UniKL - MPOB biochar trials update

The following report has been provided by Dr Robert Bachmann from UniKL on their biochar collaboration work with MPOB...

PKS biochar from BEK

"The Biochar Experimenter Kit (BEK) at the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) has now received a shelter place with concrete flooring and flue gas extraction system (Figure 1). Mr Kong Sieng-Huat, master student at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), has established that the BEK is able to give 30 % yield of palm kernel shell (PKS) biochar from the current controlled conditions in batch production (retort mode). The biochar is then subjected to a series of physico-chemical characterizations to determine the most suitable biochar to be used in the designed field trial study (see below). A mini workshop was also conducted recently from 17-19 October 2012 to give local participants a better understanding on the operation of the BEK. "

BEK protected from elements in its new shelter

Rainshelter with automatic irrigation system

 with drips for 200 plants

"In March 2012, construction of a plant nursery facility began at Universiti Kuala Lumpur (MICET), Melaka, funded by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) (Figure 2). The purpose of this facility is to study the effect of biochar produced from oil palm plantation waste such as PKS, oil palm trunk, empty fruit bunch (EFB) and fronds on the growth of oil palm seedlings. Parameters such as cation exchange capacity (CEC), soil pH and water holding capacity, biomass yield, and chlorophyll content of palm oil leafs are investigated. The nursery has a capacity for 200 plants with an automatic irrigation system. The project is conducted by postgraduate (Arasu Uttran) and final year undergraduate students (Farain Zainal and Subki Awang) from the Environmental Engineering Technology Section supervised by Dr Robert Thomas Bachmann (UniKL MICET and Dr Loh Soh Kheang (MPOB). "


Reported by:
Sieng-Huat Kong (free2rhyme0628(at)hotmail.com) &
Arasu Uttran (arasu_biotech(at)yahoo.co.uk)

For further enquiries kindly contact:
Dr Loh Soh Kheang (MPOB): lohsk(at)mpob.gov.my
Dr Robert Thomas Bachmann (UniKL): bachmann(at)micet.unikl.edu.my

Bamboo, Pyrolysis, Bio-Char, ...

"www.co2drawdownsolutions.com Charlotte O'Brien, Director of Bio Bamboo and CO2 Drawdown Solutions, explains how to significantly draw down Carbon from the atmosphere and sequester it as a Bio-Char soil conditioner using Bamboo to fuel Pyrolysis. Adding the Bio-Char to depleted soil fosters the spread of Mycorrhizal fungus in the soil, which in turn creates Glomalin (which sequesters even more Carbon). The enriched soil then produces more biomass which can be processed into more biochar...the result is an exponential carbon draw down!
The process also generates a bevy of marketable bi-products."

Tapping oil palm biomass

It seems I've managed to get some main-stream press coverage here for biochar...

"A recent conference looks at ways to tap oil palm biomass.
At a recent conference on oil palm biomass, one of the presenters brought up the story of the mythical Lost City of El Dorado in the Amazon, reputedly a place with untold gold riches. Many treasure hunters had tried to locate it, but unsuccessfully. They found something else though – naturally occurring biochar.
Biochar is the resulting material when biomass (biological material derived from agricultural or forest produce) undergoes carbonisation under high temperatures. The same substance can be churned out from oil palm residues – along with a whole lot of other products. And so participants at the Malaysian Palm Oil Board’s (MPOB) International Oil Palm Biomass Conference on Sept 20 and 21 were rightly informed that oil palm biomass is a veritable goldmine. In fact, it might well be the El Dorado of Malaysia."
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2012/10/16/lifefocus/12094743&sec=lifefocus

You can contact me for a copy of my presentation, if of interest.

2012 USA Biochar Conference - videos

The organisers at Sonoma have done a great job, presenting the proceedings from this conference...
http://www.biochar-international.org/node/3635
http://www.2012.biochar.us.com/conference-videos

The Wilberforce Award (& Prosperity without Growth)

At the risk of getting a little off track, maybe this program by Dick Smith can attract some young biochar entrepreneurs ... (http://dicksmithpopulation.com/wilberforce-award/)
"It has become obvious to me that my generation has over exploited our wonderful world – and it’s younger people who will pay the price. Like many people my age, I’ve benefited from a long period of constant economic and population growth – we are addicted to it. But sooner or later this consumption growth will have an end. We appear to be already bumping against the limits of what our planet can sustain and the evidence is everywhere to see.
Right now I believe we could be sleepwalking to catastrophe because we are failing to both acknowledge that there are limits to growth in a finite world and to prepare for a more sustainable way of organising our economy. In the 19th Century, empires were built on the labour of slaves, and it was believed economies would collapse if slavery was abolished. But brave people like William Wilberforce fought to end the slave trade – and economies still flourished. We need brave people like Wilberforce today, and I want to encourage a new generation of clear-thinking and inspiring young leaders."
Linked to the webpage above, is recording of a lecture by Professor Tim Jackson entitled, “Prosperity without Growth”. This touches on carbon negative aspirations without specific mention of biochar. 
http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2010/07/bia_20100704_1705.mp3

Dilmah biochar trials in Sri Lanka

More news from Sri Lanka on the potential benefits of biochar for the tea industry...




