At one point in 2007, the blue-green algae ("spirulina") grown in
Keahole Point was available at the Farm Co-op in Hilo as a interesting fertilizer at a
reasonable price. But, either they stopped making it, or it is no
longer available locally. Maybe they export it all now.
Bone meal or other byproducts from the two slaughterhouses on the
island?
According to some 2006 Mealani proceedings, "the Pa'auilo facility
will be able to convert offal to tallow and meat & bone meal. This in
theory should help the bottom line for the plant." That facility
is called "Hawaii Big Island Beef", which has a
one-page site, phone
866-449-BEEF (2223). That number isn't right; correct is 776-1109.
Called them, and Jill said: The rendering plant isn't online yet - some
money holdup - but a farmer could come on down to the plant and take
away raw waste. Plant is between 36/37 mile marker, makai of
highway. She says she is usually there, or if not her then Mark.
The history of the facility is covered by HIJ (not online) and a
version appears in Honolulu Weekly (Hawai'i
Island Issue)
Dropped by on Mar. 14. Jill and Mark were not there. A
couple guys were, they said come back next Monday.
A knowledgeable person, Betty Spence (885-5599) is wired into the
island beef industry
Brewer Environmental Industries, LLC (BEI)
appears to be the major fertilizer distributor on the island
but do they carry anything that has a local source?
Hilo Branch: 430 Kekuanaoa Street Hilo, HI 96720, 933-7800
Dilute with water (typically 1:20) and molasses, and wait 5-10
days. You have about 30-45 days to use it at that point.
EM and composting
The teaching guide "Transforming Waste…to Wonderful!" (page 11) says there are two
approaches for composting:
EM Bokashi for anaerobic.
EM 1 liquid for aerobic, including traditional compost piles.
"Aerobic compost can be made in the usual manner of layering organic
materials. Inoculate the materials with a solution of EM 1 and molasses
at a dilution of 1:1000 as they are added to the pile. Use 3 gallons of
this diluted solution per cubic yard of materials in the pile. This is
equivalent to 3 teaspoons of EM 1, 3 teaspoons of molasses to 3 gallons
of water. Apply with sufficient water to be wringing wet."
EM America's
composting page says: "For 100% green waste, add 1 gallon activated
EM 1 Waste Treatment, per ton."
So.. if i apply EM 1 to an aerobic compost pile, should i cover the pile
to make it deliberately anaerobic?
If EM is a group of microbes that feed off each other and reproduce,
can't we farmers just buy one batch to start with and grow it ourselves?
Does it perhaps require strict laboratory conditions to keep the
microbial balance just right? Or do the strains of microbe need to be
grown separately, and only combined later?
EM America says it's all
produced at
EMRO USA's "food-grade facility in Tucson, AZ."
Their
FAQ says: "In the U.S., the microorganisms are purchased from a U.S.
national microbial bank and then kept and cultured within EMRO USA's
laboratory at its manufacturing facility. [..] [the result] is a
controlled and stable microbial culture with a 9-month shelf life."
EM vs. Compost Tea
Both methods have their fanatic adherents. Both involve plants and
soil that benefit greatly from heightened levels of naturally occurring
microbes. The difference seems to be that Compost Tea is more
perishable (use within a day) and variable (not sure what mix of microbes
you might get, could be great, or so-so.) The advantage of EM seems to
be that it's controlled (known useful microbes) and has a shelf-life, so it
can be stored (and sold as a franchise.) The advantage of Compost Tea
is that any farmer can make it themselves, with no need for some laboratory
to buy it from and ship it.
Biochar
Seedlings illustrating the difference between plants grown in
biochar-amended soil (darker soil on the right).
There is a lot of hype about the use of charcoal to:
improve the agricultural performance of (especially tropical) soils
Found that choice of charcoal, for Hawaiian soils, matters
greatly. It has to do with the amount of "Volatile
Matter" in the charcoal. Typical stuff (like store-bought
charcoal briquettes) can actually reduce plant growth.
So, how does one ensure that the volatile matter content is low?
