Sustainable Fuels

Biomass Facts: Bullet Points

tnewcomb — Sat, 11 Dec 2021 21:19:40 +0000

Biomass Facts: Bullet Points tnewcomb Sat, 12/11/2021 - 16:19

Biomass Facts: Bullet Points

Carbon Analytic (CA) cultivated biomass refinement follows up on earlier failed efforts in commercial energy production. New breakthroughs in biomass fuels now represent viable means to transition away from fossil fuel dependence.

Previous trials using coarse logs, cord wood or extruded wood product have not performed well enough to be brought forward at scale. Early models have suffered from problems with low energy output, noxious emissions, fuel resource issues and failure to maintain profit.

Great Britain has implemented public biomass power plants. This was mostly for purposes of maintaining energy independence among global natural gas prices. Due to a lack of applied engineering, the British example falls short of being truly sustainable. Sourcing, refinement, combustion design and logistics need to be improved for economically viable residential and commercial expansion. Through these, the capability of controlling emissions and promoting forestry / biomass resources becomes real.

CA has taken all biomass energy technologies back to the drawing board: Cultivation designs, fuel refinement, novel combustion methods and power technologies. Every area has now been engineered to exceed performance and environmental needs. Combining new methods produces a carbon and water vapor-negative footprint. Here's how:

New refinement technologies create biomass fuels which have near-zero on-site greenhouse gas emissions. By carefully revisiting the engineering dynamics of conventional combustion and multi-stage gas reforming we have set new performance standards. The ability to increase the energy per weight of fuel product results in a more complete combustion model.
Specific methods used to grow the raw biomass for our fuels take in excess CO2 and water vapor from the air and store it safely into soil humus. Combined, these factors create energy with a true emissions-negative footprint.
Over reliance on underground fuels are causing an accumulation of water and carbon gases which are not from our current geological era. CA Biomass fuels emit only water and CO2 taken in by plants during modern time. This creates a perpetual recycling of these emissions. In this way we can actually sequester excess 'greenhouse' gasses. The net effect is to store carbon and water from the air into the soils, a healthy outcome.
Petroleum fuels in particular add large amounts of water vapor to today's atmosphere. Although this phenomenon is not commonly known, it is a scientific certainty and poses a serious threat to climate stability still being studied by NASA and others. Water vapor has a powerful greenhouse effect causing real problems as atmospheric levels increase. The contribution of released water vapor condensing to rain happens mostly over the oceans. Higher rainfall contributes as much as a 10% increase in oceanic thermal storage. Warming oceans are the primary source of reflective heat commonly called "greenhouse effect". Water vapor is twice as reflective as CO2 but worse, water vapor also increases the reflectivity of the CO2 in the atmosphere.
Atmospheric warming results in excess water vapor. More evaporating H2O means more of it rises to reach the colder ozone layer. As it arrives, it forms higher burdens of micro-crystalline ice in the stratosphere. Once there this additional ice destroys more and more ozone molecules as part of a complex process. Widespread use of CA biomass fuel and power technologies directly reverses water vapor accumulation and mitigates atmospheric warming. The process is explained in technical detail peer reviewed at this very informative link.
Biomass fuels are the only sustainable complement to fossil fuels capable of safely yielding large scale, on-demand energy. Energy that is available day or night, during high winds or low. This on-demand real time provision allows continuous adjustment of power generation to accommodate grid demands.
More info is available through other outlets, but we can say this: Only limited need exists for battery storage as part of new CA mechanical models! Instead, we use thermal storage / energy conversion technology. This way we gain further power output with less fuel required per unit. The flexibility of design means users and operations of the CA power systems retain and utilize heat conversion to power production as an additional power source. CA systems only burden the customer with the fuel required to produce their need with excess energy sent back to the power companies, without additional cost to customers.
Biomass fuels can generate sustainable, high output power very safely. Solid biomass fuels are not explosive and present no target opportunities for terrorist or military aggression. There is no need to mine, transport, store or dispose of any toxic waste. The option to produce excess carbon char byproduct provides further material for soil amendment and water purification.
Known reserves of precious petroleum resources worldwide are calculated to be exhausted within 50 years, with continually increasing costs for extraction. These reserves are non-renewable... https://www.worldometers.info/oil/ By contrast, biomass fuels can be produced and replenished indefinitely.
Biomass fuels refined from various beneficial plant species can be raised large-scale on marginalized lands with sustainable financial benefit.
Carefully managed biomass plantations rapidly heal soils and water systems where they grow, reversing desertification locally. They sequester (transfer) harmful greenhouse gases from the atmosphere back to the soils. As CA biomass fuels become widespread, their growing use will increasingly stabilize atmospheric conditions. Pollutants and secondary waste streams become limited. Meanwhile, restoration of natural water storage and lands utilization are enhanced.
Biomass fuels can be cultivated near regional areas with the highest power demands. This reduces the logistics associated with the mining and transportation and cleanup involved with fossil fuels. Wind and solar farms as well as nuclear reactors suffer similar drawbacks.
The tree arbor (Silvopasture) model from Carbon Analytic is ready to harvest between 5 and 10 years (species dependent). In-canopy pasture management allows continuous harvest of hay and livestock throughout much of the arbor cycle. This augments cash flow between tree harvest and provides local food resources.
Annual field crops like hemp produce high quality raw biomass very quickly while regenerating poor soils. This helps to reverse modern trends towards desertification.
Biomass fuels are the only known energy source capable of safely supporting a vital, modern energy grid on an authentic, sustainable basis!

