How could it work?

For starters

Mining (linear minerals + circular plants, with biochar)->Materials->manufacturing->technology->industry sectors connected in a circular bioeconomy
BUT will we ever have a 100% circular bioeconomy? Probably NEVER. But, it's goal posts on the horizon.

The problem is, for 'Made in Australia' week, I believe we need to move backwards from the ideal sustainable economy back to the technologies that will fit the ideal and benefit the Country with a possibility in some cases for exports.

I've blogged extensively for years about the ideal technologies we need for what I now call 'Sustainable adaptation'. It's a problem for the free market and what incentives and disincentives the Gov can offer.

The days of linear energy eg.fossil Carbon, are nearing an end but there's still a long way to go to 'phase out' completely, if it ever happens.  'Critical minerals' are open to debate. Why? Because green chemistry, including Carbon/plant based chemistry, is taking over industrial design thinking in my opinion.

There's also undiscovered technologies with applications that no one has ever imagined. Funding that is applied to all stages of idea to commercialisation is needed. Manufacturing needs new Industry 4.0 thinking but backed up with Australian manufactured tools, machinery, plant industry and critical minerals, with more apprenticeships keyed into the now and the future.

Circular renewable energy is possible with biomass to biochar and bio-electricity. Solar and wind turbines, with clever industrial design, can be upcycled at the end of their lifespan. Some big batteries are becoming more circular too, once again with upcycling potential at the end of their lifespan.

'Critical minerals' are a moving target. For eg. Sodium (Na) battery R&D, for consumer batteries, is getting a lot of attention as researchers and companies are looking for a greener and more ubiquitous option than Lithium (Li), which is still being considered as a 'critical' battery mineral. So much investment has gone into Li mining, which also uses a huge amount of water (especially from brine mining such as Salar de Uyuni) but Na is pulling ahead and can be mined from desalination brine produced from Redox Flow Desalination batteries while producing potable water and storing renewable energy at the same time. This is just a drop in the ocean in terms of what technologies are being designed, built and commercialised now. Years to start up a mine is a financially risky business. Plant industry can be built much faster and is more flexible with more sites for growing/harvesting than geologically specific mineral deposits. There's mine approval too.

There's one thing for certain in the biochar technology world - biomass waste and steel are King. 'Green steel' is really the next step towards a sustainable supply chain for biochar stoves and kilns. I'm hoping that our 'Green steel' thought leaders, such as Twiggy Forrest, will eventually greentech every step of the steel supply chain. Failing that, steel manufacturers could be buying Biochar Carbon Removal credits from CRM platforms and pay the Charistas making the biochar and permanently removing the Carbon from the atmosphere. Who knows, waste biomass (if it's accessible eg.desert areas have less) to biochar and bio-electricity tech could be used at steel mills earning BCR credits, possibly as a primary or backup power supply to solar and/or wind, even storing energy in the RFD batteries during desalination for potable water partly used for 'Green Hydrogen' or, as I've mentioned previously, produced directly from seawater (plus using energy from the RFD battery for electrolysis) enabling the arguably higher value potable water used for human consumption.

So overall, from biomass waste and seawater inputs it's conceptually possible to get biochar (various applications), energy storage for dispatchable power (industry and residential), potable water (drinking), 'Green Hydrogen' (for Iron ore reduction) and Sodium (from the salty desal brine for consumer batteries).

Work out the tech and reverse engineer all the way back to the mine and the field/forest/desert/savannah etc. atmosphere and oceans.

However,

There's also Dr TLUD's 'Obtainium' approach that is used by most appropriate technologists. Basically, design and build a technology with what you are able to 'obtain', preferably locally sourced and using materials that are common throughout the world for a more global approach that can help more people. This is what I've done with many TLUD designs. For eg., the Rock Solid Oil Drum V3 TLUD (see web page) upcycled 2 x 20L oil drums from the tip/dump/waste recycling centre.

What do you think?

