Showing posts with label rice husk. Show all posts

Sunday, 10 March 2019

Rice husk biochar and urea - 2yr study

Eﬀects of biochar and nitrogen fertilizer on soil physicochemical properties, nitrogen use eﬃciency and upland rice (Oryza sativa) yield grown on an Alﬁsol in Southwestern Nigeria

Received: 24 March 2018 / Accepted: 12 February 2019 © The Author(s) 2019

Abstract

Purpose

Biochar and inorganic fertilizer when co-applied have been reported to increase crop yield and enhance soil fertility. However, studies on this complementary eﬀect on soil properties and rain-fed upland rice performance in Sub-Saharan Africa are still scanty.

Methods

Field factorial studies conducted over 2 years was set up to investigate the interactions between rice husk biochar and inorganic nitrogen (N) fertilizer on a sandy clay loam Alﬁsol. A two-factor (4 × 4) in RCBD where rice husk biochar was incorporated at four doses, 0, 3, 6, and 12 t/ha−1, inorganic N fertilizer (urea) at four rates, 0, 30, 60 and 90 N kg/ha−1, and their combinations was adopted.

Results

Results showed that combination of biochar and N fertilizer exerted significant (P > 0.05) interactive eﬀect on rice harvest index, grain and straw yield and N-use eﬃciency. Interaction between biochar and N fertilizer increased agronomic eﬃciency by 140% and grain nutrient recovery by 191% over 2 years. Combination of biochar and N fertilizer reduced soil bulk density, increased water holding capacity and soil chemical status such as pH, N, P, K, Corg, Ca, ECEC and base saturation, all within the top 10 cm depth of the soil.

Conclusions

Overall, the results established that rice husk biochar can be used as a soil conditioner to enhance upland rice yield on an Alﬁsol. The combined dose of 3–6 t/ha−1 biochar and 30 kg/ha−1 of N fertilizer is thus recommended for upland rice farmers in the study area.

Sunday, 6 January 2019

Biochar enhances animal growth

Effect of biochar on growth performance of local “Yellow” cattle fed ensiled cassava roots, fresh brewers’ grains and rice straw

Bounthavy Vongkhamchanh, T R Preston[1], R A Leng[2], Le Van An[3] and Duong Thanh Hai[3]

Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Champasack University, Champasak, Lao PDR vongkhamchanhd@yahoo.com
1 Centro para la Investigación en Sistemas Sostenibles de Producción Agropecuaria (CIPAV), Carrera 25 No 6-62 Cali, Colombia
2 University of New England, Armidale NSW, Australia
3 Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Hue University, Vietnam

Abstract

In a 56-day experiment with 6 local Yellow cattle fed ensiled cassava root-urea, brewers’ grains and rice straw, there were indications (p=0.08) that after an initial 4-week adaptation to the diet, the cattle were growing faster when 1% of biochar (derived from rice husk) was incorporated in the diet.

Friday, 30 November 2018

RHC-composting study from Malaysia

Characterization of Local Mill Rice Husk Charcoal and Its Effect on Compost Properties

Tuesday, 16 October 2018

Biochar benefits turfgrass management

This looks like an important read for all managers and green-keepers of sports grounds, golf courses urban green space. I'm not sure what grasses are used in tropical soils. It would be great see some experimentation happening in this region.

Effects of rice-husk biochar on sand-based rootzone amendment and creeping bentgrass growth

XiaoXiao Lia, XuBing Chena, Marta Weber-Siwirskab, JunJun Caoa, ZhaoLong Wanga,⁎
a School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200240, PR China
b Institute of Landscape Architecture, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wroclaw 50-375, Poland

A B S T R A C T
"Turf provides an irreplaceable surface for recreational and sport activities in urban landscape. Sand-based rootzone is recommended for turf establishment because of its excellent compaction resistance. It is necessary to improve the water and nutrient retention of sand-based rootzone by soil amendments in maintaining healthy turf. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of rice-husk biochar on sand-based rootzone amendment and creeping bentgrass (Agrostsis stolonifera) establishment. The results showed that bulk density was linearly decreased in proportion to rice-husk biochar. Total porosity and capillary porosity, water retention, and saturated hydraulic conductivity were significantly increased in proportion to rice-husk biochar. Sand-based rootzone amended with 10% of rice-husk biochar promoted the seed germination and young seedling growth with the significantly higher growth rate, leaf emergence rate, shoot and root biomass, and turf coverage than the control. These results indicate that rice-husk biochar had superior characteristics to previous reported biochars in the sand-based rootzone amendment and could be used to improve soil physical properties and turf healthy in sports and recreation playgrounds."

