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PROPOSED BUSINESS PLAN FOR BIOCHAR
DEVELOPMENT OF A BIOCHAR BUSINESS
The Biochar business is part of the pyrolysis of biomass into syngas and biochar. This study reflects mostly on the biochar product. Research notes on syngas and biochar are at: http://algaloildiesel.wetpaint.com/page/SYNGAS+AND+BIOCHAR. A more comprehensive study focused on syngas and biochar generation for a dairy is at: http://algaloildiesel.wetpaint.com/page/DAIRY+PRODUCTION+OF+SYNGAS+AND+BIOCHAR
Phase I
This phase develops the production of Switch Grass, Canary Grass, Miscanthus gigantica, caña brava, and bamboo (grasses) and woody plant material, such as logging slash, sawmill scrape, construction wood waste, cardboard and paper waste, agricultural waste (straw) and green yard waste. These wastes would be ground, then dehydrated in the greenhouse using a solar kiln. The ground biomass will then be stored and used to fuel a pyrolysis unit, a co-product of which is biochar. The biochar will then ground and infused with compost tea or “black liquor” from a dairy lagoon to add the nutrient. Organic nutrients could also come from waste water from a fish farm or from the waste from a fish processing operation. The infused biochar will have a ready market for farmers, nursery operators, home gardeners, landscapers, golf courses, tree farms and orchard growers. Highway construction usually exposes a huge amount of mostly sterile soil on the banks, which usually involve landscaping. Preparing the soil with infused biochar would save considerable water and fertilizers while the plants are getting established.
Alternatively, the charcoal could be reground into fine particles. These particles are then pelletized and "bricked" and sold for use in pellet stoves and furnaces. As an added source of revenue, we could sell and maintain the stoves and deliver pellets as needed. Another source of revenue would be district heating popular in Sweden, Switzerland and Germany. The name given to these pellets are “torrified pellets”.
The standard biomass pellet approach has very strong support in Ireland:
The GESCO Network http://www.gega.ie/sector_industry.asp
Phase II
Running concurrently with Phase I is the research and development of Woodgas and Biochar, using the same feedstocks. The use of the Biochar is as as filter to remove nitrates and other minerals from ground water other fluids and gasses. These chemicals infuse into the cells of the Biochar. When worked into the soil of the crops, they serve as reservoirs of nutrient. This system is known as a CO2 negative system. The Wood gasoline (mostly methanol) can be burned for generation of power or to fuel vehicles. Methanol derived from this process can be used in the production of biodiesel. The biochar can also be used in the compost process, thus adding to a salable product.
Phase III
We maintain our interest in cellulosic enzymatic catalysis of biomass. At the point it is commercially viable, we can produce ethanol from the feedstock.
This approach gives us three (or more) uses of the grasses and wood over a long period of time. These plants can grow in poor soil which we will amend by using Biochar, compost and compost tea. The irrigation system will be drip irrigation, given that Miscanthus can grow to 14 feet and giant bamboo to 140 feet. The better parts of the bamboo will be used in construction, flooring, panels and furniture and the scrap is pelletized.
Irrigation
The grass crops are often heavy water users. The keep the costs of water low, a drip irrigation system should be considered. The convential tube and emitter works. The inline emitters also work -- for a while until they plug up. My favorite is a one inch black poly tube for the main supply. running along side and tapped into the tube at regular intervals is a porous soaker hose "Aquapore" is one trade name. This hose is cheap and when the pores fill with stuff, they can easily be replaced while the black poly tube will last many years more.
But there is possibly a better system:
![QwickDraw AHS]()
Trees beautify urban landscapes and act as carbon sinks. However planting trees is an expensive proposition for cities. Not only are trees expensive, but transplanted cultivated trees require frequent care until they are well established. The current model is to drive heavy water trucks frequently to each tree and inject water into the ground—costly in fuel and labor. This method can result in inconsistent watering and subsequent loss of trees. Another method is to tie slowly seeping bags of water around the base of trees, but these bags are unappealing visually, service only one tree, and are subject to vandalism.
TreeHive AVS (Arboreal Viability System), an extension of the QwickDraw AHS, seeks to address the needs of urban trees to decrease their relatively high premature death rate. TreeHive consists of a biochar-fertilizer-infused recycled pulp “hive” that protects, insulates, and nourishes delicate tree roots while the QwickDraw efficiently and directly hydrates the root mass. The egg-carton-like hives are designed to slowly biodegrade at a customizable rate until the tree is well established, while the durable QwickDraw remains in place to hydrate the tree for its lifetime. The system is modular and scalable, and can use water or nutrient solution from the public grid, trucks, and/or rain collection.
Please take a look at the three slides of the TreeHive system. This is the best tree planting system I've seen: [click on each image].
http://www.intrepiddesigncenter.com/folio.html#
http://www.intrepiddesigncenter.com/folio.html
The Biochar business is part of the pyrolysis of biomass into syngas and biochar. This study reflects mostly on the biochar product. Research notes on syngas and biochar are at: http://algaloildiesel.wetpaint.com/page/SYNGAS+AND+BIOCHAR. A more comprehensive study focused on syngas and biochar generation for a dairy is at: http://algaloildiesel.wetpaint.com/page/DAIRY+PRODUCTION+OF+SYNGAS+AND+BIOCHAR
Phase I
This phase develops the production of Switch Grass, Canary Grass, Miscanthus gigantica, caña brava, and bamboo (grasses) and woody plant material, such as logging slash, sawmill scrape, construction wood waste, cardboard and paper waste, agricultural waste (straw) and green yard waste. These wastes would be ground, then dehydrated in the greenhouse using a solar kiln. The ground biomass will then be stored and used to fuel a pyrolysis unit, a co-product of which is biochar. The biochar will then ground and infused with compost tea or “black liquor” from a dairy lagoon to add the nutrient. Organic nutrients could also come from waste water from a fish farm or from the waste from a fish processing operation. The infused biochar will have a ready market for farmers, nursery operators, home gardeners, landscapers, golf courses, tree farms and orchard growers. Highway construction usually exposes a huge amount of mostly sterile soil on the banks, which usually involve landscaping. Preparing the soil with infused biochar would save considerable water and fertilizers while the plants are getting established.
Alternatively, the charcoal could be reground into fine particles. These particles are then pelletized and "bricked" and sold for use in pellet stoves and furnaces. As an added source of revenue, we could sell and maintain the stoves and deliver pellets as needed. Another source of revenue would be district heating popular in Sweden, Switzerland and Germany. The name given to these pellets are “torrified pellets”.
The standard biomass pellet approach has very strong support in Ireland:
The GESCO Network http://www.gega.ie/sector_industry.asp
“GESCO™ (Green Energy Service Company), is a producer owned, rural based business that grows stores and processes bio-energy products for delivery as fuels and metered heat and power. These companies will also develop, install, and finance systems and projects designed to improve the energy efficiency maintenance costs for Industry and Consumers in Ireland.While the Irish approach has value because of the simple pellet approach, selling torrified pellets and bricks makes more sense. Firstly, syngas is captured and put to good use. The heat value of the torrified pellets is much greater than for raw wood. The gases from burning torrified pellets contribute much less pollution and GHG's than the complete burning of wood pellets. Torrified pellets are lighter, easier to transport, to move and store. It does not take a business finance genius to realize that selling torrified pellets and bricks would be much more profitable than simply selling the compressed wood pellets.
There are 8 established GESCO's in Ireland covering the entire country. Under the GEGA National Framework the GESCO network represents the single largest landbase of commercial bio-energy development in Ireland. The GESCO network is underwritten by investment from over 300 individuals.
