Circle Carbon Labs - Mallorca, Spain
Circle Carbon Labs - Mallorca, Spain
Circle Carbon S.L. is a social enterprise developing an Advanced Soil Treatment using a Natural Path Technology for Carbon Negative Soil Regeneration and circular economy activities in the outskirts of Palma de Mallorca, Spain and was founded by Christer Söderberg and Urs Winzenried in February 2018. Astrid Colomar joined the company soon thereafter.
We focus on Climate Change mitigation through the production and application of Biochar as part of a Virtuous Circular Economy that is based on:
• Biomass Resource Management
• Soil Regeneration
• Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR)
• Food Security
Since 2018, Circle Carbon Labs has been functioning as a demonstration and fully operational production site. Here on this KZread channel visitors can learn about and experience the importance of healthy soil and the circular economy it supports.
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Excellent.
not 100% pyrolysis ,therefore not 100% biochar...
The KonTiki design - a.k.a. the Flame Curtain Kiln, as the name implies, makes biochar of 50% to 70% pure Carbon, depending on feedstock, dryness, skill, and residence time. This has been proven to be a very effective way to make high grade biochar. The only drawback is that it is dependent on good weather conditions and is relatively labor intensive.
<eyeroll at dogma> Love your charcoal making process to build up tilth in the dirt. One run a year to make charcoal for cooking, and steady burns to make syngas for the 2 stroke generator. This process would make my homestead net zero considering all the carbon escaping from the process is biological carbon, not fossil carbon. Whatever CO2 I would produce would be part of the natural circulation.
after many vedios on utube, found yours most worthy ,you motivate me ,, thank you both ever so much
I've used small scale biochar with great results. Have you found an optimal % of biochar to mix with the soil? What percentage of biochar as a percentage of parent soil is too much?
We used 20% in our regular soil - that is when organic matter is at least 3%. For planters and very depleted soil we recommended 40% biochar. We haven't tried it, but I've been told that 60% is when the biochar no longer has any benefits. Remember that biochar itself is inert, completely neutral (albeit with a high pH), so most importantly the biochar needs to be inoculated with microorganisms, through co-composting or other method. Finally there is no one "biochar", depending on the feedstock you get one of many different "biochars".
@@circlecarbonlabs I apologize but I have some questions that there is no clear guidance on the web. Your veggies look fantastic, so whatever you are doing seems right. Is this a % by weight or by volume? What is considered 100%, for example: 10 inches down, 20 inches down, the root zone of that species? Are you referring to the % of the compost/biochar mix? And if so what is the ratio of that mix? How is this added to an existing soil i.e. as a much or dug in. Are there any other fortifying agents added, say if a soil analysis showed a deficiency? Thank you for your time and video.
@@philgavin - Our 100% organic matter compost contains 20% biochar by volume. Based on minimum 3% organic matter in your soil, we recommend a 10cm (4 inch) layer topsoil. We started out with very poor soil, almost devoid of organic matter, and very compacted, so we plowed up the soil to 40cm depth, added approx. 20cm organic matter (in our case seaweed and mature horse manure), worked that in with a rototiller, then added 10cm layer of our biochar-based substrate. We have not used any fortifying agents, no minerals or extra nutrients (no fertilizers), but that will depend on your soil and what you plant. Hope this helps.
@@circlecarbonlabs Thank you very much for your reply.
Wanna go one more level of intensity?? Catch nuisance fish like grass carp or other, melt them into fish emulsion, soak the biochar in the fish juice and THEN add it all to the compost. You're welcome 😂 Wanna go a step further? Capture the wood gas thats escaping as a fuel for electric generators too 😂
Unless the water is very clean, many carp and large freshwater fish have high levels of contaminants.
