As the college year comes to a close the RIT senior design team focusing on biochar based roof tiles that I have been working with is showing some exciting results. The team was tasked with coming up with a tile … Continue reading
Category Archives: Blog
I hate to desecrate those supposedly ‘harmless’ desiccant packs that are found in an increasing number of packages, but there is a much more benign alternative! Allow me to explain… Desiccants are materials used to prevent spoilage, mold, mildew, odors, … Continue reading
Discovery of something doesn’t always lead to quick, practical applications of said discovery. For some game-changing discoveries such as aluminum, practical applications had to wait a few decades for future discoveries (e.g. airplanes) before the real value could be realized. Electricity … Continue reading
As I mentioned in the previous post, the amount of biochar research happening around the world these days is growing exponentially. It is no longer feasible, if in fact it ever was, for one person or even a single organization, … Continue reading
You know that feeling of excited anticipation you get when something arrives after you have been waiting for days or weeks? I get that feeling every time the International Biochar Initiative (IBI) newsletter arrives in my email box. Why? Because … Continue reading
2015 was dubbed the ‘Year of Soils’ by the UN, but sadly the biochar world let the opportunity of celebrating what biochar could do for soils pass relatively unpromoted. The French are offering up another great opportunity for soils to … Continue reading
As the Climate Talks begin in Paris today, I thought it might be worthwhile to provide a biochar ‘greatest hits’ to highlight just how helpful biochar can be in terms of climate change. There is a fast growing body of … Continue reading
E. coli has been in the news again of late thanks to the Chipotle outbreak in the Pacific North West. Not only are such outbreaks expensive to business but they can sometimes prove deadly to consumers. E. coli, the pathogenic variety … Continue reading
This academic year I am very excited to be working with two different engineering teams from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). One team is looking at how to optimize heat capture while carbonizing biomass. The other is prototyping the … Continue reading
One would think that the sight of a river of gold would fill one with awe. But the recent golden rivers that flowed in Colorado carried toxic ghostly remains from abandoned gold mines inspired horror, not awe. Of course people … Continue reading