FW: [biochar] Floating seaweed

Doc / Dr TLUD / Paul S. Anderson, PhD
Exec. Dir. of Juntos Energy Solutions NFP
Email: psanders@ilstu.edu<mailto:psanders@ilstu.edu> Skype: paultlud
Phone: Office: 309-452-7072 Mobile: 309-531-4434
Website: www.drtlud.com<www.drtlud.com>

From: Anderson, Paul <psanders@ilstu.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, September 3, 2019 9:47 AM
To: biochar@yahoogroups.com
Cc: Anderson, Paul <psanders@ilstu.edu>
Subject: RE: [biochar] Floating seaweed

Kim,

I am following this discussion, and looking for solutions.

Albert noted (and the linked video stated):
Last year Puerto Morelos, with state and federal assistance, harvested
800,000 tons from the beach with shovels and pitchforks and hauled it to
an abandoned limestone quarry.

But what is that actual weight? If the Sargassum is 80% water, is that “directly from the sea” or “partially dried on the beaches? Important, but not essential to know at this level. Just say 20% of 800,000 = 160,000 tons of dry biomass. (and is regarding only one community.)

And if pyrolysis of sargassum gives low yield of char (guessing at 10%), that would yield 16,000 tons of biochar. Maybe only 10,000 tons, and it has value whereas sargassum itself is negative value (so they pay to get rid of it).

The process should be done “at sea”, even if close to the shore.

The video shows a nice “collection” boat that is quite small, probably a “proof of concept”. I wonder how many tons of wet sargassum it collects per hour of operation. I can image the “Sargassum Barge” (at least initially let a separate boat push it around in the waters near the beaches instead of investing in motorizing something that needs time to “evolve”).

Sorry. Of course, all components need to be functional separately and then together, and that should initially be on land, and at “moderate” size (to be discussed).

Steps or stages: (feel free to add or delete or provide details).
1. Pick up the sargassum. (drains the drippy water, if not on the beach already)
2. Dewater with a roller / crusher
3. Chop into bits for the dryer Does 3 come before 2?
4. Probably goes to a modest holding pile, not directly into the dryer, because of different time requirements for the different stages.
5. Feeds into the upper end of the inclined rotary dryer. (Dryer characteristics to be discussed. This is NOT for high heat. Just trying to get the biomass to about 120 deg C (about 250 F). Should have forced hot air being pushed through the biomass, with moisture exiting with the exit air.

Note: Who has seen “dried sargassum”? Do we have any idea of what we are dealing with, even in small quantities? What does a “dried ton of sargassum” amount to in volume? And with what options if chopped to different sizes, or can it be compressed into a form of low-density “press cake” (utilizing some aspects of the biomass, such as it gelatinous substances? Somebody must know this. And we need inputs from people who actually work with sargassum. Is there a sargassum listserv somewhere?

6. The design of the pyrolyzer will be strongly influenced by the nature of the dried sargassum to be the input “fuel”.

7. The pyrolyzer MUST have a controllable exit of the exhaust gases. What is coming out will be at over 800 C
(1500 F), so it will be diluted to bring the temperature to be reasonable (maybe 200 C or 400F) to put directly onto and blown through the biomass without an ignition concerns. That will be a very large volume of available “free” hot air.

The pyrolyzer is of the type for “reduction/removal of biomass” (to get rid of stuff, and the biochar would be a nice important but secondary benefit). If the system works and the net char production is less than 4% of dry weight, that is still fine!!!

Note: Do we know the energy content of dried sargassum?

Question: Do we have any “helping participants” who can help answer the questions being raised? Work to be done searching for info on the internet, or making contacts with people who are dealing with sargassum but at not on this Biochar Listserv? Assistance would be useful and appreciated.

8. Power for this operation: For development work, we can use grid power or a genset with fossil fuel. But how much power is needed to process some amount of WET sargassum? Mechanical power (via electricity) is needed at each stage. Are we discussing also to have a genset on this floating barge? 10 kWe would be easy enough, but if 20 or 30 kWe, the size starts to build up.

Kim, (and any others, if it applies), are you into this mainly for the discussion, or for actually participating with some activities (and finding other active participants, maybe in Florida or even Mexico or the Islands.? And who lives close to a beach with access to sargassum? That alone would be useful assistance.