Hello. I want to know the quantity of biochar and the one of compost That is use together to amend the soil
Folks please understand that this is nothing more than a shameless infomercial. Really dislike when things like this are presented in this manner. Biochar is NOT the wonder solution as it is being presented here (very con artist vibes). So many things wrong with the claims made here. Once biochar is hydrated microorganisms CONSUME it just the same as ALL other organic matter (just takes a little longer). It does not lock carbon in the soil for "hundreds or thousands" of years as claimed. It will enter the SAME carbon cycle as everything else, just delayed slightly. It is NOT an effective method of carbon capture because to remain a recalcitrant organic carbon (as claimed in the video) it needs to maintain it's structure which is not possible in a living soil or one that is used to grow. The finer you break it down the further is loses that ability. Biochar is NOT a net negative "technology," neutral maybe in the right conditions and with the right management. They are claiming no fertilizer. . . yet using compost (absolute con artists). . . SMH. . They also completely ignore that to produce all the biochar they are claiming "for climate reasons" you would be leveling forests. . OOPS forgot that part. Ok, I've been negative on the video, claims and this shady business. Biochar IS good. BUT it is an amendment and that is all it is. It isn't a miracle as they are presenting. If you have acidic soil, it can be GREAT. If you have alkaline soil it is HORRIBLE and will cause MAJOR issues. As with EVERYTHING regarding agriculture, gardening, etc. . learn what you have (GET A SOIL TEST) and then add what it needs, not what some con artists on KZread tell you it needs "to save the environment". . . SMH. If you cannot afford a soil test (yes I know the real ones are not cheap) contact your extension agent and talk about soils in your area. If you cannot afford a soil test and your an introvert go to this website: casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/ I operate an orchard and small farm. . in the process of opening a small goat dairy. Also, went to school for soil science so I might have a clue on this subject, but not much else ;)
Thanks for sharing. I support biochar 100%
There's no "climate crisis" here is the "US". When it comes to capital waste, there is nothing more destructive in all of history than the current disastrous campaign to eliminate CO2 emissions in the name of saving the planet from a phony climate change catastrophe. Two mindless projects of national impoverishment. These are embodied in a proposed regulatory dragnet to force 67% of new auto sales into EVs by 2032 and a Washington-funded green energy plan to induce America’s great oil companies to build the equivalent of energy pyramids, likely resulting in corporate hari kari not too far down the road. Literally, trillions of perfectly good capital stock-such as IC engine autos and coal-fired power plants-will be dismantled well before their useful lives are completed. And this wasted capital stock will be replaced with low and no efficiency interruptible wind and solar electric power and completely asinine schemes like carbon capture from the ambient air that will be heavily subsidized by Uncle Sam.
LOL Climate change is a mechanism whereby mankind will be controlled.
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What a joke climate change is cyclical look it up
Fantastic video, thank you. I'm based in Thailand and starting a compost, soil production, biochar, mushroom and general farm business and I know how critical biochar is.
Absolutely Fantastic ❤️ Love from India 🇮🇳
You would hope all the homes, and trees destroyed in the recent Tornados in America 3/31/2023 would be turn into Biochar.
Thank you for this we need to all go shut this down our governments throat because I know that’s only way they’re going to listen and do it
En el experimento del aguacate podría indicarme que ratio de biochar usó, cuanto de la otra biomasa del compost, si lo mezcló con la tierra antes y que profundidad y medidas tiene el hoyo dónde plantó el árbol? Muchas gracias de antemano, muy buen documental 👍
Disculpa, este mensaje se me había escapado. Nuestro sustrato (TerraLlum) a base de biochar tiene 20% biochar. En las camas donde se plantaron los aguacates se le añadió material orgánico en las dos camas, approx. 20 cm mezclado con la tierra (muy arcillosa) existente. Al final, en la cama de derecha, el TerraLlum se le puso en una capa de 10 cm por encima sin mezclarlo con el resto de tierra que ya se había mezclado con la materia orgánica. En la cama de izquierda se quedó sin TerraLlum, solo con la materia orgánica. Gracias por el comentario, disculpa el atraso🙏🙏🙏
Use the biochar from the fires to help regenerate to soil.
NEW SLANT = Make it economically viable first = DO THAT and you will be doing something NEW
Seems to me you me that you are producing a very interesting product to start no-dig gardening, either for market farmers or backyard growers. The initially 15 cm of compost needed to go no-dig is a bottleneck. It took me 6 years to become independent of external resources. Still addng small amounts of charcoal, bentonite clay and crushed basalt to my slow compost, based on garden waste, kitchen scraps, shredded cardboard and paper. Hardly any pests or diseases on the backyard, no need for spritz and and sprays. The real global trouble resides of course in all those gazillions of monoculture hectares for soy, corn, wheat and rice that are tilled, fertilized with chemicals and protected with sprays.
We went no-till without worrying about importing compost.
Not a fan of monoculture either, BUT untill we convince several million individuals to become farmers and they obtain land and get the education needed for permaculture / multicrop / whatever catchphrase is currently in style. . . . we are stuck feeding the world with monculture. Have you talked to any young folks lately about farming. . . It isn't high on their lists.
Great video, could you tell me the ratio of biochar to your compost mix. Thanks
I've seen 10 to 1 be a suggested ratio compost/soil mixed with charged bio char. I've seen other people use heavier ratios and still have success but they bury it deeper than most. For me I don't limit how much bio char I add to my compost piles because I just put all that I make into the pile and then mix the finished product into a soil/pure compost mixture to achieve closer to the 10 to 1 ratio.
Hemp plus lime make 'hempcrete' is strong, draws down CO2 and is fire proof.
Yes, excellent
Do you add any manures?