UH: Flash Carbonization:
Summary from
CTAHR News: "Flash-carbonized charcoal was developed by UH Manoa
professor Michael Antal. Flash carbonization locks carbon into a stable,
biologically unavailable form, so flash carbonizing agricultural wastes
prevents them from releasing greenhouse gasses. Charcoal can also
improve a soil’s ability to retain water and minerals. However,
student-turned-research assistant Tai McClellan has found that the
degree of carbonization is critical: adding highly carbonized macadamia
nutshell charcoal to soil can benefit plants, but poorly carbonized
charcoal contains volatile compounds that inhibit plant growth."
Carbon Diversion,
located in Waianae, Oahu. Aims to set up plants.
July 2007: Oakland, CA-based Kingsford obtains the rights to use
UH's "flash carbonization" process for cooking charcoal.
"Pacific Carbon and Graphite" which has no website
Although "the charcoal produced in Antal's kiln can be used as a
metal reductant, fertilizer, cooking charcoal, or to replace fuel coal",
none of the licensees are yet making fertilizer.
"among the world’s pioneer researchers [..] finding biochar to be a
revolutionary long-term soil alternative to conventional fertilizer
application."
April 2008
press coverage: "now preparing to expand his research and apply the
charcoal to the soils of DSU’s Blendt Farm near Smyrna."
April 11, 2008:
Charcoal May Help Improve Soil Quality on NPR. Guo is
extremely enthusiastic, but unfortunately implies that regular
store-bought charcoal might be fine for soil.
The Eprida process uses some of the hydrogen released in the
pyrolysis process to capture nitrogen and carbon dioxide from the air,
converting nitrogen to ammonium bicarbonate (NH 4 HCO 3 ) fertilizer
inside the pores of the charcoal
Company is in Athens GA, with partners in China.
Although the 2006 Nature article says Eprida "builds
contraptions that farmers can use to turn farm waste into biofuel while
making char ", the Eprida site in 2008 says "the company is now
developing a small-scale unit..." It appears no actual
device is yet available; they are looking for investors, not customers.
The first Eprida licensee, they are proposing to build a larger
version of the Eprida research machine, at an estimated cost of $4
million, capable of 1 megawatt/hour, biodiesel, and 400-800 lbs enriched
biochar/day.
Their FAQ specifically mentions Kaua'i as a proposed site!
"Without utilizing [a] tax credit, the Eprida machine just on energy and
sales of fertilizer should pay itself off in three years in Kauai."
Japan
The Japanese have apparently been studying biochar for agriculture
for a long time, some references back to 1990
He worked with EPRIDA in Georgia, then in Hangzhou China, where he
has a company called
SAFFE.
SAFFE seems to deal with technologies which are proven (biochar),
semi-proven (EM) and questionable (sonic bloom). It does have a
website with some
in English.
a Canadian company (Ontario) trying to produce a portable
clean pyrolysis machine
their website says "Currently we are in the final stages of testing
the pilot plant", but it is all dated 2006
Does the type of wood matter much? Could we use the abundantly
fast-growing species around here - guava, eucalyptus? A classic 1963
document on
Eucalyptus robusta says it's a hardwood with most properties
similar to other good trees.
How best to make it, on the scale of a small farm?
Drying is important: "If you use green wood you will use a lot of
energy just driving off the water."
Making Charcoal has pictures for step-by-step. But it is still
a lot of mess for a backyard or farm.
According to a paper, the optimum biochar characteristics result from
firing at around 500 degrees C.
The paper is "Temperature effects on C recovery, CEC, pH and
surface area" from Lehmann (2007), Front. Ecol. Environ. 5:381-387.
Apparently it is not online, although the same chart appears in
other Lehmann publications.
Apparently, none of the commercially proposed char-production
machines (Carbon Diversion, Eprida/eGenesis, BEST)will be available for
the scale of a single farm. They are all aiming for much larger
scale.
Flanagan's small stove might make some char, but it is apparently
not available.
There are other cool small efficient wood stoves, such as the
Rocket Stove, but they do not
produce char.