This follows on from previous posts linked here...
http://sea-biochar.blogspot.com/2012/06/biochar-can-it-put-tea-industry-back-in.html

TESS to lead $1 million compost-biochar CFI project

This work in tropical Queensland may have future application and interest in SEA...

"TESS researcher Michael Bird will lead a consortium that will field trial compost, biochar and compost-biochar (COMBI) mixes on nine farms in North Queensland. The project is funded by the Federal Governments DAFF Carbon Farmin INitiative - Filling the Research Gap program.

Compost and biochar are used separately for improving soil condition and sequestering carbon, and have been shown to be of particular benefit in tropical agricultural soils. This project will mix biochar with organic waste prior to composting (COMBI-mix) to synergistically enhance the acknowledged benefits of both materials. We will (i) trial business as usual, compost alone, biochar alone, COMBI-mix and compost mixed with biochar at nine field sites across North Queensland, (ii) determine the impact of each on carbon sequestration, GHG fluxes and crop performance (iii) provide inputs to better model soil carbon in agricultural systems and (iv) model costs/benefits at the farm/regional/industry scale.

Funding body: DAFF - Carbon Farming Futures - Filling the Research Gap Programme"

Professor Michael Bird FRSE
Federation Fellow

Director, Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences
James Cook University
PO Box 6811 Cairns
Queensland, 4870, Australia
Phone:  +61-7-4042-1137
Fax: +61-7-4042-1284
email: michael.bird@jcu.edu.au
location: building A2 room 219

https://plone.jcu.edu.au/researchatjcu/research/tess/

   

August edition of the IBI newsletter

 A huge amount of news in the August IBI newsletter with links to output from the 2012 conference.
Only one reference to our region Co/ again, to activities in the Philippines.
I know there is a lot of regional activity... how about some interim reports & updates?

Research interest in biochar continues at an exponential pace... there are now 871 listings in the IBI biblio.
http://www.biochar-international.org/newsletter

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/

PlanetStove: Hybrid Biochar Cooking Stoves

Check out this program for TLUD in China...


Video presentation: http://www.indiegogo.com/PlanetStove?c=home

Biochar success in Hawaii

This video has interviews with a number of biochar users in tropical Hawaii. Their success (in what I assume to be rich volcanic soils) points toward even greater agriculture opportunities with poorer tropical soils.

Rubber wood industry research on Biochar from Sri Lanka

Included in the July IBI newsletter ...

"... However, Rubber research Institute of Sri Lanka (RRISL) pioneered systematic scientific research on biochar in Sri Lanka. Scientists at RRISL initiated few experiments in 2009 by producing biochar from firewood used in raw rubber manufacturing factories and applying them into rubber nurseries and field plants. They have found that biochar improves the fertility of rubber growing soil, reduce fertilizer usage, reduce leaching losses of plant nutrients and improve the growth of the rubber plants. They also produced biochar from several organic materials available in and around rubber plantations. In addition to this, scientists in the Dept. of Agricultural Engineering at the University of Peradeniya has produced a slow release urea fertilizer using biochar. In this year several institutions in Sri Lanka have initiated small scale experiments to investigate the effect of different types of biochar on soil quality, crop growth and yield, stability of biochar carbon in soil. The outcome of these studies will be known in the coming years. ..."
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=56301

More reports on biochar research in SEA from IBI

IBI have profiled on their website, work being led from Norway that includes collaborations with researchers in SEA...

Profile: Biochar Field Trials in Zambia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Nepal as well as New Biochar Characterization Research from a Team in Norway

"Field trial work in Indonesia began in January 2012 with several sites set up in collaboration with the Indonesian Soil Research Institute and UN Development Program. They are based in Sumatra (acid ultisol; corn, dry and wet rice), Kalimantan (acid sulphate soil; wet rice), West-Timor (alfisol; corn), and Sulawesi (sandy, acid soil; corn and cacao).

