EASIEST WAY How To Make BIOCHAR In A Cone Pit

How to make Biochar in a cone pit, quick, simple & for free!
WHAT IS BIOCHAR?
Biochar is charcoal used as a soil amendment. Biochar is a stable solid, rich in carbon, and can endure in soil for thousands of years.
Like most charcoal, biochar is made from biomass via pyrolysis. Biochar is under investigation as an approach to carbon sequestration, as it has the potential to help mitigate climate change.
It results from processes related to pyrogenic carbon capture and storage.
Independently, biochar can increase soil fertility of acidic soils, increase agricultural productivity, and provide protection against some foliar and soil-borne diseases.
Regarding the definition from the production part, biochar is defined by the International Biochar Initiative as "The solid material obtained from the thermochemical conversion of biomass in an oxygen-limited environment".
SOIL AMENDMENT
Biochar is recognized as offering several benefits for soil health. Many benefits are related to the highly porous nature of biochar. This structure is found to be very effective at retaining both water and water-soluble nutrients.
Biochar is extremely suitable as a habitat for many beneficial soil micro-organisms. When pre-charged with these beneficial organisms, biochar becomes a highly effective soil amendment promoting good soil and, in turn, plant health.
Biochar has also been shown to reduce the leaching of E. coli through sandy soils depending on application rate, feedstock, pyrolysis temperature, soil moisture content, soil texture, and surface properties of the bacteria.
For plants that require high potash and elevated pH, biochar can be used as a soil amendment to improve yield.
Biochar can improve water quality, reduce soil emissions of greenhouse gases, reduce nutrient leaching, reduce soil acidity, and reduce irrigation and fertilizer requirements.
Biochar was also found under certain circumstances to induce plant systemic responses to foliar fungal diseases and to improve plant responses to infections caused by soilborne pathogens.
The various impacts of biochar can depend on the properties of the biochar and the amount applied, and there is still a lack of knowledge about the essential mechanisms and properties.
Biochar impact may depend on regional conditions, including soil type, soil condition (depleted or healthy), temperature, and humidity.
Modest biochar additions to soil reduce nitrous oxide N2O emissions by up to 80% and eliminate methane emissions, which are more potent greenhouse gases than CO2.
Studies have reported positive effects from biochar on crop production in degraded and nutrient-poor soils.
Applying compost and biochar under project FERTIPLUS has positively affected soil humidity, crop productivity, and quality in different countries.
Biochar can be designed with specific qualities to target distinct properties of soils.
In Colombian savanna soil, biochar reduced the leaching of critical nutrients, created a higher crop uptake, and provided greater soil availability.
At 10% levels, biochar reduced contaminant levels in plants by up to 80% while reducing total chlordane and DDX content in the plants by 68 and 79%, respectively.
On the other hand, because of its high adsorption capacity, biochar may reduce the efficacy of soil-applied pesticides needed for weed and pest control.
High-surface-area biochar may be particularly problematic; more research into the long-term effects of biochar addition to soil is needed.
PRODUCTION
Biochar is a high-carbon, fine-grained residue that today is produced through modern pyrolysis processes; it is the direct thermal decomposition of biomass in the absence of oxygen (preventing combustion), which creates a mixture of solids (the biochar proper), liquid (bio-oil), and gas (syngas) products.
The specific yield from the pyrolysis is dependent on process conditions, such as temperature, residence time and heating rate. These parameters can be optimized to produce either energy or biochar.
Temperatures of 400-500 °C produce more char, while temperatures above 700 °C favor liquid and gas fuel components yield.
Pyrolysis occurs more quickly at higher temperatures, typically requiring seconds instead of hours. The increasing heating rate will also lead to a decrease in pyrolysis biochar yield while the temperature is in the range of 350-600 °C.
Typical yields are 60% bio-oil, 20% biochar, and 20% syngas. By comparison, slow pyrolysis can produce substantially more char, contributing to terra preta's observed soil fertility.
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[@jerry.williams9163]

Thank you for your post . When it rains in California I’m making Biochar . 😊

[@aaramzee]

Great work of a true farmer

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

To be open with you K.R. we do feel like farmers, but with less than 24 months under belts, it's going to take a long time to get up to speed. On the up note, we seem to be accelerating towards a sustainable & regenerative goal. Apart from the numerous challenges, we find it fun & rewarding with infinite possibilities 😉

[@42invincible]

As you say well worth people having a little spin around the web on biochar as the blumming stuff is amazing. I was so surprised how little I knew about something so important to the planet, should be taught in schools

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

As you know, supercharging it with manure then adding it to compost is mega impressive. (Been trying for ages to squeeze in the word mega!)

