INTERNATIONAL BIOCHAR NEWS
November 2018
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Highlights from this Month's News
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In this month's edition, look for news, ideas and trends like these:
- Asia Pacific conference brings money together
- A call for new members
- Good reads
- The climate imperative
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From the Chair
by Tom Miles, International Biochar Initiative
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4th Asia Pacific Biochar Conference
I had the pleasure of attending the 4th Asia Pacific Biochar Conference this month in Foshan, Guangdong, China. There were about 300 attendees, one-third from outside China. Several visitors were professors or students in China. Delegations included the Korea Biochar Research Center, Singapore University, Japan Biochar Association, Australian and other researchers from the region, Europe, and North America. There was a lively student poster competition. Celebrations included a formal opening and a banquet with a Lion Dance to celebrate the season. I attended the first meeting of the editorial board for a new journal,
Biochar
. The conference generated enthusiasm for more international exchange and collaboration.
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IBI Science Committee members Dr. Ellen Graber, chair, and Dr. Frederik Ronsse, and IBI Education committee chair, Dr Stephen Joseph attended so we were able to discuss strategies for improving scientific exchange with industry and IBI educational tools.
Presentations included formulations and uses of biochars from crop straws in biochar-based fertilizers; environmental uses of biochar, including soil remediation; construction materials; storage batteries; measuring dynamic redox and pH with biochar in soils over time; wood vinegar; disease resilience; carbon nanomaterials and their interaction with plant roots; and field trials with biochar and biochar fertilizer formulations.
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Several commercial plants were described which ranged in capacity from 5,000 TPY to 40,000 TPY biochar. Marketing and distribution arrangements in the region are not clear, but it is likely that they are now producing about 250,000 tons of biochar and biochar-based fertilizers per year.
Many thanks to Dr. Hailong Wang, Foshan University and his collaborators, for a successful and inspiring conference. IBI welcomes the increased participation and support from Asia Pacific countries.
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COP24 Poland 3-14 December
The International Biochar Initiative (IBI) is sending delegates to the upcoming UN Climate Convention COP24 in Katowice, Poland. If you are a delegate registered with UNFCCC to attend the UN zone and would like to discuss all things biochar, please come to the IBI’s Booth (Nr. 151) at 2pm on Tuesday Dec 4 or Monday December 10. IBI Board members will meet you there for conversations on biochar research and activities around the globe or to discuss how biochar may be of interest to policy makers, NGOs and donors during the two-week convention. A
GoFundMe campaign
(
https://www.gofundme.com/biochar-cop24-travel-project
) has been set up to help send various biochar experts to the COP. Any financial support is greatly appreciated!
What can IBI do for You?
Well, help save your world for one thing. It is becoming clearer every year that negative emissions technologies like biochar will be needed to avoid dire consequences for the planet. Transnational cooperation through organizations like the International Biochar Initiative to foster knowledge, standards, and connection will be necessary to enlist enough understanding and action to make biochar a significant part of a climate solution. The IPCC recently recognized biochar as a viable strategy for sequestering carbon. Given this important acknowledgement and the growing interest in biochar across the globe, and as the organization best positioned to represent the global biochar movement, IBI requested and received observer organization status for 3 delegates per week to attend COP24. Participation at COP was not included in IBI’s budget which is why an impromptu fundraiser was initiated to help defray travel expenses. Clearly, we must step up our financial game in order to assume the role that has been laid on our organization.
One way we intend to do that is to convince more readers of this newsletter to become IBI members. In doing so, it is not donations we are seeking. We feel that the work of IBI rewards not just society as a whole, but members and sponsoring organizations richly through a growing number of information and networking channels IBI offers, as well as the opportunity to participate in shaping policy and regulations. In addition to our services to the general public, organizational and individual members have free access to: periodic IBI webinars and archives, white papers, a monthly research bibliography with condensed abstracts, and contact information through the IBI member directory. As you read this today, please consider taking a few minutes to
become a member
so that you can help propel the Initiative into fulfilment of its mission and that you and your organization can become more integral with the new carbon economy. We would also like take this opportunity to thank our hundreds of current members for their continuing support and participation this year and, hopefully as we grow.