Looking forward to responses.

Paul

From: biochar@yahoogroups.com<mailto:biochar@yahoogroups.com> <biochar@yahoogroups.com<mailto:biochar@yahoogroups.com>>
Sent: Tuesday, September 3, 2019 5:18 AM
To: Biochar <biochar@yahoogroups.com<mailto:biochar@yahoogroups.com>>
Subject: Re: [biochar] Floating seaweed

Continuing my last post, power for all operations could be supplied by a heat engine/generator set on the pyrolyzer. The exhaust gas could be piped directly into the rotary kiln for drying.

I believe sargassum is mostly ribbon-like. It has an inherently high surface to volume ratio, which should facilitate drying. If so, it could simply be automatically cut into pieces prior to drying in the rotary kiln.

The advantage of a rotary kiln is its small footprint, which makes it ideal for shipboard mounting. All equipment should be covered by walls and a roof to prevent corrosion by saltwater spray.

Kim
Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 3, 2019, at 12:24 AM, Kim Chaffee <kim.chaffee2@gmail.com<mailto:kim.chaffee2@gmail.com>> wrote:
Hi Albert,

I have been pondering your latest email and have some ideas. You stated that the optimal solution to the seaweed proliferation problem would be to process the sargassum at sea and turn it directly into biochar. You say, “Biochar seems to be the only pathway that prevents the problem from having a bad climate outcome.” You further state that, “The sea-char need not go into fertilizer; there are many other products to consider.”

I can envision a specially designed boat or barge that would extract the seaweed and immediately shred it into small pieces, each of which would have large ratios of surface area to volume. For a given amount of energy, small pieces can be dried much faster than whole sargassum. I’m imagining the pieces would probably be the size of wood chips. The mechanical energy needed to shred sargassum should be minimal, as it is 80% water and has a jelly-like consistency.

The seaweed “chips” would be fed directly into a rotary kiln that is mounted on a slight incline, like a cement kiln. Heat from the pyrolyzer, located next to the drying kiln, would be piped into the exit end of the drying kiln. Gravity would move the “chips” slowly from the higher entrance end to the lower exit end of the rotary kiln. The rotary motion would insure that all the surfaces of the chips would be exposed to the heated air from the pyrolyzer as they tumble toward the exit. For those unfamiliar with a rotary kiln, see here for details: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotary_kiln

Such a ship or barge wouldn’t be cheap to build, but it should be economical to operate, since energy and labor costs should be minimal. The value of the biochar produced should help pay back the capital and operating costs over time. I’d be interested in yours and anybody else’s thoughts. Thanks.

Kim

On Aug 26, 2019, at 10:47 AM, Albert Bates albert@thefarm.org<mailto:albert@thefarm.org> [biochar] <biochar@yahoogroups.com<mailto:biochar@yahoogroups.com>> wrote:

I missed this post by nrgnatur@gmail.com<mailto:nrgnatur@gmail.com> a few days ago but it raises
some interesting points.

Paul asks whether sargassum makes good biochar.

Some years ago I sent to a laboratory a sample of the red sargassum from
Tulum to be made into biochar and chemically assayed. The engineer
concluded that red sargassum made a very poor feedstock because it
contained a very small proportion of ligneous material in comparison to
hemicellulose. Because of this, I recommended to my client, a hotel
owner, that he not invest in biochar-making equipment. While it is
possible to carbonize and gasify the sargassum to generate electricity,
the dewatering process is time and energy consuming and produces noxious
odors.

Now that the sargassum problem is growing exponentially, it is possible
to revisit this. Pyrolysis may be a better solution, even if fertilizer
is not a very good end product.

Paul then discusses on-shore vs off-shore.

Last year Puerto Morelos, with state and federal assistance, harvested
800,000 tons from the beach with shovels and pitchforks and hauled it to
an abandoned limestone quarry. Apart from the labor cost, each truck run
cost $120usd. Some hotels purchased their own trucks. At the quarry, it
was flattened and sun-dried to make room for more. They plan to install
a liner next year to trap toxic leachate.

https://www.facebook.com/cnninternational/videos/2327354237502639/

That was just one resort town. And 800,000 tons is a drop in the bucket
compared to what may come their way in the future. Also, the beach was
unswimmable for weeks in peak season, which was a great loss,
financially.

