Adelaide Hills Biochar Initiative

THE BIOCHAR REVOLUTION & COMMUNITY GARDENS

 

The author of The Biochar Revolution, Dr. Paul Taylor recently contacted me to discuss the Flow Force Technologies biochar kiln that we have been testing in the Adelaide Hills. He is interested in possibly using it in his community garden projects in northern NSW.

He is currently using an Adam retort but believes there may be scope for a number of different styles of kiln depending on the type of feedstock, the type of user and the ultimate purpose of the biochar.

I believe the Flow Force biochar kiln is well-suited to community garden use. It is mobile and simple to use. It is relatively fast in operation (typically 4 hours per batch compared to 24 hours for some other systems). It is easy to load and unload by virtue of the revolving loading/unloading hatch.  It provides an electronic record of kiln temperature so the maximum temperature and duration of pyrolysis can be confirmed for each batch. It uses a built-in solar panel to operate the electronics so does not require an external supply of electricity.  

NOTE:

Chapter 1 of Paul Taylor’s book is available for free download at http://www.biochar-books.com/TBRDetails or from the website http://biochar-books.com. And the foreword by Dr. Tim Flannery is well worth reading and inspiring in itself.