James Cook University in Australia are working on a research project where biochar is specifically mixed in at an early stage of the composting project, COMBI-mix, to determine the impact on carbon sequestration and model the impacts on the agricultural impacts.

direct link:
https://plone.jcu.edu.au/researchatjcu/research/tess/Projects/australia/...

TESS project leader: Michael Bird

December, 2011

The Austrialian Department of Agriculture of Fisheries and Forestry has issued a thoughtful summary paper that surveys the existing research on with biochar, and its implications for agriculture and suggests further areas of research.

Download the paper here:
Biochar: implications for agricultural productivity

Biochar Industries in Kunghur NSW Australia was the setting for this momentous occasion. Monday 16th of May 2011.

With an even bigger surprise to come this statement by an Australian Biochar Expert.

“This is the first Adam Retort in Australia and it will be the first commercial Adam retort in the western world” Said Dr Paul Taylor PhD Author and Editor of the Book The Biochar Revolution. This statement had Charmaster Dolph Cooke falling off his chair.

Read the whole story on www.biocharproject.org.

Story by Charmaster Dolph Cooke

Biochar Basics
with Charmaster Dolph Cooke from
Biochar Industries

When : 28th may at 9:00am…
Where : Bio Organic Farm
2 Boulder Byangum NSW 2484
Duration : 3 hours
Cost : $15.00 per person.
Contact : Zehavit & Avi

E: organic_farm@bigpond.com T: +61 2 6672 7078

You will learn –
• How to make Biochar
• How to condition Biochar
• Some of Biochar’s amazing properties
• How to create your own free kiln
• About Biochar Learning Circles locally
• Hands on practical applications for Biochar

Plus get to have your questions answered over a cuppa and a fire whilst networking with likeminded farmers and gardeners

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=174333195954963
http://biocharproject.org/biochar-basics-show-28th-byangum-nsw-australia/

Charmaster Dolph Cooke

James Joyce, June 2010

Mackay-based company, Black is Green, was named a finalist in the Innovation in ClimateSmart

Technologies category of the Queensland ClimateSmart Sustainability Awards, at the awards ceremony on Friday night in Brisbane.

On the eve of World Environment Day, the recognition was for BiG

Commercial production of charcoal from greenwaste using BigChar technology
Presentation by
James Joyce, Black is Green Pty Ltd, Australia, March 27, 2010

About BiG

Background to BiG and BiGchar

Features and Benefits of the technology

- Fast Rotary Hearth Capabilities and Features:
1. Designed specifically for biochar production from

Soils ain

Agricultural bio-char production, renewable energy generation and farm carbon sequestration in Western Australia: Certainty, uncertainty and risk
Mark P. McHenry, Murdock University, Western Australia, January 2009
Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, www.elsevier.com/locate/agee
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2008.08.006

Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme
Jerome Mathews, Australian Biochars www.Biochars.com September 28, 2008
Submission by Australian Biochars Pty Ltd

At the Government seminar to introduce the Government

Peter Cundall: Slow Burning Solution
In Organic Gardener (Australia), September/October 2008, Courtesy Ron Larson and Albert Bates

Using Biochar

Excerpt:
"How can we use biochar?

That

Floating char
Max Henderson, Australia, July 27, 2008

Floating Char

8 Weeks Floating Char

Couple of photos 6 weeks apart. Bucket is 20 litres. Added
to the water has been some pee, cow poo and a tablespoon of molasses.
First photo was 2 weeks after adding the char, second is 6
weeks later.

Approx 80% of the char has now sunk. The rest looks like sinking in another fortnight.
The sunken char is much easier to break (in one hand) than the material still in dry storage.

This char was produced at high temp

Chaotech Pty Ltd.
Rex Manderson [rexm@chaotech.com.au], Australia, July 2008

BiogasWorks Pilot

This site www.biogasworks.com is the portal for the carbon cycle activities of Chaotech Pty Ltd.

Our slow carbonization pilot plant is now rated 40 to 60kg charcoal per hour for lightweight feed such as sawdust. The specification particle size limit is 8mm largest dimension. Process simulations have produced a yield of ~40% char on a dry mass basis with ~80% total carbon content in the char.

See: Biogas works

I was surprised that there were no how to's for charcoal productions without the need for kilns, drums etc, so thought this might be of interest to some as a trial technique. It is not very efficient by way of volume of charcoal to volume of biomass to start, but can be useful if you have quantities of garden waste such as prunings, bark, leaves etc. This type of stuff normally goes into green waste, or needs chipping to compost or use as mulch as it is too big for compost bin.

This is a process I have used which requires only an open fire or fire pit, shovel or rake and water (hose or steel buckets with water). It is a minor modification of the techniques used when cooking using the camp oven - which only uses coals instead of flame. Instead of transferring the coals to the oven pit, they are wetted down to stop burning, and create charcoal.

Australian Biochars
Jerome Matthews, June 21, 2008
Australian Biochars

Hi There,

We are commercial suppliers of biochars and just thought that you may be interested as we don't think that anyone else is yet producing to our levels. We're happy to receive queries.