Monday, 28 November 2016

Farmers learn to make ‘biochar’ ‘tech

"TO reduce the trash generated by Cebu City daily, around 100 farmers and leaders were trained by the City Government and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7 recently on biochar technology."

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2016/11/27/farmers-learn-make-biochar-tech-511863

Sunday, 3 January 2016

Rice Husk Char research in Malaysia

The title below links to the site where this paper can be downloaded.

Biochar Application in Malaysian Sandy and Acid Sulfate Soils: Soil Amelioration Effects and Improved Crop Production over Two Cropping Seasons

Theeba Manickam¹, Gerard Cornelissen^2,3,4, Robert T. Bachmann⁵, Illani Z. Ibrahim¹, Jan Mulder³ and Sarah E. Hale^2,*

Abstract

The use of biochar as an agricultural soil improvement was tested in acid sulfate and sandy soils from Malaysia, cropped with rice and corn. Malaysia has an abundance of waste rice husks that could be used to produce biochar. Rice husk biochar was produced in a gasifier at a local mill in Kelantan as well as in the laboratory using a controlled, specially designed, top lift up draft system (Belonio unit). Rice husk biochar was applied once to both soils at two doses (2% and 5%), in a pot set up that was carried out for two cropping seasons. Positive and significant crop yield effects were observed for both soils, biochars and crops. The yield effects varied with biochar type and dosage, with soil type and over the cropping seasons. The yield increases observed for the sandy soil were tentatively attributed to significant increases in plant-available water contents (from 4%–5% to 7%–8%). The yield effects in the acid sulfate soil were likely a consequence of a combination of (i) alleviation of plant root stress by aluminum (Ca/Al molar ratios significantly increased, from around 1 to 3–5) and (ii) increases in CEC. The agricultural benefits of rice husk biochar application to Malaysian soils holds promise for its future use.

Monday, 18 May 2015

Rice husk biochar production system (CHAB) from Philippines

DA-PhilRice introduces eco heating technology

QUEZON CITY, May 17 -- The Department of Agriculture’s Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) has started the introduction and pilot testing of a machine that processes rice hull into biochar which can be used for cooking, baking, sterilizing and heating brooding chicks. - See more at: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/1781431686660/da-philrice-introduces-eco-heating-technology#sthash.9Z2ZIOr3.dpuf

DA-PhilRice introduces eco heating technology

PIA | DA-PhilRice introduces eco heating technology

QUEZON CITY, May 17 -- The Department of Agriculture's Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) has started the introduction and pilot testing of a machine that processes rice hull into biochar ...

http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/1781431686660/da-philrice-introduces-eco-heating-technology

Thursday, 9 April 2015

EcoFarm - biochar activity in Vietnam

IBI feature article that links Vietnam with Australia and Hawaii on a biochar project.

EcoFarm: Facilitating an international collaboration to install biochar technology in Vietnam

