Kelp Biochar NSF project
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Hi all — my name is Connor, I'm a graduate student at Scripps working on a project related to kelp-based biochar. I'm currently part of an NSF innovation program and looking to connect with folks in the ocean farming world to learn more about the industry. If anyone would be willing to share their expertise with someone new to this space, shoot me a message I'd love to chat for a few minutes!
Cheers,
Connor
@connor_43 Hey there! Anything specific you're looking for? If you have specific questions to share would be useful! Also tell us more about your project so we can better understand where you're coming from.
@jwhis Hi Julia, thanks for your message!
We are broadly looking to understand if biochar could be useful to support farmers as a source of reliable demand. Basically, if selling kelp as a biochar feedstock was an option, would farmers be interested in that? Is reliable demand the main barrier that farmers face? Would it help with long-term planning or scaling if multi-year agreements for biochar feedstock purchasing were possible? For folks producing seaweed-derived products, could biochar production be a useful way to retain some value from waste biomass? Would modular (shipping-containerized systems) biochar production make sense if co-located with shared kelp processing facilities?
That's the gist of where we are coming from — mostly looking to learn more about the industry in general and see if this seems like an interesting idea to folks on the ground out in the real world. If anyone is interested in talking more about this, let me know! Any and all thoughts are welcome, thank you!
@connor_43 interesting! I've moved your question to the markets topic since a lot of your questions hit in that space.
@jwhis Hi Julia, thanks for your message!
We are broadly looking to understand if biochar could be useful to support farmers as a source of reliable demand. Basically, if selling kelp as a biochar feedstock was an option, would farmers be interested in that? Is reliable demand the main barrier that farmers face? Would it help with long-term planning or scaling if multi-year agreements for biochar feedstock purchasing were possible? For folks producing seaweed-derived products, could biochar production be a useful way to retain some value from waste biomass? Would modular (shipping-containerized systems) biochar production make sense if co-located with shared kelp processing facilities?
That's the gist of where we are coming from — mostly looking to learn more about the industry in general and see if this seems like an interesting idea to folks on the ground out in the real world. If anyone is interested in talking more about this, let me know! Any and all thoughts are welcome, thank you!
@connor_43 interesting! I've moved your question to the markets topic since a lot of your questions hit in that space.
@connor_43 Just some thoughts. Have you actually made biochar with seaweed?
Do you know how or why Biochar works for farmers?
Most Biochar is made from wood. I believe making Biochar from seaweed would not be feasible, due to the amount of seaweed needed to make the same volume as wood. The size of particles matters. I believe that seaweed would just turn into a fine powder and may not be as good as wood. Yet you could have more nutrients in the Seaweed char.
It may be better to just dry and grind seaweed. It will be less cost for manufacturing. Burning will use a lot of energy, and higher costs.
Just did a search for Seaweed biochar https://carbonkapture.com
I dont think this is a good process. Seems they want to be about more Carbon Capture. Like growing seaweed and then sinking it. ??? Why when you can created food with it. Or make a building material. Its similar to making biochar. The extra or added steps are not needed or required. Just dry or liquid fertilizer will be great for growing. Its best to do a financial audit to see if it worth making Biochar with seaweed.
Best,
Craig
@craig_lewis Hi Craig, Thanks for your thoughtful message, all your points are well taken. It does seem like biochar from seaweed would have different properties than from woody biomass — these folks (https://www.nature.com/articles/srep09665) found less carbon and more nutrients in seaweed biochar and discuss the possibility of mixing seaweed and wood biochar for a more complete soil amendment. A hybrid approach (both seaweed and wood feedstock) might be interesting to look at, but of course it all depends on the life cycle emissions as you mentioned, and if the finances work out to benefit farmers as well (figuring that out is the goal!) Cheers, Connor
@craig_lewis Hi Craig, Thanks for your thoughtful message, all your points are well taken. It does seem like biochar from seaweed would have different properties than from woody biomass — these folks (https://www.nature.com/articles/srep09665) found less carbon and more nutrients in seaweed biochar and discuss the possibility of mixing seaweed and wood biochar for a more complete soil amendment. A hybrid approach (both seaweed and wood feedstock) might be interesting to look at, but of course it all depends on the life cycle emissions as you mentioned, and if the finances work out to benefit farmers as well (figuring that out is the goal!) Cheers, Connor