Maize & Biochar White Paper
Maize and biochar projects Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Thailand and the United States are highlighted in the report. Project coordinators identified various drivers and benefits for conducting biochar trials including:
- Ability to improve waste (residue) management
- Improved outdoor air quality
- Reduced dependence on chemical fertilizers
- Potential to utilize heat from carbonization to dry corn
- Increased economic development; employment for rural villagers to produce biochar.
In addition to project highlights, peer reviewed research on the benefits of using biochar in maize cultivation and processing are summarized. Recommendations for future research related to biochar use in maize production are also provided.
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OpenGeoHub has launched their
LandGIS
tool that offers a free, easy-to-use global atlas of land use and data. It does not contain data about biochar specifically, but such a
tool being developed
by Michael Babcock is in its final stages of beta testing. Contact him at
mebabcoc@usc.edu
to test or assist.
The long-awaited book on carbon cascades,
Burn: Using Fire to Cool the Earth
(February 2019) by Albert Bates and Kathleen Draper, is a promising look at how biochar, along with other technologies, may be key to curbing global warming. Seeking more understanding of biochar applications and production, an Amazon search produces a flurry of recent and upcoming book titles:
Gardening with Biochar: Supercharge Your Soil with Bioactivated Charcoal: Grow Healthier Plants, Create Nutrient-Rich Soil, and Increase Your Harvest
(January 2019) by Jeff Cox,
Biochar from Biomass and Waste: Fundamentals and Applications
(November 2018) by Yong Sik Ok and Daniel C.W. Tsang,
Making Charcoal and Biochar: A Comprehensive Guide
(May 2018) by Rebecca Oaks,
Non-soil Biochar Applications
(September 2018) by Dimitrios Kalderis and Dimitrios Ntarlagiannis,
Biochar
,
Activated Biochar & Its Applications
(February 2018) by Hossein Ghafourian are all primarily oriented to biochar. These are noted not necessarily as recommendations, but as an indication that knowledge, comprehension, and interest around biochar continues to grow as strong as ever.
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NORTH AMERICA
IBI contributed to assessing the state of the biochar industry in the U.S. Using surveys and follow-up inquiries at the August USBI conference, the final report assesses the market to be favorable for growth of the industry, with the best yet to come. See this, and other open-access reports on environmental topics produced by Dovetail Partners at their
website
.
The U.S. released
Volume 2
of its latest National Climate Assessment in which biochar receives scant mention (Chapter 10 - Agriculture). According to the report, the agricultural sector accounts for 9% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions (2015) but is also “one of the few sectors with the potential for significant increases in carbon sequestration to offset GHG emissions.” Though the report focuses on impacts and risks of climate change, it also touches on mitigation and adaptation, however deferring resolution to state and local entities.
Michael Shafer of Warm Heart Worldwide stresses that, while the need to mitigate anthropogenic climate change through forests and wetlands is clear to many (even without studying a 1,000+ page government assessment), few currently understand the
importance of biochar
. Yet, while several esoteric carbon removal technologies under consideration are untested, expensive, and decades from commercialization, biochar
is
established, as well as being popular with a wider set of users outside the technocracy.
The Nature Conservancy has produced a
report
on implementing several natural climate solution pathways in the U.S. Biochar is prominent in the study’s portfolio of pathways but requires a higher price on carbon than most in order to achieve its potential. Furthermore, the estimate of biochar’s potential in the Nature Conservancy report may be low because only crop residue feedstock is considered, whereas most biochar in the U.S. today is made from wood waste. The estimate also does not include the myriad non-agricultural applications of biochar. The book,
Burn: Using Fire to Cool the Earth
, by Albert Bates and Kathleen Draper takes a closer look at these new potentials.
Designers of Paradise
recently hosted Kathleen for a podcast, one of several they plan in the coming months introducing listeners to biochar and all the things that can be done with it.
The latest Natural Climate Solutions paper builds on research which Dr. Bronson Griscom, Director, Forest Carbon Science at the Nature Conservancy, presented at COP23 in Bonn. Griscom was lead author on a
major 2017 paper
that reviewed global data on human CO
2
equivalent emissions and the natural resources capable of removing CO
2
from the atmosphere. Dr. Griscom estimated that natural pathways alone (e.g. biochar, forests, grasslands, wetlands) worldwide could conceivably remove 37.4 gigatons of CO
2
equivalent from the atmosphere annually, 2.4 gigatons more than the 35 gigatons human activity releases!