Tuesday, 26 August 2014

New biochar research from Malaysia related to soil remediation

CHARACTERIZATION OF OIL PALM EMPTY FRUIT BUNCH AND RICE HUSK BIOCHARS AND THEIR POTENTIAL TO ADSORB ARSENIC AND CADMIUM

"Biochar as a new soil amendment has a potential in controlling the fate of trace elements in the soil system. However, the production of biochar from different feedstocks and pyrolysis conditions resulted in variable biochar properties which have an influence on trace elements availability. The experimental works are focused on physical and chemical properties of biochars produced from Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) and Rice Husk (RH) as heavy metals adsorbents. The morphology of EFB biochar comprise rigid structure with uniform pores size. The surface area of biochars ranged between 23.22-46.32 m2 /g, dominated with mesopores. The chemical characterization of biochars revealed high carbon content in EFB biochar compared to RH biochar (54.08 and 7.78%). Both biochars are alkaline in nature (>pH 9) and contain substantial amounts of N, P, K, Ca and Mg. Fourier transform infra-red spectra showed the heterogenic functional groups on EFB biochar surface and domination of silica content in RH biochar. The batch experiment was employed to determine the adsorption capacity of these biochars for As and Cd. The adsorption data were fitted well in Langmuir isotherm with high correlation coefficient (R>0.9) for As and Cd. The qmax of EFB biochar for As and Cd was higher than RH biochar. The q of EFB biochar was 0.4240 and 15.1515 mg g-1 for As and Cd, respectively. In contrast, the qmax of RH biochar for As and Cd was only 0.3522 and 3.1908 mg g-1. The results show that EFB biochar and RH biochar have potentials as good sorbent for As and Cd. Therefore, it can be suggested that the application of these biochars may possibly reduce the trace elements availability in the contaminated soil."

Norazlina Abu Sari, Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 77300 Merlimau, Melaka, Malaysia
Che Fauziah Ishak and Rosenani Abu Bakar, Department of Land Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Malaysia

Link to the publication

Tuesday, 15 July 2014

World Bank on Biochar Systems for Smallholders in Developing Countries

Courtesy of International Biochar Initiative: (includes Vietnam case study on rice husk)

The World Bank has recently published the report entitled,

Biochar Systems for Smallholders in Developing Countries : Leveraging Current Knowledge and Exploring Future Potential for Climate-Smart Agriculture

http://fb.me/38njVu2qz

Biochar is the carbon-rich organic matter that remains after heating biomass under the minimization of oxygen during a process called pyrolysis. There are a number of reasons why biochar systems may be particularly relevant in developing-country contexts. This report offers a review of what is known about opportunities and risks of biochar systems. Its aim is to provide a state-of-the-art overview of current knowledge regarding biochar science. In that sense the report also offers a reconciling view on different scientific opinions about biochar providing an overall account that shows the various perspectives of its science and application. This includes soil and agricultural impacts of biochar, climate change impacts, social impacts, and competing uses of biomass. The report aims to contextualize the current scientific knowledge in order to put it at use to address the development climate change nexus, including social and environmental sustainability. The report is organized as follows: chapter one offers some introductory comments and notes the increasing interest in biochar both from a scientific and practitioner's point of view; chapter two gives further background on biochar, describing its characteristics and outlining the way in which biochar systems function. Chapter three considers the opportunities and risks of biochar systems. Based on the results of the surveys undertaken, chapter four presents a typology of biochar systems emerging in practice, particularly in the developing world. Life-cycle assessments of the net climate change impact and the net economic profitability of three biochar systems with data collected from relatively advanced biochar projects were conducted and are presented in chapter five. Chapter six investigates various aspects of technology adoption, including barriers to implementing promising systems, focusing on economics, carbon market access, and sociocultural barriers. Finally, the status of knowledge regarding biochar systems is interpreted in chapter seven to determine potential implications for future involvement in biochar research, policy, and project formulation.

Citation

“Scholz, Sebastian M.; Sembres, Thomas; Roberts, Kelli; Whitman, Thea; Wilson, Kelpie; Lehmann, Johannes. 2014. Biochar Systems for Smallholders in Developing Countries : Leveraging Current Knowledge and Exploring Future Potential for Climate-Smart Agriculture. Washington, DC: World Bank. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/18781 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”

Wednesday, 11 June 2014

What Is the Connection between Rice Straw, Charcoal and Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions?

