I hope you have enjoyed the first few installments of A Field Guide to Biochar Water Treatment. It’s been fun for me figuring out the Substack platform. (Please let me know what bugs or issues you come across!) I can already tell there are many ways this experience will benefit the overall book.
I subscribed to the field guide you write since I am biochar producer and I try to manufacture activated carbon for water treatment.
I have 2 questions:
1) I understand that the book is published part by part but (for me) it is challenging to read it like this. Is it ok to ask for one PDF which enable reading everything in a linear way?
2) Could you add a chapter on activation protocols?
Hi Nadav, thank you for writing. I am working on a method for providing chapters in continuous (e.g., pdf file) format. It sounds straightforward but is a little complicated since we have also been editing versions of chapter sections as we go, and so need to avoid version control issues. Hopefully we will have a method sorted out in the coming weeks.
Hi Josh, I came to this study through Jon Jandai videos, I believe very much in it and I really thank you people like you and Jon, you are my inspiration for a new kind of life. I’m in my 50 and the recent crazy situation push me moving away from European city (Modena in Italy) looking for simple quite life. I’m ready now to install the system form my house and organic farm in Surin province (near Rattanaburi), we drilled water well. Please I need help/advise if is correct my solution: I think to use 3 x 1000L plastic tank (Dos company) for filtering and 1x 2000L plastic tank for storage. We are 4 in my family and want to use the water also to drop-drop feeding system for our self reliant organic vegetables/fruits/rice garden. My questions are: how dense the mesh, that separate fine sand to gravel and to coarse sand, must be and what material is better: stainless steel 304 or fiberglass? I found it in few different size: from about 0.1mm up. Please reply ASAP as I need to decide how to proceed and move in our new house, actually we are without water. Thanks a lot for your precious work Josh! Paolo
Hi Paolo, thank you for writing. I'm sorry I somehow overlooked your comments/questions and only just saw these.
For grading the sand between fine and coarse we often use window screen or poultry netting available from many small hardware stores in Thailand. The openings are about 1 mm. For removing the very fine particles from the fine sand fraction, we wash the sand several times with water, stirring it vigorously to suspend the fines, and then pouring them off. This is needed to prevent filter clogging.
If you prefer not to make your own biochar adsorbent you most likely can purchase activated carbon from one of the "big box" hardware stores. There are also shops around Thailand that sell water treatment equipment and you could get activated carbon there as well.
Hope this helps and again sorry for my slow reply.
Hello Josh,
I subscribed to the field guide you write since I am biochar producer and I try to manufacture activated carbon for water treatment.
I have 2 questions:
1) I understand that the book is published part by part but (for me) it is challenging to read it like this. Is it ok to ask for one PDF which enable reading everything in a linear way?
2) Could you add a chapter on activation protocols?
Thanks!
Nadav.
Hi Nadav, thank you for writing. I am working on a method for providing chapters in continuous (e.g., pdf file) format. It sounds straightforward but is a little complicated since we have also been editing versions of chapter sections as we go, and so need to avoid version control issues. Hopefully we will have a method sorted out in the coming weeks.
We do have some sections on activation (or pseudo-activation) methods available and posted, and there will be more to come on this topic. For example, see section 4.1.4 and subsequent sections: https://joshkearns.substack.com/p/chapter-4-summary-of-research-on-b37
Hope this helps and thanks for your interest and support!
Josh
One more thing. I’m not in conditions to produce charcoal myself yet. Any suggestions in what can I buy?
Hi Josh, I came to this study through Jon Jandai videos, I believe very much in it and I really thank you people like you and Jon, you are my inspiration for a new kind of life. I’m in my 50 and the recent crazy situation push me moving away from European city (Modena in Italy) looking for simple quite life. I’m ready now to install the system form my house and organic farm in Surin province (near Rattanaburi), we drilled water well. Please I need help/advise if is correct my solution: I think to use 3 x 1000L plastic tank (Dos company) for filtering and 1x 2000L plastic tank for storage. We are 4 in my family and want to use the water also to drop-drop feeding system for our self reliant organic vegetables/fruits/rice garden. My questions are: how dense the mesh, that separate fine sand to gravel and to coarse sand, must be and what material is better: stainless steel 304 or fiberglass? I found it in few different size: from about 0.1mm up. Please reply ASAP as I need to decide how to proceed and move in our new house, actually we are without water. Thanks a lot for your precious work Josh! Paolo
Hi Paolo, thank you for writing. I'm sorry I somehow overlooked your comments/questions and only just saw these.
For grading the sand between fine and coarse we often use window screen or poultry netting available from many small hardware stores in Thailand. The openings are about 1 mm. For removing the very fine particles from the fine sand fraction, we wash the sand several times with water, stirring it vigorously to suspend the fines, and then pouring them off. This is needed to prevent filter clogging.
If you prefer not to make your own biochar adsorbent you most likely can purchase activated carbon from one of the "big box" hardware stores. There are also shops around Thailand that sell water treatment equipment and you could get activated carbon there as well.
Hope this helps and again sorry for my slow reply.
Josh