Lebanon, Tennessee’s award-winning gasifier project carries
many lessons
for other municipalities that may choose to manage waste through gasification. Understanding and developing the market for biochar is one. They have discovered that Tennesseans need more convincing that “biochar can reduce commercial fertilizer costs, improve crop yields, and enable crops to germinate earlier”. In response to that need, The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture (UTIA) is trialing Lebanon’s biochar in
five different areas
of the state.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is accepting
public comments
through December 10
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on draft guidelines for up to $4 million in new demonstration projects designed to achieve reductions of methane emissions from California dairy and livestock operations.
EUROPE
Carbon Gold’s untarnished success in
reviving diseased trees
by injecting biochar fertilizer around the roots has shown that biochar has a place in landscapes, both urban and rural.
At the
4th Finnish Biochar Seminar
on December 11th in Helsinki, there will be a discussion about the shape and future of the
Nordic Biochar Network
. This is a great opportunity to get involved in the network and at the same time check out Finland's activities around biochar.
Some highlights of the June 2018 IBI Study Tour in Austria are nicely documented in a
video
produced by the Norwegian Carbo-Fertil Project. Austria is shown to be leading the industry in Europe and has recently crossed a major hurdle by obtaining official acceptance of biochar as an organic agricultural soil amendment.
AFRICA
The
BioSmart Initiative
, a project supporting families in Kadzinuni, Kenya with improved charcoal / biochar capabilities, has reached the production and agricultural field trial stage with their first furnace design. They are seeking grants and design assistance to improve their locally fabricated furnace and scale up to mass production. Contact them at
aels202@exeter.ac.uk
(Arthur Speak),
zas206@exeter.ac.uk
(Zain Shaikh), or
biosmart.exeter@gmail.com
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AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC
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American Geophysical Union.
December 10 – 14, 2018. Washington, D.C. Session GC014 is “Assessment, Modeling, and planning: Biochar Production, Characterization, Soil Amendment, Agricultural and Environmental Applications.”
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Global Earth Repair Conference
May 3 – 5, 2019. Port Townsend, Washington.
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14th Global Summit and Expo on Biomass and Bioenergy
August 26-27, 2019 Vienna, Austria. Theme: Effective utilization of biomass for sustainable development
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2018-2019 International Soils Meeting
January 6-9, 2019 | San Diego, CA More than fifty papers on biochar from around the world.
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USBI-BANR 2019 Conference
June 30 – July 3, 2019. Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, Colorado. “From Biomass to Biochar & Bioenergy – Bridging Science and Opportunities.”
https://biochar-us.org
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Bio-Char II: Production, Characterization and Applications
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The 12th annual International Biomass Conference & Expo
March 18-20, 2019, Savannah, GA.
The largest gathering of biomass professionals and academics in the world.
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Third ANZ Biochar Conference
October 20-26, 2019 Green Triangle Region & Melbourne Metro, Australia. In conjunction with the first ANZBI Study Tour. Conference theme is “Mainstreaming Biochar.”
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ANZBI Webinar: Biochar in Concrete
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Tuesday, December 18 @ 2 pm NSW AEDT
(Free to Australia and New Zealand Biochar Initiative members.) A fascinating look into research work done at the University of Singapore by a research team that experimented with sawdust biochar in concrete. They are now aiming to commercialize this method.
Associate Professor Kua Harn Wei is from the Department of Building and currently is the Assistant Dean (Academic) of School of Design and Environment at National University of Singapore. His research interest is in life cycle sustainability assessment of building materials and the technological aspects of bio-based building materials. He has authored about 100 articles in these research areas. The sustainability assessment model that he created is capable of measuring the level of vulnerability and resilience of the life cycle of the materials or systems under study. He has won more than 50 different academic awards and delivered more than 50 invited speeches around the world. He is currently involved in research collaborations with groups in China, USA, Italy, Colombia, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia on these research topics.