..."Another option is to turn the rice straw into charcoal by burning it while restricting the amount of oxygen so the carbon in the straw does not turn into CO2. The charcoal is then returned to the rice field. Therefore, instead of rice farming being a source of carbon emissions, it could actually store carbon, what is better known as carbon sequestration. It is still early days and researchers are busy understanding the wonders of turning straw into charcoal which they call biochar. However, an organization called the Philippine Biochar Association is already promoting biochar use with Philippine rice farmers. What they are doing is paying the farmers to turn their rice straw into biochar instead of burning it in the field. This is funded by local companies who want to offset their carbon footprint. If you are interested to learn more about the Philippine Biochar Association, click on the following link http://philippinebiocharassociation.com/ ."

http://oryza.com/news/research-development/what-connection-between-rice-straw-charcoal-and-reducing-greenhouse-gas

Monday, 14 October 2013

Stephen Joseph - Biochar R&D in Asia and Australia

This is a followup to my earlier post on the British Biochar Foundation conference video coverage. This keynote address has a lot of interesting information on biochar activity in Asia - highly recommended...

Tuesday, 24 September 2013

Characterization of Local Mill Rice Husk Charcoal and Its Effect on Compost Properties

Theeba, Scientist and biochar researcher at MARDI, has previously provided access to the following research paper on Rice Husk Char. I am re-posting this final version for submission to the IBI bibliography. The RHC was not assessed under IBI product certification guidelines but it does appear to meet the "Test Category A - Basic Utility Properties" for Class 3 biochar. The product has a long history of local use as cost effective growing medium. A search on this website for 'rice' will provide links to many previous posts related to the subject of RHC.

The commercialisation of compost products based around this research is under investigation by MARDI.

Abstract

"Rice Husk Charcoal (RHC) is a by-product of rice processing mills which can be found in very large quantities in these mills. This industrial waste is largely unutilized, causing environmental pollution especially in the state of Kelantan. In order to increase its utilization, RHC was characterized and investigated for its potential in enhancing the composting process. Physico-chemical properties of RHC such as pH, nutrient content, ash content, CEC, adsorption kinetics, surface area, functional groups, surface structure and pore sizes were studied. The composting treatments were carried out by mixing 4% (wt/wt) and 6% (wt/wt) RHC with organic substrates and with no RHC amended as control. Parameters such as daily temperature, CO fux, nutrient content, pH, moisture and total microbial count were measured during the composting process. Results showed that RHC is a highly alkaline material (pH 8.9) with a carbon content of 16% (wt/wt dry basis), CEC of 17cmol kg-1 soil, BET surface area of 401 mg g-1 and a methylene blue adsorption capacity of 38.8 mg g-1. The presence of C=O carboxyl-C, ketones and ester, aliphatic C=H, C=C benzene ring and C-H aromatic hydrogen suggests that RHC mainly comprises amorphous char, a random mixture of thermally altered molecules and aromatic polycondensates.The addition of RHC to organic matter accelerated the composting process through higher decomposition rates due to higher microbial population at the thermophilic stage with RHC acting as a bulking agent, as well as higher moisture and nutrient retention during composting. N losses were found to be lower with RHC composting
Rice Husk Charcoal (RHC) is a by-product of rice processing mills which can be found in very large quantities in these mills. This industrial waste is largely unutilized, causing environmental pollution especially in the state of Kelantan. In order to increase its utilization, RHC was characterized and investigated for its potential in enhancing the composting process. Physico-chemical properties of RHC such as pH, nutrient content, ash content, CEC, adsorption kinetics, surface area, functional groups, surface structure and pore sizes were studied. The composting treatments were carried out by mixing 4% (wt/wt) and 6% (wt/wt) RHC with organic substrates and with no RHC amended as control. Parameters such as daily temperature, CO fux, nutrient content, pH, moisture and total microbial count were measured during the composting process. Results showed that RHC is a highly alkaline material (pH 8.9) with a carbon content of 16% (wt/wt dry basis), CEC of 17cmol kg-1 soil, BET surface area of 401 mg g-1 and a methylene blue adsorption capacity of 38.8 mg g-1. The presence of C=O carboxyl-C, ketones and ester, aliphatic C=H, C=C benzene ring and C-H aromatic hydrogen suggests that RHC mainly comprises amorphous char, a random mixture of thermally altered molecules and aromatic polycondensates.The addition of RHC to organic matter accelerated the composting process through higher decomposition rates due to higher microbial population at the thermophilic stage with RHC acting as a bulking agent, as well as higher moisture and nutrient retention during composting. N losses were found to be lower with RHC composting."