1. Biochar
    1. Plants
        1. Various applications for various industries
        2. Plant waste->Biochar
    2. Biomass processing tools
        1. Hand tools
            1. Silky Gomboy bush saw
            2. Stihl chainsaws
                1. Small electric with battery
                2. Larger petrol/?larger electric
        2. Machinery
            1. Chippers
            2. ?Ryobi crusher for Permafert eg. green waste
            3. Pelletisers for TLUDs
                1. Nova Pellet/Arco International 'N-Pico' (for small quantities but haven't purchased and tried one yet)
        3. Biomass drying
            1. Tarps
            2. Shed(s)
            3. Possible kiln cogeneration (eg.CharCell/Continuous Pyrolysis Plant (CPP) with biomass dryer module)
    3. Biochar production technology
        1. Stoves
            1. Navigator TLUDs
                1. Burner
                2. 'Backup' or 'Light'
            2. Many more!
        2. Kilns
            1. Pyramid
            2. Rock Solid Oil Drum V3 TLUD (need to test)
            3. Kon-Tiki 'Essential' (proven in the field over 2 biochar seasons so far)
            4. Flame Cap 'Algorithm' Panel Kiln (need to build and test)
            5. Bigger ones $
                1. CharCell
                2. CPP
                3. Various 'open source' designs and adaptations  eg. Joey's trough pyrolyser
    4. Biochar processing
        1. Mills
            1. Adjustable roller mill, bioenergy/electric
    5. Logistics
        1. Trailer + car
        2. Ute
        3. Small truck
        4. Bigger trucks
    6. Applications
        1. Air filtration
        2. Water filtration
        3. Sewage treatment (with bokashi) OR at larger scales, sewage can be pyrolysed (1)
        4. Permafert
            1. Inoculated Biochar ~40%
                1. Milled THEN
                2. Soaked in water tight vessel eg. upcycled HDPE ethanol drums cut in half longitudinally
                    1. Liquid sea kelp
                    2. EM
                    3. Molasses
                    4. Fungal spores
            2. Additional ingredients ~40%
                1. Humanure/Animal manure
                2. Bokashi
                3. Additional C and N
            3. Soil (Optional) ~20%
                1. Clay
                2. Minerals
                3. Microbiology/'Soil Food Web'
        5. Food and medicine growing systems
            1. Wheelbarrow
            2. Hand tools
                1. Cyclone Burr hoe
                2. Square shovel
                3. Round nosed shovel (long handle)
                4. Steel landscape rake
                5. Cyclone post hole digger (bioenergy)/electric
            3. Systems
                1. Wicking pots
                2. Wicking modules
                3. Wicking beds (various designs)
                4. Wicking IBCs (cut in half)
                5. Wicking troughs (charcrete) with recycled PET/PETE fabric pots
                6. Regenerative Agroforestry Systems (RAS)
                    1. Zai pits
                    2. Swales
                    3. Zai pit/Swale hybrid
            4. Earthworks
                1. Dingo
                2. Many options
            5. Machinery $, industrial row systems/other systems
                1. Quad bike with trailer (logistics between rows)
                2. Trench digger
                3. Tractor
                    1. Post hole auger (tree holes and fencing)
                    2. Bucket (earthworks)
                    3. Seed drill ('no till')
                    4. Biochar Spreader eg. into root zone
        6. End of Biochar use cascade
            1. If low quality and non-toxic biochar
                1. Wetlands
                2. Conservation
                3. Landscaping
            2. If Biochar is toxic eg. adsorbed Heavy metals, agrichemicals, POPs etc.
                1. Concrete = 'CharCrete'
                2. Asphalt (biochar in various combinations with other ingredients)

(1) Solid state (GaN) Microwave Assisted Pyrolysis (MAP) with granular digital control of microwave frequency, amplitude and phase for running a 'sewage' (or any Carbon based feedstock) program that is 'AI tweaked' in real-time based on sensor feedback for energy efficiency of dielectric heating of the feedstock inside the pyrolysis reactor during pyrolysis. The program 'remembers' the tweaks and improves efficiency of the program for every subsequent continuous/batch run of the same feedstock.

Learning Issue: What is the most appropriate sensor/sensor array to measure the efficiency of dielectric heating of the feedstock during pyrolysis? eg. reactor temperature, flue gas composition, Electrical Conductivity or Electrical Resistance etc.

Prosperity with 'linear degrowth' and 'circular regrowth'.

A perplexity.ai sceptic is needed for deep research...

Business opportunities aplenty...

Policy ideas for the Oz Gov

1. Increase economic complexity
    1. Insurance policy to Global tariff wars
    2. Manufacturing for the niches (when the landscape can be read with some certainty)
2. Pull the Ancient Sunlight Lever
    1. Moratorium of new fossil mines and expansions
3. Variable fossil C export tax
    1. Reactive to world fossil market
    2. Funds Oz digital and physical infrastructure, health and education etc.