No manures.
How well has your part of the world received your product? Would like to see videos of farmers, and gardeners results. .
Does anybody really know how long it takes Charcoal to become Biochar?
Charcoal to biochar will depend on feedstock density, volume/weight, and pyrolysis temperature. Biomass to biochar can take anywhere from a few minutes in a continuous flow reactor at 400° C to 800° C to between 90 minutes and 3 hours to fill a KonTiki kiln with one cubic meter of biochar, again, depending on feedstock density, volume/weight, and temperature, provided feedstock is pre-sorted and dry.
@@circlecarbonlabs I might be jumping the gun but what do you by feed stock
@@larrysimmons6082 As biomass managers we receive tree cuttings from agriculture and forest biomass from clearing to reduce fire hazards. These are still considered waste so we don't pay and neither does the company that brings it.
@@circlecarbonlabs very nice I like the work that you do . And I agree with you I bet we need to act now, all of us, the whole world or country
I love how the climate change activist always use the biggest agricultural machines
Thanks for your comment. With our investments in machinery we have been able to scale our production from 200m3 biochar-based soil substrate per year to more than 2000m3/year (2400m3 to 3200m3), with optimisation making three times that possible (6000m3 including 1200m3 biochar = 900 tons CO2 equivalent Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR)) - and that would be impossible without big machines.
please reveal the ratio of biochar and compost
fifty-fifty, really a matter of taste, the point of compost in biochar is for it to not draw N from your soil. Nobody can tell you the exact ratio cause it varies.
There is no safe ratio. . it all depends on the pH of the soil you are starting with. pH of composts can vary wildly based on how it was made. Generally if the soil or compost is acidic biochar is a good thing to add. If it is anywhere near being alkaline, please avoid it.
and how long was the biochar incorporated into the soil before use in the growing process?
The Biochar is incorporated into the substrate “TerraLlum” from the beginning of the composting process, and stays between 3 and 6 months, before screening and then is permanently included in the living organism that is the soil. It’s during the composting process that the Biochar becomes inoculated and does it’s “magic”, creating the conditions for more microorganisms to develop and make more minerals and nutrients available to the plants.
I've had success incorporating biochar into soil about right before planting (including charging it in place in the soil by adding green grass to the charcoal in soil), if the biochar is charged you'll be successful any time but the earlier the better.
The big weakness in this article is that it doesn't compare bio char with regenerative without bio char.
Regenerative with Biochar means you are implementing Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR), recognized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as a Negative Emissions Technology. Regenerative without Biochar is good, with Biochar is very much better - also for exponentially faster and greater quality of growth in vegetation.
Don't let your guys ride in the bucket of the skid steer. We had a few kids get run over by a tractor a few years ago doing that, I'm not sure if it was the rocking motion from acceleration or deceleration or what but it was very sad to hear about a guy running over his family members.
I should also say I like the video and am currently watching your other videos
Good point, we take safety seriously. Thanks
I would be interested in a video showing how to recreate this on a small scale. Like home farm scale
That's how we started (small farm scale), and discovered it doesn't work - there are minimum economies of scale that are necessary to make it efficient and financially viable - we suggest doing it on a community level, between 5 and 10 farms getting together to make the investments in machinery.
The available technology options are either modular and could be operated in tandem as required. Nowadays Biochar is made from Hobby scale, small Farmers, Market Gardeners, Viticulture, Fruit & Nut Growers, Landscape Gardeners etc. Important is not to just look for raw Biochar production but ready to use products as we can see in this fine video.
I think there is a future for contractor machinery that can go from farm to farm do this work. Allow smaller capital outlay per farm
build a stack of wood = ignite it = let it burn = extinguish = DONE
There are many ways to make biochar small scale. Then just mix with compost and let it mature a couple months before adding to crops.
kzread.info/dash/bejne/ZX-Jw8Whg5SygJc.html
Could you link studies and research into the benefits and viability of this technology? I am unfortunately not educated in the field. Thank you!
At present there are more than 1000 academic research white papers published every year. Depending on your area of interest (agriculture, construction, materials, water retention, food production, carbon removal, etc.) you can Google “Biochar” + area of interest and find several interesting articles and research.
the most fertile parts of the Amazon rainforest is called 'terra preta', when rain falls on the land it drags nitrogen gas molecules, which are trapped inside the pores of the coal, increasing the residence time of the nitrogen gas increasing the efficiency of the roots .
@@circlecarbonlabs NEW SLANT = Make it economically viable first = DO THAT and you will be doing something NEW
NEW SLANT = Make it economically viable first = DO THAT and you will be doing something NEW
@@lauralee6628 if you're allowed to burn you already have an economically viable solution for a small homestead.