[@adolph7373]

Visually interesting.

[@screwstonloop610]

Very informative and to the point. Thank you so much for the video.😊

[@eyesopenwideawake7057]

Very interesting and looks simple enough! Look forward to hearing how *you* use it! 🙏🏻

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

Thanks Eyes, if it's as good as they reckon, we'll be making & using loads of it. Cheers Leigh.

[@terencehoulihan6031]

You make this so much easier when you fast forward....way to go farmer Leigh...

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

Thank you Terence. We hope to dig a huge conepit on goat island once the dry season arrives!

[@fuzzyapplebong328]

I love your accent! Your leading us into the sustainable future with it!

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

Wow, thank you Fuzzy, very kind words indeed.

[@johnfitbyfaithnet]

Great video!

[@DJ-uk5mm]

Agree with the other commentators about putting it out with water

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

Yes indeed. We began quenching our conepits not long after making that video. Much better results.

[@Epiphalactic]

You should soak the biochar down and get rid of the residual ash. You won't leach anything fro. The char. That's the benefit of biochar. It'll also cool it down quickly and kind of "activate" it so it'll take a charge really well and have more space for microlife to grow

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

Thank you Austin. After we published that video we started quenching the biochar as you quite rightly say. We then inoculate it with mainly goat manure & urine. We have almost 80 goats now & In the next few days we'll be digging probably the biggest biochar conepit in the world! Truly amazing stuff 👍

[@MichaelJosephJr934]

I too thought it was very ashy.

[@bigonorganics5753]

if you rake the coals more often with a fire poker it gets a more even burn without ashing because raking is condensing the coals down and building layers, I use a coupe of 35 gallon trash can full of purified water ready to put the fire out and dump it in the pit, watch out for the big cloud of hot steam then I put the rest of it out with a hose and it takes me about 10 minutes for it to stop smoldering but I do larger pits about 1.5 meter across 1 meter deep for smaller pits its easier with just a bucket that holds more water than the pit. these are some of the methods I came up with I do this a lot.

[@stuckinflorida9685]

That’s the way I do it but a bit larger of a hole and not coned shaped so much, I’ll have to try the cone shape next time I do it. It definitely gives the soil a PH boost and helps with fungus related issues. Anxiously waiting to see what Liegh’s plans are for the biochar... stay tuned!!! Thanks for sharing. Many blessings to you and Toon🙏 Cheers 🍻

[@stuckinflorida9685]

Oh yeah, right as the subtitle popped up “save the farm let the ad roll” two adds popped up... coincidence? Planned? A mystery?

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

@@stuckinflorida9685 if you let two ads roll, I'll buy a biochar burner so I don't have to dig a cone pit. You see SiF, wealth can change a weak-willed man 😂😂😂

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

I'll give you a clue, mainly because I can't keep a secret . . . It's shitty, BUT doesn't smell, but there is a slight whiff of goat involved 😞

[@stuckinflorida9685]

Toon & Leigh porpeang farm Thailand I always let the ads roll unless I’m watching on my break and they throw up a 10 minute ad, in which case I let it roll for a couple of minutes and then skip, I let two ads roll just to respond to your response, 1 baht closer to that biochar burner😆

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

@@stuckinflorida9685 Toon will probably blow it on a new microphone for her karaoke machine. Apparently singing to your crop helps them grow. I'm not sure our bamboo like to listen to my rendition of 'The Ace of Spades!' 😲

[@richardhhhh5537]

I'm up to 154 including this great vlog. Keep them coming Leigh 😁😁😁

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

Wow Richard . . . That's dedication right there 💪

[@richardhhhh5537]

Enjoying what you are doing sir

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

Great to hear that from you Richard. We're totally 'off the cuff' & never know what we'll record from one day to the next. It doesn't suit everyone, but that's us. The sun comes up & our days just happen lol. I call it the Chaos System (TM)

[@richardhhhh5537]

I've never been one for fishing of any kind but I watch and see the simplicity of how you and toon make ... I'm hooked lol🐟🐟🐟🐟

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

@@richardhhhh5537 that's good news, we are publishing 27 fishing videos over the next three days 😂😂😂

[@stevethebutcher6631]

Fascinating stuff, thanks for sharing

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

Cheers Steve. It's got so much potential for us here on the farm. Promising & exciting times.

