Talk:Biochar Crusher

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Revision as of 22:53, 12 October 2025 by Eric (talk | contribs) (Added some thoughts/ideas of mine)
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Rasmus,

Thanks for the wiki contributions. Can you add some info on Pelletized Biochar ?

Our proposed route is continuous charcoal production on a desktop scale by making pellets first, then using them in hydronic stoves to generate heat while producing charcoal in a continuous process. This has great potential for wide adoption because the plant size is reduced significantly, and we'd like to prototype a desktop bioachar maker this year, such that it's a practical part of any home.

MJ

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  • On the note of to crush or not to crush, i think it depends on what the goal is:
    • If your goal is Carbon Sequestration / Fill probably not (Although if compacting it a ton, a fine powder may sink less?)
    • If your goal is for it to be mixed into the soil well and upgrade that soil to SABE ( Terra Preta ) a fine powder is probably best
  • GRANTED citation needed
  • In terms of knowns:
    • "How Permanent is Pyrogenic Carbon in a Live Soil" is one of the big concerns in Biochar as a Means of Carbon Sequestration , uncertain on the current state of the art on that
    • Surface Area is your Friend*
      • Only unknow of this is what role coarse debris/rocks would play in a Soil
      • Might help stabilize soil/prevent erosion, also do larger chunks hold onto water better?
      • The ORIGINAL Amazonian Black Earth Soils also had Terra Cotta / Pottery Sherds so that may be a relevant piece of the puzzle, not powderized charcoal
  • Ways to go about it all:
    • Pre-Grinding of Waste via a In-Sink Wet Waste Grinder
    • Post-Grinding in a Yard Waste Grinder / Consumer Level Electric Woodchipper (Coarser Grind, but low complexity+maintainance concerns)
    • Post-Grinding via a Hammermill (Especially with higher Air Classifier integrated models can produce a very fine, consistent mix. Bit of a maintenance / Combustible Dust Explosion + Fugitive Dust Emissions concern
      • Also unlike other methods could probably NOT handle Wet Charcoal well due to clumping/clogging concerns
    • Post-Grinding in a Ball Mill
      • Would probably have to be in a Batch Configuration, and is LOUD, but could be done with Wet Charcoal and get to any desired Particle Size

--Eric (talk) 22:53, 12 October 2025 (UTC)