Refined Biomass

Biomass Fuels

Sustainable Fuels

Synergistic Arbors: Functional Overview

tnewcomb — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 03:05:09 +0000

Synergistic Arbors: Functional Overview tnewcomb Sun, 11/28/2021 - 22:05

CA Synergistic Silvopasture Model:

Restoring large numbers of trees into strategically managed arbors (Silvopasture) is one of the main priorities of the Carbon Analytic plan for securing an energy-abundant future. The fact is, conventional fuel resources are finite and therefor precious. Recent breakthroughs in biomass refinement and power technologies are transforming the practicality of energy-economics, ecology and resource management.

Healthy cattle in Indian silvopasture.

Just as important as creating the energy is doing so in ways which correct for some of the unintended climate consequences of our rapid human development. As we’ll see, Carbon Analytic biomass fuels and energy technologies directly addresses two major anthropomorphic (man-made) threats to climate stability:

Accumulation of water vapor as a greenhouse gas, quickly condenses out as rain, raising ocean levels. Literally quintillions of gallons of water have been liberated from ancient petroleum deposits during recent industrialization, challenging atmospheric homeostasis. Conversely, biomass derived hydrocarbon fuels are formed when growing plants gather carbon and hydrogen directly from our environment. This means global ecosystems are not further burdened by additional greenhouse elements from the distant geological past. Beyond the greenhouse effects, it is also clear from a growing body of scientific knowledge that too much water vapor accelerates destruction of the ozone layer in an stratospheric 'icing' process, recently chronicled in meteorological studies. We have known for some decades that the earth’s ozone protection has been damaged by other industrial gases, documented by several authorities watching this serious effect... Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.
Desertification of land areas as an advancing global trend. This is defined as: "Loss of water retention competence". Entire continental regions have been steadily losing their ability to hold water and by extension, to support life. This phenomenon is called desertification.

Fair Use: Global Desertification Trending.

This is a primary outcome of unfortunate forestry and agricultural practices like clear-cutting, improper tilling and over-use of synthetic chemicals. Such practices pose threats which Carbon Analytic seeks to reverse, with silvopasture tree arbors being a good model of example.