Is there perhaps a source or site for charcoal production anywhere in
Hawaii?
On 3/10, wrote Dr. Antal and Dr. Uehara (mantal@hawaii.edu,
goro@hawaii.edu)
On 3/20, wrote Dr. Steiner and Dr. Deenik (steiner@hawaii.edu,
jdeenik@hawaii.edu)
On 3/20, called Carbon Diversion (808 671-1858 Oahu) and talked to
Chris. He says they are looking at the potential of biochar
projects here on the Big Island! Hopefully, more info soon.
3/21 Emailed Robert Flanagan, asking if his char-producing cook
stove is available in any form.
3/22, 3/24 Heard back from Dr. Antal, he just returned from a
lecture tour in NZ. He says he and Dr. Uehara have written many
proposals for terra preta research which have been unfortunately not
funded.
3/24 Heard from Kelpie Wilson in Oregon, who has a Flanagan char
stove prototype.
3/25 Spoke with Chris Venn of Carbon Diversion. He says they are
considering projects in 3 places around the island, that they are near
completion on a larger processing plant, should be
more news soon.
3/28 Heard from Dr. Uehara, who says:
"We are now conducting additional studies to understand how and
why volatile matter depresses plant growth. We hope to have some
answers by the end of this summer.
The charcoal produced by Carbon Diversion has been consistently
low in volatile matter content so its charcoal should not cause any
problems."
3/28 Wrote Flanagan again at his other address.
4/3 Visit from Michael Lurvey of Carbon Diversion here on my farm.
No new info, no availability of char from them.
4/14 Contact from Flanagan: keeping fingers crossed on progress of
char-making stove to be built in China, hopefully more news by end of
month. He recommends looking into Indian company
Ankur Scientific which
makes gasifiers at good prices. Ankur doesn't mention char on
their website but they could configure a unit to produce it along with
the energy.
Ankur: they possibly charge about $140k for a 500Kg/hr unit that
will produce about 300kW electric power
Newer:
The
Charcoal Vision: A Win–Win–Win Scenario for Simultaneously Producing
Bioenergy, Permanently Sequestering Carbon, while Improving Soil and
Water Quality
by: David Laird, USDA ARS, National Soil Tilth Laboratory, Ames,
IA
Charcoalab is a cool small
program to give kids hands-on education with char and growing plants
currently in small pilot program, not yet generally available
education video resources for spreading the word
Australian video,
Agrichar –
A solution to global warming?, 2007, 11 minutes, streamable online
but not downloadable. Wrote them about it, and they said it is
downloadable but not here (geo-blocked to Australia) and orderable (around us$61).
Honolulu Advertiser,
Biomass to charcoal in a flash, 2007-07-28, 90 seconds, Dr. Antal's
briefly describes his flash process and how it could be a clean energy
source for Hawaii. Doesn't mention agricultural use.
Carbon Markets
If carbon markets are properly set up to reward requesting carbon, then
farmers should be able to receive payments for building the carbon in their
soil or on their land. What's the status of being able to do this in
Hawai'i?
"allows [people] to earn income by storing carbon in their soil
through no-till crop production, conversion of cropland to grass,
sustainable management of native rangelands and tree plantings on
previously non-forested or degraded land. In addition, the capture of
methane from anaerobic manure digester systems can also earn carbon
credits."
provide two primary services: providing carbon offsets for sale to the public
and helping local businesses inventory and evaluate their greenhouse gas
emissions.
Do they work with farms? They say they work "largely through
renewable energy projects."
This site covers a workshop to try to educate carbon-trading systems
on the many ways in which agriculture can sequester carbon. It is
based in the northeast USA.
Terra
Preta: Agriculture Carbon Trading, David Yarrow, May 21, 2008,
attended the workshop and found that nobody was educated on biochar.
There were just 3 methods recognized:
1) avoided or destroyed methane (primarily from anaerobic manure
handling)
2) afforestation (replanting land with no recent history with trees)
3) conservation grassland (no till, except ridge till & planting
grassland set asides, no hay or grazing)
Cornell:
Associate Professor Johannes Lehmann