Warm Heart shows a new way forward on haze issues

Could this be a pointer to wider solutions for haze in Indonesia? When plantations and commercial agriculture recognize the value the carbon in waste biomass then we may have found an economic, social and environmentally acceptable solution.



Some earlier posts on this...
http://sea-biochar.blogspot.my/search/label/haze

Version 2.0 of TLUD history

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Paul Anderson psanders@ilstu.edu [biochar]
Date: 18 February 2016 at 14:39
Subject: [biochar] Version 2.0 of TLUD history is available
To: Stoves and biofuels network , "biochar@yahoogroups.com"

Dear all who are interested in TLUD stoves or their ability to make char,

The History of TLUD stoves documentation has been expanded and released as Version 2.0. The document now has over 30 photos / figures, and a much expanded bibliography. Be sure to see the Box (Figure 22 on page 22) that defines and names 24 "TLUD Pyroneers".

It is lengthy at 38 pages so that the historical details are well recorded for future generations. You can pick and choose the historical periods of interest, but do be sure to at least skim quickly the beginning and concluding pages that have comments on the current and future prospects for TLUD micro-gasification.

This link will always take you to the most recent version of the document. (earlier versions are still available at the Dr TLUD website with specific addresses).

www.drtlud.com/tlud-history

-- Doc / Dr TLUD / Prof. Paul S. Anderson, PhD Email: psanders@ilstu.edu Skype: paultlud Phone: +1-309-452-7072 Website: www.drtlud.com

Palm oil sustainability prioritisation survey (ARPOS)

I'm engaged with ARPOS on getting biochar into their, and the palm oil industry sustainability agenda. The email text below from Dr Rory Padfield is self-explanatory. Biochar and biochar related issues are included in the survey...

"Dear ARPOS members,

As some of you will be aware a project was launched last year to identify priority research questions for the study of palm oil sustainability. Following an initial workshop to establish the broad research themes (13 in total) held at the Corus Hotel in March 2015, a series of stakeholder engagement activities and an on-line survey resulted in 185 individual research questions submitted by stakeholders. Many of you kindly submitted your questions and also forwarded the survey to your palm oil networks.

We are now in the final stage of the research project where these 185 questions will be prioritized by palm oil stakeholders. This final stage is important since it will help us understand where we should be focusing our research efforts (activities, funding, academic debate, etc) to achieve palm oil sustainability. Furthermore, the result of this survey will help set the basis for ARPOS' 1st Research Strategy document. This will be presented at the ARPOS AGM in April 2016.

Thus, I wish to request your kind assistance to help with the following:

1) Please spend a few minutes to fill out the on-line survey yourself. The link is below.

2) Please circulate the survey (or this email) to your respective networks and/or individual contacts who may be interested to participate in the survey. Please note that this survey presents an opportunity for palm oil stakeholders to influence the direction of future research into palm oil sustainability.

On-line survey link:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/palmoilpriority

Many thanks for your cooperation.

Best wishes,

Rory"

3rd Asia-Pacific Biochar Conference, 19-23 October

http://www.biochar.co.kr/index2.asp

Biochar research compilation from Indonesia and IRRI

Biochar for future food security: learning from experiences and identifying research priorities

FOREWORD
Biochar research started almost 20 years ago and there are already accumulated research outputs from various research groups from many areas, including improving soil health and plant productivity and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, there are limited studies on the application of biochar in agriculture. Thus, there is a need to identify research gaps on technology development to maximize the potential of this promising agricultural material.

Along this line, the national workshop on Biochar for Food Security: Learning from Experiences and Identifying Research Priorities was held in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia on February 4 and 5, 2013. In this workshop, there were 15 presentations made of studies carried out from various fields from different organizations and 11 papers are published through this limited proceedings.

