

Our Challenges in Agriculture
1. Improve productivity of our soils:
There is limited potential for land expansion for
cultivation; 85 per cent of future growth in food
production must come from lands already under
production. (USDA-ARS)
2. Reduce the cost of production
•Revive rural economies
•Replace purchased inputs with locally-produced
alternatives (energy, fertilizers, etc).
3. Create sustainable rural jobs and decentralized power
production.

Application of biochar to soil
•The potential to greatly improve soil physical, chemical and
biological conditions
•Ideal surface for the sorption of organic and ionic compounds
•Porous structure and extremely high surface area- host site for
micro flora and fauna
• Potential to increase soil water-holding capacity, cation
exchange capacity, and base saturation

General Philosophy
Producing Biochar sustainably and realizing the range of
benefits will ultimately require a concerted effort among
people in a wide range of disciplines.
The biochar concept has yet to overcome and resolve
significant technological obstacles, involving engineering,
economical, agricultural, process and research type
challenges.

General Philosophy
But, the potential benefits of sustainable biochar
production –
Food Security
Energy Security
Job Creation
Water Clean-up
Environmental Revitalization
Carbon Sequestration
are so great, we would be remiss for not engaging
wholly in rigorous study of the entire biochar process, to
scientifically prove or disprove the validity of the
system…

The positive feedback loop--
Utilization of low value material for energy
production while creating a value added
product.
Sustainable biochar production
based on sound integrated design science offers
recurring economic, social, and environmental
benefits in a positive feedback loop– e.g. Marginal
lands show dramatic gains in net primary
productivity when biochar is added to the system.

Fossil Carbon Energy System
vs.
Terrestrial Carbon Biochar System
Fossil fuels are carbon-positive – they add more carbon to the air.
Ordinary biomass fuels are carbon neutral – the carbon
captured in the biomass by photosynthesis would have eventually returned to the
atmosphere through natural processes – burning plants for energy just speeds
this process up.
Biochar systems can be carbon negative
because they retain a substantial portion of the carbon fixed by plants.
The result
is a net reduction of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Sources of Feedstock
Essentially all forms of biomass can be converted
to biochar
Preferable forms include: forest thinnings, crop
residues (e.g., corn stover, straw, grain husks), yard
waste, clean urban wood waste (e.g. roadside
clearing, pallets, sorted construction debris),
manures, bone meal…

Biochar
Results In:
•Stable compounds of single and
condensing ring aromatic carbon
•High surface area
• Nutrient retention and capture
(NH4+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, etc.)
• Increased CEC
• Increased pH
• Changes in physical properties
water retention
reduced soil density
increased porosity/aeration
Is produced by the thermal cracking of
biomass in an oxygen controlled environment.
Corn Cob and Pine Wood Char
Courtesy of J. Amonette

Research Philosophy: Specific
1.) Produce energy from biomass, ensuring that no
additional carbon is released into the atmosphere
2.) Remove CO 2 from the atmosphere by converting part
of the feedstock not into energy, but into a “stable” form
(= char) from which it will not return to the atmosphere
for a long time
3.) Improve soil by taking advantage of the unique
physicochemical properties of artfully prepared chars to
enhance fertility, modify physical properties,
decontaminate

• The properties of
biochar greatly depend
upon the production
procedure. Temperature
effects on C recovery,
CEC, pH and surface area.
from Lehmann (2007), Front. Ecol.
Environ. 5:381-387.
•Disappearance of most non aromatic C
•Dramatic increase in surface area
(Baldock and Smernik, 2002).

What is biochar – chemically speaking ?
Biochar properties vary dramatically as a function of
charring conditions (W300 = Wood charred at 300˚C):

What is biochar – chemically speaking ?
Keiluweit et al., 2010

The aromatic ring
is kinetically stable
This is accounted for by delocalization.
The more the electrons are spread around (=
delocalized) - the more stable a molecule
becomes.
This extra stability is often referred to as
"delocalization energy".
Long bonds = weak !
Short bonds = strong !
154 pm
C C
139 pm
135 pm
C C

More on stability
Aromatic compounds require high activation
energies before they can participate in
chemical and biochemical reactions.
Enzymatic breakdown works mainly through
the addition of oxygen atoms to the benzene
ring. This creates a huge oxygen demand.
Together, these (and other) features make
aromatics a poor substrate for
decomposer microorganisms.