What is the breakdown of nutrients in your “bio char” because other than doing the same idea as ceramic medium in aquariums, you’re just putting charcoal in the ground. It’s as off Royal Oak brand. Just buried. Do they retain higher amounts of potassium like you would get from a natural fire making pot ash? I don’t understand how your charcoal is any different. You’re making medium for beneficial bacteria and moisture retention, but what else does your “bio char” provide that a forest fire doesn’t?
The difference between regular charcoal and Biochar is the time and temperature of the pyrolysis; slow & low temperature (<350°C) for charcoal, fast & high temperature (400°C to 800°C) for biochar. The result is hydrophilic properties in biochar (adsorbs water & nutrients, minerals), hydrophobic properties in charcoal (repels moisture). Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's) remain in charcoal, making it decompose, no VOC's in properly made biochar, make it "permanent" or recalcitrant, therefore an effective Negative Emissions Technology (NET) and effectively removing (or rather "fixing") Carbon Dioxide from the atmosphere, storing carbon in the soil for hundreds and thousands of years. Forest fires are natures way of making biochar, but very inefficiently, very little % of recalcitrant biochar , and overwhelming destruction of habitats and biodiversity. We do well to help nature store the carbon in the soil more efficiently.
@@fritzsmith3296 you mean like making giant burning pits to create the “bio char” and releasing all of the gases into the atmosphere? The plant to save the carbon footprint is burning things into carbon? I’m not following bub
@@fritzsmith3296 it would have if you weren’t naive to the fact that this solution would be used in “cut cost” method. Which in the long run, like all industry, would not lower anything. You’re chasing a pipe dream and burning things to do it. It makes no sense.
The nutrient breakdown is dependant on the source of the wood (pine is different than oak is different than mesquite). Despite these guys claims biochar DOES break down in the soil. I think they are conflating studies that show structurally intact biochar can last a long time (not thousands of years though, well ok in VERY specific conditions not found in gardens though). It is very similar to ceramic mediums used in aquariums to give microorganisms a safe structure, good catch. Biochar will have roughly the same potassium levels of the same source wood used to make pot ash (assuming we are talking OLD school pot ash). Pot ash is a quick way to add potassium, which you would not get from biochar, it would take a few years to get the same. Biochar IS useful to add organic matter to soils, it does help to retain moisture and does change the bioavailability of certain nutrients. Pot ash and biochar are used for different reasons.
Great video and good presentation of what could be. Let's talk about scaleability, do you think we should focus mainly on large specialized installations or could we benefit from teaching how to create Biochar on a smaller (DIY) scale?
I'm of the opinion that we need large scale for economical viability - and assured quality. Nevertheless smaller scale - if done correctly - can help more people realise the advantages of biochar applications. At this point however, considering the increasingly volatile world social, economic, and environmental situation, not to mention heat waves, droughts, floods, existing wars, wars threatened, water crisis, food crisis, fertiliser crisis... (we're almost running out of crises) - what we want to communicate with this video is that there is a LOT we can do, and we can do it NOW. SOIL REGENERATION - BIOMASS MANAGEMENT - CARBON DIOXIDE REMOVAL - FOOD SECURITY = STRONG & RESILIENT COMMUNITIES
That is a very good question and discussion starter, good reason to ask ourselves 1. Why (produce & use) Biochar / other Pyrogenic Carbon options? 2. At what Scale? Mobile to Stationary? and why mobile? 3. What are the local conditions requirements? Feedstock types and volumes... 4. Alternative situation 5. Thermal Energy utilisation options at any scale... 6. What is would be the optimum process etc.
let's gasify biomas for heat or energy but leave the charcoal for biochar production; no wasted materials or energy
yes
Very informative video, is it not possible to make electricity out of the volatile gases that are going into the atmosphere because of the open kiln method....is it the cost factor/economical viability that makes capturing votalile gases for production of electricity impossible by adopting more advanced machinery capable of capturing volatile gases?
😂🙂🌏🌍🔥BRAVO and Thank You Team Circle Carbon Labs, this is so impressive with your explanations and the moving pictures tell the story, the reality in authentic fashion. I am sure ever more people come to realise : No time to waste - Just do it! Together we can = together we will!
Thank you Frank, just like you say, no time to waste!
m'encanta aquesta idea, hem de millorar la nostra terra i el nostre futur
Biochar is such an appropriate solution to our most pressing problems but it seems not enough people are listening. I'm in the UK and trying to roll out a programme for producing biochar, it is the only solution we have to address climate change. LET'S DO IT! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK. THANKS
lovely stuff
lovely video
Seriously important information and a great strategy! I've been using biochar in all my growing the last four years to see greatly enhanced results in healthy soil and plant growth. I'm setting up my own production units very soon. Great job!