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4y0ycvbzqpo6w6b/Theeba.pdf

Saturday, 10 August 2013

Dr Paul Olivier visits Malaysia - regional TLUD development

The following comments are Co/ Dr Paul Olivier, cut from a recent post to the "Improved Biomass Cooking Stoves" discussion list (you may need to sign up to access original post... and its not archived at the time of posting).

..."I just returned last week from Malaysia in order to look into the gasification of palm kernal shells. This looks quite feasible, even without forming these shells into pellets. But bottled gas in relatively rich Malaysia is very cheap compared to relatively poor Vietnam, because the Malaysian government subsidizes bottled gas. At the same time, Singapore and large parts of Malaysia were recently subjected to dangerous levels of smoke from the large-scale burning of biomass in Sumatra over a period of several weeks. The entire city of Singapore was virtually shut down for a few weeks. Once again, why bother with biomass stoves as long as governments are willing to subsidize the price of bottled gas? After all, no biomass stove can match the safety (low CO and low PM), convenience (the simple twist of a knob) and turn-down ratio (1 to 99) of bottled gas.

I design biomass stoves the way I do primarily because I believe something should be done about global warming and ocean acidification. Here in Vietnam huge quantities of rice hulls, rice straw, coffee husks, pine forest debris and many other types of biomass are uselessly burned, while many people, especially in urban areas, burn coal and bottled gas to cook their food. So ridiculous. At the same time large portions of the Mekong (the center of food production in Vietnam) will soon be under water as sea levels continue to rise at their current rate.

But replacing bottled gas is not my only goal. Burying biochar is also critical in combating global warming and ocean acidification. Here CO2 is pulled from the air and locked in the soil for hundreds of years. At the same time, there are the many benefits of biochar that I have read about from scientists such as Ogawa (AM fungi), Lehmann and Joseph (a member of this stove list). Also in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, we have done more than 22 biochar studies with biochar from my gasifiers. These studies show remarkable numbers with regard to plant and animal growth. Then finally, in the city where I live, rice hull biochar is a hot commodity when incorporated into potting soils in greenhouses. Why burn biochar when it sells at such a good price, especially when it is worth far more than the biomass from which it was derived? So I cannot help but conclude that stoves that do not burn biochar, but make it, are incredibly important. Also, if I were to burn biochar within the reactor of my TLUD, this would be such an inefficient exercise, since the distance between the pot and the burning biochar would be so great.

No, it makes so much sense to keep the biochar. We can feed biochar to pigs, cows and chickens. We then take the solid waste from these animals and feed it to BSF larvae. We then take the residue of the larvae and feed it to red worms, and finally we take the vermi-compost loaded with biochar back to the soil. The biochar passes through the gut of three creatures before it gets incorporated into the soil. When we put biochar in a dry bedding for pigs and cows, listen carefully, there is no urine or ammonia smell. We have virtually odorless pig pens. The pigs play in the bedding and even eat it. More than 60 farmers in the area have now adopted this way of raising pigs. All of these farmer use biochar. Also there are no flies around these pig pens. Antibiotics are no longer used. Not a single piglet gets diarrhea.

The pig farmers make rice wine, and the mash gets fed to the pigs. I will start supplying gasifiers to these pig farmers for the distillation of their rice wine. The burning of low-grade biomass for rice wine distillation will stop. The farmers will then be able to make their own biochar to incorporate into pig bedding..."