Implication
Char–type materials consist almost
exclusively of aromatic carbon.
They do not decompose easily in soils.
Highly aromatic chars are commonly
considered a stable form of carbon in the
biosphere.

How can aromatic carbon increase soil fertility?
It turns out that aromatic carbon is not totally “stable”
Aromatic carbon can be slowly oxidized (= partially
decomposed)
Oxidation adds oxygen containing functional groups
to the aromatic rings
Chunk of aromatic black
carbon prior to oxidative
decomposition
oxidative
decomposition
Decomposition fragment
with oxygen containing
functional groups
O
OH
OH
O
O
OH

How can aromatic carbon increase soil fertility?
Oxygen containing groups can ionize (develop negative charge)
and so electrostatically attract ions that are positively charged
(exchangeable cations).
O
O -
O-
K
O
+
Mg 2+
H +
H +
O
O OH
Mg
OH
+
K O
O O
O
OH
O
O
O -
H +
Many critical mineral nutrients of plants are cations, such as
Potassium (K + ) , Calcium (Ca 2+ ), Magnesium (Mg 2+ )
Ca 2+
O
O
Ca +

Research need
Not every char is good for every soil
We need to solve three problems at the same time:
• How can we optimize the carbon budget, and
• how can we maximize energy yield,
• while, at the same time, making char materials that can
be used to address specific soil issues/ soil problems ?

Research Goals
Short Term Goals:
Create standardized char characterization protocols for multiple analyses – pH, ash
content, volatile content, CEC, XRD, elemental analysis, surface area, etc.
• Optimize protocols for high throughput by condensing characterization to
certain analytical techniques which provide predictive results for other char
characteristics, specifically agronomically important properties
Conduct multiple runs of pyrolytic retort in order to determine relationship between
char properties and production conditions – temperature, residence time, feedstock,
etc.
Long Term Goals:
Develop ability to manipulate char production conditions to create custom “designer
chars” with predictable properties for specific applications
• Vermiculite/Perlite substitute (high water retention)
• Highly active char for addressing contamination issues
• High CEC char for agronomic use

Initial Data
°C
1000
500
0
Material --1
Mid Retort --2
Top Retort--3
Hearth--4
Hearth--5
Stack--6
Sec. 1 2 3 4 5 6
9090 502.8 267.82 215.56 733.55 756.31 218.7
9060 502.64 267.85 215.57 735.42 758.94 218.96
9120 503.45 268.09 215.45 731.75 754.48 218.61
9150 504.14 268.18 215.4 731.08 754.86 218.6
9180 505.12 268.29 215.49 729.72 752.81 218.57
9210 505.74 268.74 215.55 727.72 749.72 218.53
9240 505.74 268.37 215.57 725.53 746.82 218.2
9270 505.6 268.34 215.73 723.75 745.14 217.92
9300 504.89 268.65 215.86 721.98 743.44 217.76
0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000
Sec

Char XRD Scans Results
Intensity (counts)
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
Quartz signal
Carbonate signal
10 20 30 40 50 60 70
•XRD Scans with peaks indicating presence of specific crystalline compounds
•Gradual peaks in shaded regions indicate presence of stacked graphene sheets
•Hump at ~28° indicates thickness of stacks
•Hump at ~51° indicates lateral dimensions of sheets
•Characteristics of graphene sheets affect multiple char properties – surface area, decay
resistance, water retention etc.
•Multiple smaller peaks likely indicate mineral ash compounds, including quartz and carbonate
2Theta (°)

Initial Data
Sample pH
Water
Content @
105°C
High Temp
(°C) Notable XRD Observations
Mixed Chip Yard (wood) 8.06 0.00486 448 Quartz signal, well defined graphene signals
Mixed Chip Yard 2nd Run
(wood) 7.9 0.00082 505
Hog Fuel (wood) 8.77 0.01922 629
Hog Fuel and Fines
(sawdust) 8.13 0.00587 572
Mixed Chip Yard/Concrete
and wood debris 11 0.0083 458
Quartz signal and small carbonate signal, well
defined graphene signals
Small quartz signal, well defined graphene
signals
Quartz and carbonate signals, well defined
graphene signals
Strong carbonate signal, weakly defined
graphene signals
Doug Fir/Manure Pellets 9.36 0.00418 573 Quartz signal, well defined graphene signals
Manure Pellets 10.97 0.0222 555
Gasification Residue
(wood) 11.98 0.02899 700
Industrial Boiler Residue
(wood) 10.6 0.02751
Pendleton (unknown
feedstock) 9.55 0.04681
Quartz signal, multiple unidentified signals
(potential mineral ash)
Strong carbonate signal, multiple unidentified
signals (potential mineral ash)
Strong Quartz Signal, weakly defined
graphene signals
Strong quartz signal, multiple unidentified
signals (potential mineral ash)
•Statistical relationships between initial data have not been determined but will be
assessed following collection of more data.
•The four wood chars produced in the pyrolytic retort have the lowest pH values.