In June 2012, the team will establish field trials in Malaysia on degraded sandy soils using biochar produced from rice husk. Rice husk is one of the main waste biomass materials in the area and it will be produced at local rice mills (where the pyrolysis heat is used for drying the raw rice) and then compared to a material produced in a more controlled system based on the Belonio stove (a different stove model). The Malaysian partners include the University of Kuala Lumpur and the Malaysian Agricultural Institute (MARDI). The university of Kuala Lumpur has experience with producing biochar and possesses small scale equipment including a biochar experimental kit (BEK) which can produce a “designer biochar”.

http://www.biochar-international.org/profile/Zambia_field_trials_and_research?goback=.gde_2446475_member_135381937

Application of char products improves urban soil quality

Dr Subhadip Ghosh, researcher from Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology of National Parks Board, Singapore has conducted a research on using local char materials for urban soil management. Following is the abstract of the paper published in ‘Soil Use and Management’. This paper reports on the 1st phase of biochar related research from Singapore. Phase 2, utilising Black Earth biochar imported from Australia, is also completed and further larger scale research plans are in place.
"Abstract:
Urban soils are a key component of the urban ecosystem but little research has considered their quality and management. The use of char or partially combusted char products as a soil amendment is becoming popular worldwide because of perceived benefits to fertility and the potential for increasing carbon sequestration. In this study, we assessed the effect of applying coarse and fine char material on the quality of four different types of soil-based root-zone mixes typically used for turfgrass and general landscaping in Singapore: clay loam soil, approved soil mix (ASM, 3 soil:2 compost:1 sand), 50:50 (sand ⁄ soil) and 75:25 (sand ⁄ soil). Char briquettes made from sawdust were mixed thoroughly at rates of 25, 50 and 75% by volume with the soil mixes. Results showed that addition of char (both coarse and fine) significantly enhanced the carbon content of the mixes, with the largest increase being associated with the 50% and 75% additions. Soil nutrients (total N, extractable P, K, Ca and Mg) and mean weight diameter of aggregates were also significantly increased following the application of char. The clay loam and the 50:50 and 75:25 soil mixes were more responsive to the addition of char than was ASM."

S. Ghosh, D.Yeo, B.Wilson & L.F.Ow
1 Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology, National Parks Board, Singapore 259569, Singapore,
2 School of Environmental and Rural Sciences, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia,
3 Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543, Singapore, and
4 Office of Environment and Heritage, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
Soil Use and Management (In Press). doi: 10.1111/j.1475-2743.2012.00416.

Do Anthropogenic Dark Earths Occur in the Interior of Borneo? Some Initial Observations from East Kalimantan

Two new articles covering a new publication on ADE in Kalimantan, dug up by Erich Knight...
"Tiem, Punyuh & Tanah Hitam ; It's all TP to me, but Anthropogenic Dark Earths (ADEs) are popping up all over.
As I reported May 15, about new TP soils in Borneo, (below), now we have new find in Malinau [East Kalimantan]
Charred lands: fertile grounds for sustainable agriculture in Kalimantan?
http://blog.cifor.org/8929/charred-lands-fertile-grounds-for-sustainable-agriculture-in-kalimantan/#.T_fYQvVmPPp

TP in Asia,... Indonesian Anthropogenic Black Earth; Now along the lines of the African traditions of  both the African Ankara system and Batibo technique and no dough more akin to the Malaysian char practice Malay tanah hitam (black soil), we have Borneo Black Soils;
Terra preta found in Asia
http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0514-hance-terra-preta-borneo.html#

"Abstract: Anthropogenic soils of the Amazon Basin (Terra Preta, Terra Mulata) reveal that pre-Colombian peoples made lasting improvements in the agricultural potential of nutrient-poor soils. Some have argued that applying similar techniques could improve  agriculture over much of the humid tropics, enhancing local livelihoods and food security, while also sequestering large quantities of carbon to mitigate climate change. Here, we present preliminary evidence for Anthropogenic Dark Earths (ADEs) in tropical Asia. Our surveys in East Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) identified several sites where soils possess an anthropogenic development and context similar in several respects to the Amazon’s ADEs. Similarities include riverside locations, presence of useful fruit trees, spatial extent as well as soil characteristics such as dark color, high carbon content (in some cases), high phosphorus levels, and improved apparent fertility in comparison to neighboring soils.  Local people value these soils for cultivation but are unaware of their origins. We discuss these soils in the context of local history and land-use and identify numerous unknowns. Incomplete biomass burning appears key to these modified soils. More study is required to clarify soil transformations in Borneo and to determine under what circumstances such soil improvements might remain ongoing."