You may find us at http://www.biochars.com

Best regards.

Jerome Matthews

Puzzle
Max Henderson, June 15, 2008

Floating Char

More Trials
Max Henderson,May 12, 2008

If you can bear with me here is some info from last weekend

Agrichar Video
Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2007

Video on Agrichar, International Agrichar Initiative conference (April 2007), BEST Technologies, and use of agrichar in Australia.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/broadband/catalyst/asx/Agrichar_hi.asx

On the Practical Side
Max Henderson, SE Queensland, Australia, April 19, 2008

(Select photo to enlarge)

Dear All,

For those on the list who haven

Improving wheat production with deep banded Oil Mallee Charcoal in Western Australia
Paul Blackwell1, Syd Shea2, Paul Storer3, Zakaria Solaiman4, Mike Kerkmans5, and Ian Stanley6
Agchar Initiative Conference Terrigal New South Wales. April 29 - May 2, 2007

SUMMARY

Restoring soil carbon can reverse global warming
Erich J. Knight, February 21, 2008

Here is a strait forward conversion of the impact of building soil organic material (SOM) on ppm of GHGs using just marginal land.

http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0221-soil_carbon_lovell_interview.html

Tony Lovell of Soil Carbon P/L in Australia estimates that by actively supporting regrowth of vegetation in damaged ecosystems, billions of tons of carbon dioxide can be sequestered from the atmosphere.

"Determining how much carbon dioxide (CO2) can physically be consumed from the atmosphere?

Agronomic values of greenwaste biochar as a soil amendment
K. Y. Chan, L. Van Zwieten, I. Meszaros, A. Downie,and S. Joseph
Australian Journal of Soil Research 45(8) 629

Article > Contents Vol 45(8)

Agronomic values of greenwaste biochar as a soil amendment

K. Y. Chan A E, L. Van Zwieten B, I. Meszaros A, A. Downie C D, S. Joseph D

A NSW Department of Primary Industries, Locked Bag 4, Richmond, NSW 2753, Australia.
B NSW Department of Primary Industries, Wollongbar, NSW 2477, Australia.
C Best Energies P/L, Somersby, NSW 2250, Australia.
D University of New South Wales, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
E Corresponding author. Email: yin.chan@dpi.nsw.gov.au

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Soil Research 45(8) 629–634 http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/SR07109
Submitted: 27 July 2007 Accepted: 2 November 2007 Published online: 7 December 2007

Permaculture and Biochar Development - Queensland, Australia
Barry Batchelor, Permaculture Designer, December 6, 2007
Hi All
First I would like to introduce myself, My name is Barry Batchelor and I'm a Permaculture Designer living on a small scale developing sustainable farm 30km North of Brisbane Australia. I'm one of a handful of Permaculturists who are using or testing Biochar in their food systems in Australia.
Permaculture - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permaculture
While my talent is not the written word, I hope to show off some of the work I have been doing here, this is where my talent is and where my time is spent.
Note: most of the photo's are 200-400k

Climate Change, Carbon and Plants Briefings
CRC for Greenhouse Acounting, Australia, 2006
At the briefings, leading scientists presented the latest information on how climate change might affect plants and plant-based industry, and how we might adapt.
Two briefings were held in 2006 - one in Melbourne on the 31st May and one in Sydney on the 13th June. In response to numerous requests from people unable to attend the briefings in person, the presentations were recorded and are now available online.
'Questions' and 'Panel' sessions include audience questions and discussion between presenters and audience, expanding on the material provided in the presentations.
Introduction
Future climates and Australia's greenhouse profile - Dr Michael Robinson [EXE, 10.51MB]
Questions and discussion [Melbourne] [MP3, 2.27MB]
Stream 1 - Carbon in the Landscape
Biomass carbon and Land Use Changes - Dr John Raison [EXE, 15.60MB]
Questions - [Sydney] [MP3, 7.82MB] [Melbourne] [MP3, 10.44MB]
Wood products as carbon stores; TimberCam - Mr Fabiano Ximenes [EXE, 10.94MB]

Improving water and soil resources for tree production - Vietnam
NSW Department of Primary Industries, Australia

Summary

Water for irrigation is a scarce resource in topical dry seasons. Nutrient losses due to erosion and leaching are high in topical wet seasons. This project will evaluate practices within horticultural tree crops to increase the efficiency of use of scarce irrigation water and applied nutrients in subtropical NSW and Vietnam. The project will evaluate the potential to apply partial rootzone drying to cashew and macadamia nut crops. The effect of biochar on soil nutrient and water availability will be assessed.
Project Objectives

The objectives of this research project are to:

Carbon Sequestration by Carbonization of Biomass and Forestation: Three Case Studies
Makoto Ogawa,Yasuyuki Okimori, Fumio Takahashi, Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Volume 11, Number 2, March 2006 , pp. 421-436(16)
Publisher: Springer


Abstract: