soil, heat and carbon

cyberia

part of pirates of cyber states course on off grid living in cyberia

published on x.com

Intro

fire can destroy life — or create it

key promise: how heat transforms waste into fertility and energy simultaneously

Terra Pretta

the amazonians: pre-columbian people building “dark earths” along the amazon basin

archaeological context: fertile patches surrounded by poor lateritic soil

composition: charcoal fragments, pottery shards, bones, plant residues

lasting fertility: stable carbon, microbial richness, nutrient retention for milenia (8000 years - 500 years ago)

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mystery solved: char as the foundation — the biochar effect

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Science of Biochar

basics of pyrolysis

  • input: biomas
  • drying is important
  • pyrolysis: 200c - 400c + no oxygen → devolatilization → carbonization
  • activation + inoculation
  • output: heat, biogas + bio-oil, biochar
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difference between ash, charcoal and biochar

  • the balance between carbon yield and energy recovery
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  • charcoal is carbon made for fire
  • biochar is carbon made for life

in the soil

  • physical structure: porous carbon matrix as habitat for microbes
  • chemical role: cation exchange, pH buffering, nutrient storage
  • biological synergy: microbe housing + water retention + reduced leaching
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How to produce?

fast start: kontiki kiln

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  • no smoke: {{video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o0QqePtNM4}}

how much I need?

  • 370 000 m2 => top 30 cm
  • MATH_PLACEHOLDER_020 per kg
  • current bioavailable carbon: 3%
  • target for chernozem level: 12%
  • 370000000 kg of soil * 0.09 * 0.5 = ~20 mil kg

  • => MATH_PLACEHOLDER_1200M

scaled: too big - requires >10 km2 of forest to feed

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quite good designs, but does optimized for biochar only (not heat energy)

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we need a two purpose stove: biochar + heat

  • foundation: https://batchrocket.eu/en/
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  • the problem is still unsolved!

Carbon negativity

biochar is the only technology to slow down

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reforestation is amazing, but it is too slow

biochar have positive feedback loop

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biochar - the tech we missed

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biochar fusion is the future! ;-)

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Changing the culture

http://burn.city

global alternative to burning man every niepi on Bali

the culture of burning not ashes, but to biochar

next 1 week before 19 march

Connect

t.me/cybervalleyland

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x.com/@mastercyb

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Linked References

Local Graph