4. National Pyrolysis Strategy (in the footsteps of Denmark)
    1. Australian Biochar Industry 2030 Roadmap, anzbig.org

    2. Pre-seed funding for biochar ideas to get to prototype for seed funding

    eg. Flame Cap' Algorithm' Panel Kiln/dMRV app interface for a Carbon Removal Marketplace (CRM) platform

5. Total Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) measured for ACCUs
    1. Biochar in soil counted for total SOC

6. Quantum proofing/post-quantum digital infrastructure
    1. eg.Vaulted Ventures

Greentech stuff

 Biochar applications

    1. air filtration

    2. water filtration
    3. Agriculture/Forestry/Agroforestry/Horticulture/Conservation applications

    4. Hard infrastructure Carbon sinks eg. concrete, asphalt etc. at the end of the Carbon Removal in a Cascade of Uses (CRCU) where biochar is used to remove heavy metals or chemicals
    5. Advanced C materials eg.Carbon fibre, graphene, battery anodes, supercaps, PVs etc.

    6. Permaculture and biochar (small scale to bioregional scale integrated systems)

Plant industry
    1. Hemp
        1. Housing eg. Hempcharcrete
        2. Microalgae for CaCO3->C negative lime

        3. Hemp seed, CBD etc.

        4. plant waste to biochar
    2. Bamboo
        1. Building
        2. Biochar
            1. Battery anodes
            2. Supercapacitors

            3. plant waste to biochar
    3. Macroalgae (Kelp)
        1. Inoculated biochar with liquid sea kelp
        2. Battery anodes

        3. building materials

        4. plant waste to biochar
    4. Microalgae

        1. protein

        2. pharmaceuticals

        3. lime (CaCO3)

        4. lipids/oils

        5. plant waste to biochar

Measured Irrigation
    1. Small to large irrigation systems

Green Steel
    1. Electrified mining equipment
    2. Green H2, for iron oxide reduction, powered by Redox Flow Desalination (RFD) stored energy

(RFD can store renewable energy from any source eg. solar, wind etc. with simultaneous desalination of salty water for potable water. See https://tmdlab.org/research-1/RFD for a concise overview or the full article at the end of the blog)
    3. Sodium mining from RFD brine for 3D printed Na-air SSBs

Green Aluminium
    1. Bauxite with Gallium extracted for GaN transistors for amplifiers to use solid state Microwave Assisted Pyrolysis (MAP) for digital control of frequency and amplitude (and energy efficiency)
    2. Green H2

https://www.csiro.au/en/research/environmental-impacts/fuels/hydrogen/Hydrogen-for-alumina

Plastic upcycling and bioplastics
    1. MAP for hydrocarbon-based plastics
        1. Plastic char to ?Graphene or ?other advanced C materials (experimental)
        2. Pyrolysis condensate->bio-oil->ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) OR  monomers->new plastic
        3. Syngas->Bioelectricity
            1. Stirling engine eg. Alpha-Gamma https://frauscher-motors.com/gen70xx-series/
            2. Self-powered MAP
            3. Excess to micro-grid/grid
    2. Hemp bioplastic

Sewage treatment
    1. MAP->biochar

That's all for now!

Communications are essential. The 'Fairphone' (fairphone.com) is a great ethical concept and will last many years. I've been thinking about an alternative 'All in one' computer for a number of years that could replace a smartphone, tablet, laptop, camera and torch.

Here are the specs:

• Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS OS
• Built to last: specced to IP68/IP69K-rated, MIL-STD-810G with port seals
• 10.1 inch colour e-ink touchscreen with Corning Gorilla Glass Armor 2
• Resolution up to 2560x1600
• Intel Celeron N150 (4C/4T, 6W processor base power up to 25W at 3.6GHz but could be underclocked for a fanless system) (CPU/GPU)
• 16Gb of RAM (Max for N150) (clockable up to 4800MHz - but only if needed, and might need a fan)
• 2Tb SSD storage
• 2 x HDMI 2.1 ports
• 2 x USB C 3.2 ports (Thunderbolt 4, one for charging with PD)
• 2 x USB A 3.2 ports
• 3.5mm headphone port
• 2W Harman Kardon speakers
• Bluetooth 6.0
• Wifi 6 (supports ac 2.4/5 GHz)
• Ethernet port (10/100/1000 Mbps) (optional higher transfer rate)
• dual SIM 4G LTE (optional 5G)
• GPS (many bands)
• front (16Mp) and rear (64MP) Carl Zeiss cameras + LED array for torch (optional infrared and night vision)
• SD card slot (up to 2Tb)
• on-screen keyboard + optional external keyboard/external mouse (via USB A 3.1 ports)
• solid state battery: large capacity eg. 20,000mAh, light, small size footprint, super thermally stable eg. wide operating temperature, durable, fast charging, removable/replaceable

What to do you think? Any ideas please get in touch. Maybe one for Aussie engineering? Manufacturing?