Ecological Services
• Reduced nitrous oxide emissions 50-80%
(Rondon, Ramirez, and Lehmann, 2005)
• Reduced phosphorus and nitrogen in groundwater
• Increases soil carbon- Atmospheric CO2 reduction
• Reduction of forest fuel load
• Brownfield revitalization
• Carbon Sequestration

“This was the recycled
nasty soil from the steel
mill that still grew
vegetation. There is a line
of where we sprayed
PermaMatrix and where it
was not applied. The other
vegetation died.”
-- Drew Schaefer
Sunmark Environmental
PermaMatrix 10% Biochar
cleaned up contaminated water from a steel mill to drinking water..

the tote built for the zinc site
Storm water percolation
This is a cut slope that was strait Jory
clay that PermaMatrix was applied on -
nothing grew there for 10 years.

Biochar Filter test

Integrated Systems
: the key to sustainability (and profitability)
On The Farm
- energy production, process heat for food production, home, shop, green house and barn
heating, vermiculite substitute, nutrient control…
In The Forest
-fuel load reduction/ energy densification
Nutrient control
Green Industrial Parks
-locations at former mill sites
utilization as thermal drive for industrial processes
Co-Location with other renewable energy systems
-In order to gain reliability – sun and wind intermittent,
utilization of waste heat for process energy in biofuel production
Greenhouse, boiler, biochar stirling engine (DK)
Co-Location with biomass waste streams
-Inherent ability of refined biochar production to turn waste into energy, value added products
and a stable soil C pool.

Why did Thompson Timber get involved?
Improve our soil
Improve our forest
Utilize our infrastructure
Industrial thermal energy
Create rural jobs

Location Location Location

Figure 1. Project diagram, solid line arrows indicate flows of material (logs, chips,
biochar). Block arrows indicate flows of energy (diesel fuel, electricity for system
motors, or combustion gases). Dashed lines indicate current product uses for the
wood waste.

Thompson Timber Sort Yard-- Philomath OR

Industrial Lego's

The Fluidyne Pacific Class Gasifier
www.fluidynenz.250x.com/

Thermal Drive
Fuel use:
45 kg/hr
Flame temp
1000 C
500,000 BTU

Fabricating The Pyrolytic
Retort
February 2010

Hot pyrolysis gases and tars are
taken from the top of the retort
and then piped to a valve box
for distribution to either the
furnace or an external flare.
Hot Pyrolysis
Gas Valve Box

Venturi Burner

At Approximately 4:30 pm Thursday
June 24 th the system was started up
for the first time

PNW Biochar Initiative
Academics from fields such
as: Agriculture, Soil Science,
Forestry, Engineering,
Economics, Ecology,
Chemistry, and Physics
Government: Federal i.e.,
USDA, DOE, Legislators and
Tribes, and State i.e.
Departments of Ecology,
Energy, Forestry and
Agriculture and Local County
Legislators
PNW
Bioc
har
Initiat
ive
Industry/ Private Sector:
agriculture, timber, energy,
carbon markets, environmental
services, technology and
equipment suppliers,
certification agencies, and a
host of potential users and
producers of biochar
NGOs in the fields of Science,
Environment, Wildlife, Energy,
and Social Policy

For further information
International Biochar Initiative
www.biochar-international.org
Terra Preta @ Bioenergylists.org
www.biochar.bioenergylists.org
PNW Biochar Group
http://groups.google.com/group/pnw-biochar?hl=en
John Miedema
Director of Bioenergy
Thompson Timber Company
Philomath Oregon
541-740-3652
Biochar Enthusiast
jmiedema@peak.org