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Wednesday 7 November 2012

Commecially available TLUD stove from Malang, Indonesia.

Hot topic on the stoves discussion group relates to Prof.M Nurhuda's TLUD stove.
Contact details: Muhammad Nurhuda from the Physics Department, Brawijaya University in Malang, Indonesia mnurhuda@ub.ac.id

Monday 5 November 2012

Philippines Biochar Association - news item for IBI newsletter

Biochar Roadshow

"The Biochar Road show, a project being implemented by the Development Society of the Ateneo de Manila University, is an awareness campaign that targets the educated youth from the top universities in the Philippines. With the establishment of the Philippine Biochar Association in 2010, Biochar technology has been introduced to the agricultural practices of the country. The Biochar Road Show exhibits the great benefits of using Biochar in agricultural practices to the environment while promoting the Philippine Biochar Association’s work with local farmers and government units. The Biochar Road show will be setting up their works inside the top universities of the Philippines to raise awareness and spark interest among student bodies of Ateneo de Manila University, De LaSalle University, University of Santo Tomas, and University of the Philippines Diliman. The Biochar Road show will run from November 2012 to February 2013. Although the idea of environmental awareness has been around for a long time, The Biochar Road show that will be held within the universities is different in way that rather than talking about the problem of carbon emissions and greenhouse gasses, it talks about a solution. It does not promote how much carbon that has really been resealed. Other environmental campaigns have been doing for years now and it would be hard to believe that these smart young students barely even know about it. The road show takes into account how students already know the problem, but are not aware about innovative solutions on how to act on environmental concerns. It presents Biochar as a new fresh innovation that will greatly help cut down carbon emissions while being able to help their fellow Filipinos with agricultural lifestyles. The Philippines is naturally an agricultural country, making it easier for university students of the Philippines to see the great deal of change they would be able to make by supporting Biochar and the Philippines Biochar Association efforts. These students will one day be the future of the country, and even just a hand full of them can make a great impact on the country’s environmental future."

Laurinette
Philippines Biochar Association

Thursday 1 November 2012

Exciting new research from Lao PDR - benefits of biochar as animal feed

Biochar reduces enteric methane and improves growth and feed conversion in local “Yellow” cattle fed cassava root chips and fresh cassava foliage (http://www.lrrd.org/public-lrrd/proofs/lrrd2411/leng24199.htm)

Abstract 

Twelve local “Yellow” cattle with initial live weight ranging from 80 to 100 kg were assigned in a completely randomized block design to a 2*2 factorial arrangement of four treatments with three replications. The factors were: biochar at 0.6% of diet DM or none; and potassium nitrate at 6% of diet DM or urea at 1.83% of diet DM. The basal diet was cassava root chips fed ad libitum and fresh cassava foliage at 1% of LW (DM basis). Sodium sulphate and sodium chloride were added to the diet at the rate of 0.4% and 0.5% in the DM. The trial lasted 98 days following a 21 day adaptation to the diets.

Live weight gain was increased 25% by adding biochar to the diet DM and tended to be decreased when nitrate replaced urea as the source of NPN. DM feed conversion was improved by biochar and by urea replacing nitrate. DM feed intake was not affected by supplementation with biochar nor by the NPN source. Both biochar and nitrate reduced methane production by 22 and 29%, respectively, the effects being additive (41% reduction) for the combination of biochar and nitrate. 

R A Leng*, T R Preston** and Sangkhom Inthapanya

Faculty of Agriculture and Forest Resources, Souphanouvong University,
Luang Prabang, Lao PDR
inthapanyasangkhom@yahoo.com

*University of New England, Armidale NSW, Australia
**Finca Ecologica TOSOLY, AA48 Socorro, Colombia