Potassium hydroxide

 So, I read this interesting article(1) about applying KOH(potassium chloride) to biochar making more micropores and WSOC (water soluble organic carbon) available. This is what they did, using different biochars from different feedstock:
"5 g of each biochar was heated with 200 ml of 1 M of either H3PO4 or 0.1 M KOH for 1 h at 90 C, then cooled down to room temperature. The solid (treated biochar) was separate from the solution by filtration. The treated biochar, once isolated, was dried at 60 C for 24 h."

They sell this stuff (Niagara-450) which consists of 98-99% KOH, as pipe cleaner for about 6 euros. I plan starting some pot trials as soon as the weather turns a bit warmer.

(1) Y. Lin et al. / Chemosphere 87 (2012) 151–157

The birth of the Primusstove

The "Primusstove"

So I mentioned, well, actually I  talked about biochar with my dad for hours and somehow got him inspired. He teamed up with his cousin and my brother and with over 100 years of DIY experience between them, they came up with the "Primusstove" in just a few days.

The idea is based on the Anila stove which is of TLUD (Top Lit Up Draft) design. They took an old propane (?) tank and cut out the bottom and made it the outer shell. The center tube is made of an old fire extinguisher. I think this design and especially the choise of materials has great potential to spread considering all the junk (sorry, underestimated resources) lying around in pretty much every back yard of the Finnish country side.

My prezi on biochar

Simple math

I think the following statement from the bio energy list explains why making biochar is so important:
" A common Miombo forest in Africa will give about 3 ton wood per ha a year. 3 ton of dry wood will give 800 kg of charcoal. A household of 5 consume 2-3 kg charcoal a day or about 800 kg a year. To produce 3 kg of charcoal you need 10-12 kg of dry fire wood in a common kiln. That will give one day cooking on a charcoal stove, and almost no biochar. 10-12kg dry chopped wood will give 3 days of cooking on a TLUD-ND or another FES and 2.5 kg of biochar" -Paal Wendelobo

The main message is: Stop making coal for burning and instead use dry wood for cooking while making biochar simultaneously.  Less polution and more cooking value.

This morning at 5am

Up till now I have pretty much ignored all talks about biochar kilns but having read a few blogs and sites on the additional benefits (other than producing biochar) I have changed my mind.
Kilns are great, especially the simple and effective ones. My eyes set on the Anila kiln (remember to add ref.) which is easy and cheap to produce.
Another thing that popped into my mind this morning was clay. Why not use clay to build a biochar kiln? I will get back to you as soon as I have more references (if there are any).