This site has been created to facilitate the establishment of a South East Asian biochar interest group. BIG-SEA could provide communication and linkage between biochar researchers, farmers, related industry and supporting organisations, interested in tropically focused biochar industry development. Please get in touch if you are interested in supporting or participating in this effort.
HERE is a link to an article on biochar that I've had published in the inaugural issue of the above journal (click on image above for link to the journal).
This is a general introduction to biochar with a focus on history, applications, climate change and carbon sequestration. I hope to say more about biochar production and industry development in SEA in a followup article.
By Mark R. Fuchs, M. Garcia-Perez, P. Small and G. Flora
“Campfires were the first step in the evolution of slow pyrolysis
reactors. Observing the play of the flames while sitting around a
campfire is still one of the best possible lessons to understand the
main principles of pyrolysis. Mark Fuchs and colleagues bring the
different natural phenomenon of the fire into context of modern
pyrolysis.” …
Reviewer comment
Catherine Brewer: One of the frequent challenges experienced by members of the
biochar community is figuring out how to explain biochar and biomass
thermochemical processes to friends and family members. The authors’ use
of the campfire illustration is so helpful because it is familiar to a
wide audience and scientifically accurate at the same time. After
hearing this illustration the first time myself, I remember thinking, “I
will never again see just a campfire.”
"The estero running through Block 5 in Daang Tubo (a community inside the UP Campus) is on its way to being clean. GMA Network and its partners, the Philippine Mine Safety and
Environment Association, the Philippine Biochar Association and the
Sagip Ilog Pilipinas, collaborated on the Clean River Zone Biochar
Community initiative. The Kapuso Network and its partners signed a Memorandum of Agreement
in early 2014 to clean up the said estero using bokashi balls (bokashi
balls are made from dried mud and other organic materials, including
biochar, and are used to clean bodies of water that have high
concentrations of sludge and slime)." ...