Wednesday, 26 June 2013

Characterization of Local Mill Rice Husk Charcoal and Its Effect on Compost Properties

This new publication on rice husk char application and testing can be added to the extensive list of research papers and interest in using these crop wastes as a biochar soil amendment. A search on this website for 'rice' will provide links to 14 previous posts related to the subject of RHC.
ABSTRACT
"Rice husk charcoal (RHC) is a by-product of rice processing mills which can befound in very large quantities in these mills. This industrial waste is largely unutilized, causing environmental pollution especially in the state of Kelantan. In order to increase its utilization, RHC was characterized and investigated for its potential in enhancing the composting process. Physico-chemical properties of RHC such as pH, nutrient content, ash content, CEC, adsorption kinetics, surface area, functional groups, surface structure and pore sizes were studied. The composting treatments were carried out by mixing 4% (wt/wt) and 6% wt/wt) RHC with organic substrates and with no RHC amended as control. Parameters such as daily temperature, CO2 flux, nutrient content, pH, moisture and total microbial count were measured during the composting process. Results showed that RHC is a highly alkaline material (pH 8.9) with a carbon content of 16% (wt/wt dry basis), CEC of 17cmol kg-1soil, BET surface area of 401 mg g-1 and a methylene blue Adsorption capacity of 38.8 mg g-1. The presence of C=O carboxyl-C, ketones and ester, aliphatic C=H, C=C benzene ring and C-H aromatic hydrogen suggests that RHC mainly comprises amorphous char, a random mixture of thermally altered molecules and aromatic polycondensates. The addition of RHC to organic matter accelerated the composting process through higher decomposition rates due to higher microbial population at the thermophilic stage with RHC acting as a bulking agent, as well as higher moisture and nutrient retention during composting. N losses were found to be lower with RHC composting."

Theeba, M.1*, Robert T. Bachmann2, Illani Z.I1, Zulkefli M1, Husni M.H.A3 and Samsuri A.W3
1Water and Soil Management Programme, Malaysian Agricultural Research Institute (MARDI) Persiaran UPM-MARDI, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
2Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Institute of Chemical and Bioengineering Technology (UNIKL-MICET), 78000 Alor Gajah Melaka, Malaysia
3Department of Land Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia , 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, MalaysiaKeywords: Rice husk charcoal, composting, physico-chemical, decomposition, nutrient retention
http://www.msss.com.my/mjss/Full%20Text/Vol%2016/Theeba.pdf
(I got a link warning on the msss site which I ignored. But please contact me if you want a copy of the report by email)

Sunday, 16 June 2013

Biochar making (Philippines) ... where are the TLUD's?

"With many Filipinos still dependent on agriculture, the government faces the challenge of reviving the sector that has posted sluggish growth over the past several years.

Agriculture is also suffering from a degraded environment partly caused by chemical use in farming.

At the first National Conference on Philippine Biochar on April 17, agriculture experts and government and private sector representatives proposed a way to improve soil fertility—biochar, or agricultural waste transformed into organic fertilizer.

The carbonized rice hull (CRH), a type of biochar, is an example of a product of the partial burning of rice hull. Instead of turning the outermost cover of rice grains into waste, it can be carbonized and turned into soil fertilizer. ...."

http://opinion.inquirer.net/54617/biochar-making

The article includes a chart on production but is not a step-by-step guide and does not seem to include TLUD which I think is a serious omission. Energy utilization should be an important aspect for the future and TLUD is a great pathway via cook stoves. A search on this site for "TLUD" pulls 4 reports... particular emphasis on the work of Paul Olivier in Vietnam (4Mar12 & 28Aug12).

Wednesday, 15 May 2013

New rice-husk char research results from Sarah Carter in Cambodia

The Impact of Biochar Application on Soil Properties and Plant Growth of Pot Grown Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and Cabbage (Brassica chinensis)
Abstract: The effect of rice-husk char (potentially biochar) application on the growth of transplanted lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and Chinese cabbage (Brassica chinensis) was assessed in a pot experiment over a three crop (lettuce-cabbage-lettuce) cycle in Cambodia. The biochar was the by-product of a rice-husk gasification unit and consisted of 28.7% carbon (C) by mass. Biochar application rates to potting medium of 25, 50 and 150 g kg−1 were used with and without locally available fertilizers (a mixture of compost, liquid compost and lake sediment). The rice-husk biochar used was slightly alkaline (pH 7.79), increased the pH of the soil, and contained elevated levels of some trace metals and exchangeable cations (K, Ca and Mg) in comparison to the soil. The biochar treatments were found to increase the final biomass, root biomass, plant height and number of leaves in all the cropping cycles in comparison to no biochar treatments. The greatest biomass increase due to biochar additions (903%) was found in the soils without fertilization, rather than fertilized soils (483% with the same biochar application as in the “without fertilization” case). Over the cropping cycles the impact was reduced; a 363% increase in biomass was observed in the third lettuce cycle.
http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/3/2/404

Thursday, 28 March 2013

Biochar related publication from Malaysia...