Over the next 5 years each GESCO will create 25 jobs in their respective locations, and foster the development of the necessary skills in the burgenoing bio-energy sector.”
http://www.gega.ie/sector_industry.asp
Phase II
Running concurrently with Phase I is the research and development of Woodgas and Biochar, using the same feedstocks. The use of the Biochar is as as filter to remove nitrates and other minerals from ground water other fluids and gasses. These chemicals infuse into the cells of the Biochar. When worked into the soil of the crops, they serve as reservoirs of nutrient. This system is known as a CO2 negative system. The Wood gasoline (mostly methanol) can be burned for generation of power or to fuel vehicles. Methanol derived from this process can be used in the production of biodiesel. The biochar can also be used in the compost process, thus adding to a salable product.
Phase III
We maintain our interest in cellulosic enzymatic catalysis of biomass. At the point it is commercially viable, we can produce ethanol from the feedstock.
This approach gives us three (or more) uses of the grasses and wood over a long period of time. These plants can grow in poor soil which we will amend by using Biochar, compost and compost tea. The irrigation system will be drip irrigation, given that Miscanthus can grow to 14 feet and giant bamboo to 140 feet. The better parts of the bamboo will be used in construction, flooring, panels and furniture and the scrap is pelletized.
Irrigation
The grass crops are often heavy water users. The keep the costs of water low, a drip irrigation system should be considered. The convential tube and emitter works. The inline emitters also work -- for a while until they plug up. My favorite is a one inch black poly tube for the main supply. running along side and tapped into the tube at regular intervals is a porous soaker hose "Aquapore" is one trade name. This hose is cheap and when the pores fill with stuff, they can easily be replaced while the black poly tube will last many years more.
But there is possibly a better system:
TreeHive
City planners recognize that trees and landscaped spaces contribute to a high quality of urban living and increased property values. However, urban tress often suffer from inadequate hydration due to paved surfaces diverting rainfall to storm drains, frozen roots in northern communities, poor nutrition from a lack of naturally decomposing biomass and poorQwickDraw AHS
Trees beautify urban landscapes and act as carbon sinks. However planting trees is an expensive proposition for cities. Not only are trees expensive, but transplanted cultivated trees require frequent care until they are well established. The current model is to drive heavy water trucks frequently to each tree and inject water into the ground—costly in fuel and labor. This method can result in inconsistent watering and subsequent loss of trees. Another method is to tie slowly seeping bags of water around the base of trees, but these bags are unappealing visually, service only one tree, and are subject to vandalism.TreeHive AVS (Arboreal Viability System), an extension of the QwickDraw AHS, seeks to address the needs of urban trees to decrease their relatively high premature death rate. TreeHive consists of a biochar-fertilizer-infused recycled pulp “hive” that protects, insulates, and nourishes delicate tree roots while the QwickDraw efficiently and directly hydrates the root mass. The egg-carton-like hives are designed to slowly biodegrade at a customizable rate until the tree is well established, while the durable QwickDraw remains in place to hydrate the tree for its lifetime. The system is modular and scalable, and can use water or nutrient solution from the public grid, trucks, and/or rain collection.
Please take a look at the three slides of the TreeHive system. This is the best tree planting system I've seen: [click on each image].
QwickDraw AHS
Trees beautify urban landscapes and act as carbon sinks. However planting trees is an expensive proposition for cities. Not only are trees expensive, but transplanted cultivated trees require frequent care until they are well established. The current model is to drive heavy water trucks frequently to each tree and inject water into the ground—costly in fuel and labor. This method can result in inconsistent watering and subsequent loss of trees. Another method is to tie slowly seeping bags of water around the base of trees, but these bags are unappealing visually, service only one tree, and are subject to vandalism. QwickDraw AHS (Arboreal Hydration System) is a modular subterranean watering system that is adaptable to one or more trees, either newly planted or well established. QwickDraw stores the water in its carcass, and high-efficiency wicks feed water directly to trees’ roots on a favorably incremental basis. The system can be refilled quickly and less frequently by water trucks, or may be plumbed directly to city water lines for nearly labor-free operation.
http://www.intrepiddesigncenter.com/folio.html
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