Biochar

Ok, I'm really sorry it's been so long since I've posted here. I have no excuse, really, except to say that the longer it got, the more daunting a task it seemed to 'catch up' with my blogging. So I've decided to pick up with today and maybe, eventually I'll go back and fill in the last few months. And if not, I guess you'll actually have to talk to me to find out what's happened.

Yesterday my colleagues from the Jefferson Conservation District and I went to see the new biochar machine we are looking into purchasing through a NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) Conservation and Innovation Grant (CIG). Biochar is a kind of charcoal that is created by, simply, putting a lot of pressure on wood chips. It is a great opportunity in conjunction with our forest management work because it allows the leftover wood from trees that were cut down to be put to good use. The biochar sequesters carbon and has been shown to be hugely effective as a soil supplement, like compost. Additionally, the machine we are looking at has the potential to create energy, meaning that, if used properly, it can have nearly zero net use of energy and carbon. Very cool.

This was the first time any of us had seen a biochar machine in action and we all felt a little like the kids visiting Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. In addition to being excited about a new toy, the machine functioned like that giant machine Willy Wonka uses to create the tiny piece of dinner gum (you know, the one that turns Violet violet). The wood went in to this behemoth of a machine and then all you hear are these gears creaking somewhere in the depths of the machine, some banging and, finally, the clunk clunk clunk of these small wooden biochar pieces falling to the end. Cool, but strange. And to think it might soon be ours.