It is for this reason they are now looking at gathering it at sea. Then
the question is whether it can be processed at sea or whether it still
needs to be landed and trucked inland. Can process heat from pyrolysis
be enough to dewater the sargassum in a continuous harvest way, or does
it need to be solar-dried? If it needs to be dried, it may have to come
ashore, at great expense.

Biochar seems to be the only pathway that prevents the problem from
having a bad climate outcome. In fact, it could reverse the fortunes of
the hotel industry by creating sequestration vacations, for guilt-free
ecotourism. The sea-char need not go into fertilizer; there are many
other products to consider. It seems likely it will be expensive, but
considering the alternative could be the loss of the entire Mayan
Riviera hospitality industry, it may still happen.

So then, the questions become what is the best equipment to use to
handle this; what will all that cost; and is there a company willing to
step forward and take the lead?

Albert

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— ORIGINAL POST —

nrgnatur@gmail.com<mailto:nrgnatur@gmail.com>
Aug 20 3:03 PM
Hi thanks for allowing me on this thread.
I am a shareholder in 2 pyrolysis related companies in Germany( where Im
based) and India. The former is more aligned to Pyrolysis retort
production whereas the Indian company are producing charcoal from their
proprietary reactor – careful not to call it biochar as we currently
don’t put it back in the ground directly. Our reactor is capable of
1t/hour feedstock delivering ca 300kg/hr charcoal and ca 700kwH energy
equivalent gas. We have tested a number of feedstocks but primarily
concentrate on residues from the coconut industry. Other feedstocks
tested are mango stone, arcane nut, corn cob and stover. All produce
high fixed carbon which is required for our product lines. Our capacity
is currently 2000 tonnes per annum but we are in talks surrounding a JV
which will elevate the capacity somewhat. At this point we will have
adequate supply to market Biochar for soil amendment use.

I’ve been discussing some ideas on the sargassum issue with a colleague
who suggested I look this site up. It does seem more attuned to what I
consider as part of the solution ( Biochar) than the other. So one
question I have here is do people believe sargassum if pyrolysed makes
for a decent Biochar ? I’m aware it delivers low C and is high on
nutrients and according to one Forum input the former bars it being
regarded as Biochar whilst the latter shouldn’t exist if pyrolysis has
been done well. All well and good but Im keen to explore the full story
before drawing conclusions.
I personally think pyrolysis of this material sets up an interesting
business model that ought to gain traction amongst those motivated to
find a solution- Govt, Tourist Industry ,Hotel chains etc.
I do think collection needs to be at sea but I don’t think it needs
drying offshore, Id prefer natural or process heat to be used here. Some
effort is already being made at collecting offshore so this would just
need significant scaling and good logistics from the Drop terminal to
processing Plant.
If as I expect the Sargassum produces a low C Char then logically it has
reduced HHV . I think this can be improved upon by blending with other
locally available woody biomass, which I also think lends itself to
improving the quality of the Char for soil amendment as well as
delivering a quantum of renewable energy and process heat. There would
likely be condensates as well.
Thereafter I think blending said char with suitable compost balanced for
locall soils is the last point of the solution.

A concern of mine is what happens in the landfills when the rains soak
the compacted weed – will it leach its chemical components , Ive heard
quite high content of arsenic and cadmium neither of which in high
concentration would do any good to the underground water system in Q Too
or the mangroves of the Sian Kian- but I’m open to being corrected
there. And would composting or raw use on the fields reduce this risk as
its been suggested or would the same leach out eventually and
potentially cause Groundwater issues ?

But I think the bottomline is if BioChar from sargassum is possible and
economically viable then the volumes available seem to make it almost
obligatory to be part of the solution and thus a potentially good
business opportunity.

Happy too be shot down; I’m no scientist just trying to look at this
holistically as this has helped shape our Indian business.
Paul

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_BURN: USING FIRE TO COOL THE EARTH_
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The Farm POB 90 Summertown TN 38483-0090 USA
931-964-4324 (o) • 52-1998-116-5532 (mex) • 931-242-3796 (usa) •
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