Fortunately, many of our environmental challenges can be directly mitigated through large scale cultivation and clean combustion of refined biomass fuels! Carbon Analytic Biomass Silvopastures are well suited to colonize and regenerate poor or under-producing land tracts which have gone fallow or become overly dependent on irrigation and artificial inputs. Large volumes of on-demand biomass fuels are cultivated to maintain these volumes on a profitable basis, conserving finite conventional fossil fuel sources as a practical turn-key solution.

Creating a well managed silvopasture arbor on marginal land begins with soil testing, followed by the application of slow release organic compounds to correct for 'ph' and basic deficiencies. Pasture is then seeded according to regional conditions with selected, deep rooted grass and legumes. Because there is strength in diversity, local volunteer species are not discouraged and weed killers are not applied. This combination is symbiotic and vigorous. Powerful root systems quickly reach deep water stores and condition the topsoil to absorb and hold rain or irrigation water. Species like alfalfa have tap roots that are so aggressive they will break up hard-pans structures in the subsoil, a critical step in soil regeneration.

Typical alfalfa root development

Some may question: "what does seeding a pasture have to do with biomass arbors"? Over the season as the pasture becomes established, trees are planted in a grid pattern, usually spaced for selective harvest at 5-10 years depending on conditions and species selected. Three or more regionally compatible species are inter-mixed evenly throughout. This creates natural bio-diversity, facilitating all three varieties to communicate and exchange beneficial plant compounds, lending vitality as found in wild tree stands. This raises general vigor and resistance to blight, which often plagues mono-culture (single-species) plantations.

In similar ways, pasture and trees also mutually support each other through their root systems. In addition, legumes fix nitrogen from air and donate their surplus to trees. The lush pasture growth quickly conditions the soil surface to absorb and hold water while deep tree roots pump water from sub-soils and actually contribute it to the topsoil, supporting the pasture. This affinity between certain trees and grasses was well known, especially among orcharders before weed killers became widespread. Grasses grow better beneath the partial shade of the tree canopy. One of our favorite deep rooted fodder species is aptly named: Orchard Grass.

Here’s the game changer: Livestock is introduced! Once the young trees are sturdy enough, a highly specialized and successful system of livestock management is employed known as “The Savory Method”. The Savory Institute is an international organization which promotes and certifies Stockmen in the skills of land restoration. The key is controlling the intensity at which an area is grazed to mimic the action of wild herds on their migrations. Not too much, not too little. Cost effective reversal of desertification along with gains in productivity and soil quality have proven themselves worldwide. The process makes a valuable contribution to Carbon Analytic silvopasture systems.

Hay is cut and stored as typical to over-winter livestock. Both hay and stock can be sold at grower discretion on a seasonal basis as the trees or other biomass crops grow through their cycle.

We generally select fast growing, energy dense tree varieties, known among foresters as “Early Successional Tree Species” such as alder or birch. These are non-shade tolerant and are the first to colonize following a clearing event. In wild settings they disintegrate as they reach a larger stature, making way for shade tolerant, mid and late successional species surviving below like maple and oak, respectively.

Growers can choose how they introduce trees. The total capacity can be planted all at once with the full or selective harvest at 5-10 years or could take place over consecutive or alternating years, setting up smaller, more frequent harvests.

At harvest, trees are ‘coppiced’ or cut low to the ground. After a short time, new shoots sprout from the bark ring. One shoot is chosen per stump, which become the next crop without the need for replanting. They grow quickly from their fully developed root systems. Well established mycorrhizal networks (beneficial soil microbes) living there stay intact and continue to sequester atmospheric carbon deep into the soil as humus.

This process of tree harvest does not result in soil damage. The pasture is maintained as needed along with the livestock, perpetuating their cumulative benefits as the next generation of trees springs forth. Various options available at grower discretion which allow them customize a program most suitable for their needs. Livestock can be visited to farms without livestock as mobile grazers / foragers for livestock farmers that need to graze animals.