The first paper provides a summary of biochar research in the world, including its history and findings on various functions of biochar. The next paper focuses on the constraints to biochar production and presents a method of converting smoke into wood vinegar, which has a significant role in crop protection. There are two papers on the function of biochar and its effect on the physical and chemical properties of the soil and three more papers that show that the yield of some crops like maize and rice were improved by biochar. There are also three more papers that focus on the environmental benefits of biochar application such as mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and remediation of polluted soils caused by chemical compounds from pesticides. The last paper presents an economic evaluation of biochar application in the agroforestry-agriculture combined system and shows that biochar application improved farmers’ income despite the cost increase.
 
The papers presented in this document cover a wide range of biochar research areas in Indonesia, which shows promising prospects for sustainable agricultural production and better livelihood. It is hoped that this limited proceedings will contribute to future agricultural research on technology development in Indonesia.
 
Keiichi Hayashi
Project Coordinator/Soil Scientist, IRRI-Japan Collaborative Research Project on Climate Change Adaptation in Rainfed Rice Areas (CCARA), IRRI
Martin Gummert
Senior Scientist, Postharvest Development, IRRI
Dr. Zulkifli Zaini
IRRI Representative and Liaison Scientist, IRRI-Indonesia Office

Contents
The role of  biochar and prospects for its use in rice production in Southeast Asia (Keiichi Hayashi)
 
Biochar for forestry and agricultural production (Gustan Pari, Han Roliadi, and Sri Komarayat)

Application of biochar produces changes in some soil properties (Ainin Niswati)
 
Changes in water retention, water use efficiency, and aggregate stability of sandy soils following biochar application (Sukartono, W.H.Utomo, W.H. Nugroho, and Suwardji)

Evaluating the effects of biochar on N absorption and N use efficiency in maize (Widowati, W.H. Utomo, B. Guritno, and L.A. Soehono)

Nitrogen fertilizer requirement of maize (Zea maysL.) on biochar-treated soil (Wani Hadi Utomo and Titiek Islami)

Use of biochar to improve soil characteristics and increase rice yield in swamplands (D. Nursyamsi, E. Maftuah, I. Khairullah, and Mukhlis)

Gas emissions from the production and use of biochar in the peatland of Kalimantan (Abdul Hadi, Abdul Ghofur, Annisa Farida, Triharyo Subekti, and Dedi Nursyamsi)

Evaluation of the effects of activated carbon on POP insecticide residues in mustard in Central Java, Indonesia (Elisabeth Srihayu Harsanti, Asep Nugraha Ardiwinata, Sri Wahyuni, and Dedi Nursyamsi)
 
The role and use of activated carbon in the agriculture sector to control insecticide residues (Asep Nugraha Ardiwinata and Elisabeth Srihayu Harsanti)

Economic analysis of biochar application in agroforestry systems (Rachman Effendi)

Vietnam B4SS Project

A visit to the Starfish website (http://starfish-initiatives.org/) lead me to Biochar for Sustainable Soils (B4SS) Project  and then on to two projects is SEA:


VIETNAM – B4SS PROJECT PROFILE

INDONESIA – B4SS PROJECT
(profile coming - working with an existing network of 1,750 small-scale women farmers with dryland cropping systems to improve soils affected by the 2004 tsunami).

Singapore Biochar workshop @ SET2016

The 15th International Conference on Sustainable Energy Technologies (SET 2016) will take place in Singapore from 19th to 22nd July 2016, hosted by the National University of Singapore (NUS). I've been collaborating with NUS on biochar development in Singapore and this has led to the following workshop. Closing date for SET2016 abstracts is 15 March. We are looking for international speakers for the biochar workshop and please spread the word on SET2016. You can see the full workshop program by clicking on the following link... http://set2016.chbe.nus.edu.sg/workshop_on_biochar.pdf

"This workshop plays two important roles. Firstly, it formalizes the development of a Singapore-based biochar interest group and network that involves a wide range of stakeholders; yet, this network has an international relevance and reach, this serves as a connection platform for local stakeholders with regional and international networks, including the International Biochar Initiative. Secondly, it aims to highlight the kind of challenges faced in developing the knowledge base and applying biochar to the various industry contexts in Singapore."