[@stevethebutcher6631]

15 quid for 2-5 litres, just been reading about it on tinternet, superb soil enrichment material, I feel I’ve learnt something worthwhile, thanks Leigh.

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

£15 . . . Flippin eck! Toon & I need to think about farming biochar instead of goats lol.

[@andymck62]

hi guys in reference to you snake goose video after this one,another relevant comparison is the average Thai worker factory, retail etc earns about 350 to 400 Bhat per day ,So 2000 Bhat is about 5.7 days wages gross earnings,thats huge. good on you both and all best wishes from New Zealand.

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

Cheers Andy.

[@dermotkelly2289]

another good one friends. Getting frustrated about trying to sell our house in Pranburi. Considering taking a loss or breaking even now. Hard to sell these days.

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

Totally feel your heartache Dermot. As you know, we've been looking to sell our village house. It's bonkers, if you don't want to sell, people want to buy. Soon as it's known that you want to sell, no one wants to buy (at a realistic price.) It's swings n roundabouts here, it's one of the cheapest places to live in rural Thailand, but very few have money or can raise it. I recently suggested to Toon that I should start selling my body. I don't think she understood what I meant because she said "the hospital wouldn't buy anything off my carcass!"

[@dermotkelly2289]

@@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand lol. Sometimes I'm not sure to make my comments via email to you as this one had nothing to do with your latest vlog.

[@rossie273]

@@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand same same here in Queensland

[@cgj3888]

"One wash".... *Still black* 555 You pair just sparkle SMILES

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

She wasn't even going to let me rinse my hands lol.

[@russellsmith3825]

A few points. 1 If you trickle in the feedstock, you keep a good hot fire and little smoke. 2 flood quench the pot when done, you get much much less ash, and no risk of a flare up in the night. You ended up with a 2" blanket of ash, and almost lost the whole batch. 3 quenching opens the pores more in the charcoal and helps to reduce particle size as well. 4 biochar is charcoal that has been inoculated and used as a soil amendment, so I'm puzzled as to why you referred to then as different. 5 with the pit already dug, and filled with a quenched char, when you mucked out the duck house, you could have piled the poo directly on the batch you just made and over a period of time you water the pile and mix it in with a shovel to inoculate the char.

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

Hi Russell, thanks for your tips. We use it in the goat, duck, chicken houses & under our quail to keep the ammonia levels & smell down. Obviously it also has the benefit of kick-starting the char before removing & utilising it around the farm at a later date. I do quench it once it's been moved into a wheelbarrow so nothing can leach out. Is that something that isn't really an issue if done whilst still in the pit at the end of the burn? If it isn't, that would be great to reduce the amount of wood ash. I've also seen others covering with earth for larger pieces which is a possibility. Still early days on our biochar journey & we'll be evolving as we go along 😉 Cheers Leigh.

[@russellsmith3825]

@@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand there is really nothing to leech out on fresh char, it's a blank slate. And really with charcoal being a sponge, it's job is to stop leaching of nutrients. That said the ash is also good for your soil as it's high in minerals. But the more ash produced, the more it affects the pH of the char.

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

@@russellsmith3825thanks for that. Unfortunately, Lower Northern Thailand is renowned for poor quality (low organic matter) acidic clay/sandy soils. It's a major regeneration project we've recently embarked upon . . . Exciting & enlightening times ahead 👍

[@russellsmith3825]

Toon & Leigh porpeang farm Thailand , my farm has similar issues, that’s why I was researching soil health and found biochar. Best wishes for your success

[@manasikashyap]

Beautiful! How do you smother it so there isn’t quite as much potash formed?