Characterization of Local Mill Rice Husk Charcoal and Its Effect on Compost Properties
ABSTRACT
Rice Husk Charcoal (RHC) is a by-product of rice processing mills which can be found in very large quantities in these mills. This industrial waste is largely unutilized, causing environmental pollution especially in the state of Kelantan. In order to increase its utilization, RHC was characterized and investigated for its potential in enhancing the composting process. Physico-chemical properties of RHC such as pH, nutrient content, ash content, CEC, adsorption kinetics, surface area, functional groups, surface structure and pore sizes were studied. The composting treatments were carried out by mixing 4% (wt/wt) and 6% (wt/wt) RHC with organic substrates and with no RHC amended as control. Parameters such as daily temperature, CO fux, nutrient content, pH, moisture and total microbial count were measured during the composting process. Results showed that RHC is a highly alkaline material (pH 8.9) with a carbon content of 16% (wt/wt dry basis), CEC of 17cmol kg-1 soil, BET surface area of 401 mg g-1 and a methylene blue adsorption capacity of 38.8 mg g-1. The presence of C=O carboxyl-C, ketones and ester, aliphatic C=H, C=C benzene ring and C-H aromatic hydrogen suggests that RHC mainly comprises amorphous char, a random mixture of thermally altered molecules and aromatic polycondensates.The addition of RHC to organic matter accelerated the composting process through higher decomposition rates due to higher microbial population at the thermophilic stage with RHC acting as a bulking agent, as well as higher moisture and nutrient retention during composting. N losses were found to be lower with RHC composting

http://www.msss.com.my/mjss/Full%20Text/Vol%2016/Theeba.pdf

Also published, some initial findings coming from the MPOB BEK work...

Production and physico-chemical characterization of biochar from palm kernel shell
http://biochar.jp/Kong_etal.pdf
Related reports...
http://sea-biochar.blogspot.com/2012/10/unikl-mpob-biochar-trials-update.html
http://sea-biochar.blogspot.com/2011/03/bek-arrives-in-malaysia.html

Tuesday, 28 August 2012

More SEA TLUD development work (Vietnam)

The fuel pellet industry could re-think its global distribution focus and start thinking local. There are plenty of good reasons why this type of stove should occupy every home in the future.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/22013094/Paper/Summaries/Gasification.docx

The parts of the 150 gasifier:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/22013094/150%20Gasifier/Jpegs/JP6/150%20Gasifier%20Parts.pdf
"If you open Bookmarks in 150 Gasifier Parts, you will find a description of each part."

Co/ Paul A. Olivier PhD
27C Pham Hong Thai Street
Dalat
Vietnam
Louisiana telephone: 1-337-447-4124 (rings Vietnam)
Mobile: 090-694-1573 (in Vietnam)
Skype address: Xpolivier
http://www.esrla.com/

Translator

Sunday, 10 March 2019

Abstract

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Sunday, 6 January 2019

Abstract

Friday, 30 November 2018

Tuesday, 16 October 2018

Effects of rice-husk biochar on sand-based rootzone amendment and creeping bentgrass growth

Monday, 7 May 2018

Monday, 28 November 2016

Sunday, 3 January 2016

Abstract

Monday, 18 May 2015

Thursday, 9 April 2015

Tuesday, 26 August 2014

Tuesday, 15 July 2014

Citation

Wednesday, 11 June 2014

Monday, 14 October 2013

Tuesday, 24 September 2013

Abstract

Saturday, 10 August 2013

Wednesday, 26 June 2013

Sunday, 16 June 2013

Wednesday, 15 May 2013

Thursday, 28 March 2013

Tuesday, 28 August 2012

South East Asia

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