This 5-10 year cycle can be repeated for 3 or more cycles, at which time the grower has several main options:

1). Re-planting similar species and continuing the model.

2). Returning the area to pasture by mowing over the stumps until volunteer shoots cease.

3). Planting mid and late successional species among the stumps and letting the area cycle naturally to old growth forest.

In the bigger picture as the biomass fuel solution becomes widespread, Carbon Analytic arbors and parallel projects will have an authentic stabilizing value, both economically and environmentally. Large volumes of water and carbon will again be stored in healthy soil systems. In time, this will help steady ocean levels and lower CO2 and water vapor 'greenhouse' gases. Generating more and more energy from biomass fuels dramatically curbs input of compounds from other eras, a choice which ultimately falls within human discretion.

Note: 'Greenhouse' is a coined term that oversimplifies the heat dynamics between Earth and space.

The future is not easily read with 100% accuracy. However, as human civilization continues to grow, learning to manage known risks proactively becomes ever more critical.

Carbon Analytic energy models salvage and regenerate lands, benefit climate stability and support a sustainable, high performance grid. They foster new business and jobs creation on a massive scale and conserve irreplaceable conventional fuel reserves for their most suitable purposes.

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Sustainable Fuels

biomass fuel

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Healthy Trees, Fuel and Air!

tnewcomb — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 20:18:18 +0000

Healthy Trees, Fuel and Air!

TREES TO POWER THE WORLD

Cultivated biomass refinement is the response to earlier failed efforts decades ago in energy production to use biomass as an alternative to fossil fuels.

Can we grow enough trees to support our grid and save our fossil reserves? Yes. The earth currently has only about 50% of the trees it had 200 years ago. Replanting some portion of them into carefully managed arbors makes sense on several levels: 1). Economic. 2). Fuel conservation. 3). Stabilizing ecosystems.

Trees with Pasture and Livestock.

Wouldn’t burning so much wood-sourced fuel cause pollution? No. Ultra-refined wood fuel and efficient new power mechanics from Carbon Analytic are virtually greenhouse gas free. Because the process of growing trees and other biomass sources stores excess water and CO2 into the soil, the process is NET GREENHOUSE NEGATIVE!

Is there such a thing as too much water? Let’s look at some grade school chemistry: Burning almost anything creates water vapor. This is why we see water dripping from car exhaust before they warm up. Burning petroleum pushes water vapor (and carbon) from ancient times into today's climate. Lots of it. Most of us know about the CO2 problem, but H2O is both a much higher volume greenhouse gas and has greater harmful potential. Unfortunately, it has been accumulating fast for decades without comprehensive management strategies in place.

Could well managed biomass tree arbors help control greenhouse gases? Certainly. Desertification is an unfortunate modern trend where wet areas become wetter (attracting rain) and dry ones become drier (repelling rain). At the same time oceans are rising. These phenomena are principally due to large scale logging and harmful farming methods. That and an infusion of water vapor from combustion of ancient fuels. Repopulating trees shades land surfaces from the greenhouse warming effects of infra-red solar radiation. They gather excess water and carbon from the air back into the soils as humus or ‘black soil’. Even grasses as short as 5 inches tall, anchor carbon rich humus and water into top soil to anchor from the effects of rainfall turning the soils into silt in runoff.

If we plant so many trees, where would we grow food? Alongside the trees! Our tree arbor model (called Silvopasture) allows us to raise annual hay and livestock among the trees through most of a 5-10 year harvest cycle. Trees, pasture and grazing cooperate to increase fertility, food yields and build high quality soil.

Ultra-refined biomass fuels and new power technologies from Carbon Analytic safely support the conservation of petroleum, coal, wind and solar energies using the worlds original fuel: BIOMASS!

To learn more about Carbon Analytic Tree Arbor Programs: Synergistic Arbors: Functional Overview

tnewcomb Mon, 10/25/2021 - 16:18

Biomass Fuels

Wood Fuels

Sustainable Fuels