[@erector5953]

Cone pit it's simple and effective ! *Start the fire on the top not in the bottom in order to get the pyrolysis process happening*

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

Thanks for the tip VM 👍

[@rossie273]

interesting video , Leigh . Be careful with all that long grass about (you need someone to send a SNAKE-BITE KIT) (it's on it's way).

[@junsalas9143]

Which do you think will have a better pyrolysis if the pit is an inverted cone like a pyramid which i think will deprive the bottom part or the base of oxygen but still creating a hotter temperature and thereby producing a better pyrolysis. Just thinking . .

[@paulhand5015]

what name is jarb please excellent vid thankyou

[@kingjames4886]

with a just a pipe you can make a simple earthern kiln though...

[@42invincible]

Afternoon

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

As fast as a whippet on smack.

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

@@rogerthis3987 almost the rusty bronze . . . Phew!

[@loso8925]

@@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand Bronzey boy here 😁

[@42invincible]

This thumbs up is sponsored by Mr Leigh’s Biochar

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

It's the taking apart that counts lol.

[@gwenkilby]

You got a like straight from the manly physique requirement haha 👍

[@natesquestyouknowthatsrigh8269]

What’s that elevated structure near the goat pen I haven’t seen that before, or maybe I caught a glimpse of it when the guy came down to help y’all.

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

Nate, my lips are sealed mate. It's our Top Secret Project that's soon to be revealed 😉

[@42invincible]

Toon & Leigh porpeang farm Thailand - now that’s funny

[@rossie273]

@@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand TIME MACHINE ?

[@nidhafathimavm5549]

I need to prepare biochar from sugarcane baggase .how to do that

[@wesbaumguardner8829]

Is there a way to make it with huge logs from tree trunks? I need to do something with them and might as well put them to good use.

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

I've seen a few people use a trench for making biochar from large long cuts of timber.

[@wesbaumguardner8829]

@@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand Did it work? How did they get the inside to cook?

[@thaifoodlover5296]

Do you get remunerated on the length of these ads? Does a 2 minute ad generate more than a 30 second ad?? Lemme know. Good luck Wandee and Charo!

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

I know different style of ads are auctioned to advertising companies, but I have no idea which fetch the most revenue.

[@MrGyanu123]

What is the difference between open-field burning of residue and cone pit burning ( biochar in cone pit) in terms of nutrient status and environmental consequences? In addition, I want to know what will be the difference if the size of pit varies?

[@russellsmith3825]

If you just do an open field burn you lose all the carbon in the feedstock, but retain the minerals that were bound up, but are now ash, so you get a quick dose there, but lose the ability to hold a permanent form of soil organic matter that serves as a refugium for soil biology.

[@russellsmith3825]

The bigger the pit the bigger the batch, possible as well, if you make the pit too big in relation to the fire, oxygen will be able to access the bed of coals you are trying to cook under the cap off flames, and you will get more ash.

[@adolph7373]

Visually interesting. Too made you cannot understand him

[@rosamundperry]

A manly physique. How do i get that? Do you mean a bit of strength? Other than that, a hekpful guide

[@johnfitbyfaithnet]

Can we order the energy from your website?

[@farfetchedtangmo7474]

The next fad:. E-Biochar. Gluten free.

[@farfetchedtangmo7474]

Darn you. Now I have spent the last hours getting my 101 knowledge on the stuff. Good work and seems right up your alley. Wondering if your flaming neighbors might be interested if you were to get a kiln come next burn season.

[@terryquarton2523]

Problem our government was promoing bioochar but by burning down naive forests

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

Geeez what were they thinking???

[@terryquarton2523]

@@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand the LNP government are climate deniers and we sell off millions of tons of native forests for paper. Were it could be value added in furniture. They opened up the old growth forests when the paper miller in Tasmania said they had enough plantation to use. I hope you are well there my fiancé is locked down in Pattaya. We missed out by a month for to come out to Australia. I also like your videos.

[@mikes130]

49.99 to dig a 1 foot deep hole

[@fransisco95396]

cheap than use the barrel.

[@johnfitbyfaithnet]

$49.99, bargain! :)

[@OrsonFlemming]

U did it wrong