It's been a little while since the last blog. I've had a chance to research bokashi for anaerobic fermentation of organic waste and it occurred to me it would work great with biochar, which can soak up liquids, reduce odour and provide microbial habitat. I also get emails from Kelpie Wilson's substack and it looks like she beat me to it.

https://substack.com/home/post/p-148238556

Bokashi, Biochar eg.wood, bamboo etc. and humanure (off-grid: unpowered eg. no seat warmer or pop up lid with motion sensor; no plumbing/use of potable water; no extra chemicals; no digging)
One of the applications that interested me in Kelpie's article was off-grid emergency humanitarian relief, in this case due to a wildfire/bushfire. 'Unnatural' climate disasters are becoming the norm around the world.

Bring on the eco-friendly off-grid dunnies!

The biochar could be sourced from biochar produced from TLUDs, such as the Navigator 'Backup' TLUD (see page and photos below) or Bush Survival System (which will soon be tested - see earlier blog), possibly after using it in a gravity fed water filtration system, such as the Permafilter 20L (see photos below).

This is definitely an area that warrants more research as it could help billions of people with lack of access to safe sanitation. According to WHO (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/sanitation):

• In 2022, 57% of the global population (4.6 billion people) used a safely managed sanitation service.
• Over 1.5 billion people still do not have basic sanitation services, such as private toilets or latrines.
• Of these, 419 million still defecate in the open, for example in street gutters, behind bushes or into open bodies of water.

Pretty shocking stuff. Bokashi, biochar, bioplastic toilet seat and 20L bioplastic bucket manufacturing and logistics can improve public health! Not enough eco-friendly toilets...

I would also suggest that the humanure can be added to larger compost systems for growing systems, also using bokashi and Biochar, possibly using biochar from the Flame Cap 'Algorithm' Panel kiln (see page for design), Ring of Fire (available in the US), Kon-Tiki 'Essential' (see page - CADs available for sale) possibly with additional animal manure eg. Poultry or Cow, plus some biomass waste, such as kitchen scraps and chipped prunings eg. Olive, fruit trees; straw etc.

- export tax on fossil Carbon, to fund:

    - health and education
    - renewable energy R&D and manufacturing subsidies/credits
    - just green transition to a circular bioeconomy

       - a biochar industry eg. https://anzbig.org/

       - a hemp industry https://australianhempcouncil.org.au/

       - a bamboo industry https://bamboo.org.au/

       - a micro algae (?peak industry body) and macro algae industry

          https://www.seaweedalliance.org.au/

    - plastic waste problem

       https://acor.org.au/

       -Continuous Microwave Assisted Pyrolysis (CMAP)

         https://www.resynergi.com/

       - deploy the CMAP modules at the waste stream (just like the Flame Cap 'Algorithm' Panel Kiln for biomass)

       - logistically efficient with lower transport Carbon footprint than central recycling depots

       - could be self-powered from syngas heat exchanged to a Stirling engine for electricity

       - large hydrocarbon chains broken into monomers for new plastic  + cleaner burning Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel

       - plastic char ?for advanced Carbon materials

    - ecovillages for homeless people made from hempcharcrete https://ecovillage.org/

        - hempcharcrete
           - hemp bast fibre
           - hemp straw Biochar
           - microalgae->CaCO3->C negative lime
           - water

            ->load bearing blocks
       - built on reclaimed or marginal land
       - 3 levels maximum 

       - North facing, passive solar, high thermal mass

       - outfitted with appropriate technology

         - largely self-sufficient for power, water, sewage, food, medicine etc.

       - remote training (credits) and working possible if distance to workplaces a problem
       - subsidised training and skills development for homeless people to build their own ecovillage/paradise

         - possible flow on work in the subsidised plant-based ecovillage building industry

Hypothetically every person in Australia can be powered with renewable electricity

3 main tiers/scales
- grid
- microgrids
- standalone
    - stationary
    - mobile

10 main barriers
- politics

  - positive = 'do something' or 'do a lot'

  - negative = 'do nothing' or 'a baseload power argument distraction' to wind back years of progress
- a sense of urgency in a climate emergency

- plastic straw executive orders
- mining 'critical' minerals for renewable energy materials
- grid and microgrid transmission lines and electronics
- R&D
    - seed funding
    - engineering
    - materials
        - green chemistry
- commercialisation
    - seed funding
    - grants
- manufacturing
    - solar PV panels
    - wind turbines
    - batteries
    - bioelectricity/Biochar kilns

    - wave or wave/solar PV/wind

    - solar thermal 'Green Hydrogen' production with a special catalyst eg.activated biochar
    - ? manufacturing credits for 'critical' renewable energy infrastructure
- affordability
    - incentives/subsidies
    - project grants
    - pensioner discounts
- deployment
    - red tape/approvals
    - logistics
    - installation