For more information on this work, click on the photo:
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Biochar-related jobs, scholarships, and opportunities
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Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières is seeking a
Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Surface/Interface Chemistry
who must have expertise in the field of characterization of surface and interface phenomena and will be capable of initiating and directing original research work, specifically dealing with the preparation and activation of biochar generated from biomasses and functionalization and use of activated biochar as catalyzers or adsorbents.
Research Grant
– Viseu Polytechnic Institute, Portugal -. Includes field and laboratory tests to evaluate the influence of extracts and bioactive compounds derived from by-products of vegetable origin on the feeding of chickens for fattening, and of biochar in the treatment and agricultural valorization of livestock effluents. Application deadline:
04 December 2018
Agriculture Environmental Engineer
- Netatech Engineering, Singapore - to consult, design, and manage environmental applications of agricultural projects. Specific tasks include: Manage issues of soil degradation and leaching of agricultural chemicals in different soils, as well land rehabilitation including the application of biochar for removing contaminants in soil. Application deadline:
04 December 2018
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Here are just a few of the papers recently published regarding biochar. These are selected by IBI staff from the nearly 200 journal articles included in the latest monthly list available on
your IBI Member homepage
. The list contains highlights and cogent quotes from abstracts to make it easy for you to find articles of interest. You will also automatically receive the research paper list by e-mail every month - just one more reason to
join IBI and keep up with all the exciting developments!
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- Making compost fun for fungi:
Duan, Y., Awasthi, S., Chen, H., Liu, T., … Z. Z.-B., Evaluating the impact of bamboo biochar on the fungal community succession during
chicken manure composting
. Elsevier.
View Source
From the Abstract:
"... higher dosage of biochar applied treatments has significant correlation between fungal communities and environmental factors.”
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Rasa, K., Heikkinen, J., Hannula, M., Arstila, K., … S. K.-B. and, How and why does willow biochar increase a clay
soil water retention
capacity? Elsevier.
View Source
From the Abstract:
"After biochar addition, changes in soil porosity were detected at pore size regimes 5–10 and 25 μm, i.e. biochar pore sizes multiplied by factor 0.5. The detected pore size distribution of biochar does not predict directly (1:1 compatibility) the changes observed in the soil moisture characteristics. It is likely that biochar chemistry and pore morphology affect biochar-water interactions via e.g. surface roughness and contact angle.”
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Yusif, S., Habib, M., Forestry, N. H.-J. of R. in, Wildlife, Impact of biochar and arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculation on
root colonization and selected soil chemical properties
in south western Nigeria. Ajol.Info.
View Source
From the Abstract:
"... amendment with the 20t ha-1 of biochar recorded significantly (p<0.05) higher values of AM root colonization (46.25%), soil pH (7.05) and available P (13.93 mg kg-1) when compared to other biochar rates though comparable with 15 t ha-1 in soil pH (7.05) and available P (12.26 mg kg-1). It is therefore concluded that AM inoculation in biochar-amended soil improved root colonization while biochar application enhances root colonization, soil pH and available P.”
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- It's raining, it's pouring, the nitrate, we're storing:
Tian, J., Jin, J., Chiu, P., Cha, D., Guo, M., Research, P. I.-W., A pilot-scale, bi-layer bioretention system with biochar and zero-valent iron for enhanced
nitrate removal from stormwater
. Elsevier.
View Source
From the Abstract:
"Compared to the Control cell without amendments, the Biochar/ZVI cell increased water retention by 11–27% and mean residence time by 0.7–3.8 h. The vadose zone of the Biochar/ZVI cell removed 30.6–95.7% (0.6–12.7 g) of NO3-N from the influent, as compared with −6.1–89.6% (−0.1–2.9 g) by that of the Control cell.”
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- Chicken soup for the soil:
El-Naggar, A., Lee, S., Rinklebe, J., Farooq, M., Geoderma, H. S.-, Biochar application to
low fertility soils
: A review of current status, and future prospects. Elsevier.
View Source
From the Abstract:
"... the economic feasibility of biochar application cannot be neglected. Strategies for reducing biochar losses and its application costs, and increasing its use efficiency need to be developed.”
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