Sun

03

Mar

2024

X Prize for desalination interest?

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Sat

02

Mar

2024

Activated Biochar System (ABS) concept

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Mon

19

Feb

2024

Some apptech worth checking out

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Sun

14

Jan

2024

Sustainable adaptation?

There's a number of ways this could go. Entire biospheres can be protected in the form of a 'Half Earth' using Indigenous Stewardship as it's main driver. We can avoid another World War, nothing is 'inevitable', though there are many reasons to be pessimistic (and some optimistic). The 'Laws of War' are being twisted of late.  Professor Takahashi from Osaka is not happy (https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/1/17/gaza-will-be-the-grave-of-the-western-led-world-order). It's starting to look regional which would surely be financially unsustainable for Israel and the U.S.., especially if the next U.S. President withdraws support and leaves Israel stranded in a regional conflict... that money should be going to Zelensky. If political survival means jumping into a regional abyss with no clear victory, why bother? Why risk it? Can anyone, or AI, predict the ricochet? Then there's war superimposed on top of climate change or even climate change causing war.  But let's get down to business - it's not a blog about war.

 

I understand that Sovereignty isn't much of an issue for climate change as Earth Systems and climate pollution aren't limited to political boundaries though getting Nations to agree on climate agreement wording is very difficult, as observed at COP28. Even though the wording in the COP28 agreement is diluted, I believe we can almost completely 'phase out' fossil fuels with the right incentives and disincentives and affordable, available, safe, chemically benign, efficient and potentially Carbon negative energy alternatives. Carbon from the atmosphere can be removed in the form of biomass ('waste') to biochar with integration of the base material into the economy. Biochar is essentially a feedstock for other C based materials, eg. biochar can be used as a medium that can be physically, chemically and biologically modified for customised applications such as WASH eg. Atmospheric Water Harvesting (AWH)  and 'Regenerative Agroforestry'.   Biochar becomes Inertinite, that stores Carbon for 100 million+ years, if it meets the Inertinite Benchmark of >2% Random Reflectance. I'm predicting that biomass with higher Phytolith content can be pyrolysed at lower temperatures (probably still above 550 Degrees Celsius in most cases) for the same Biochar Inertinite yield. Storage of Inertinite could be anywhere on the Planet - in current and future supply chains and sinks. Carbon removed out of the atmosphere will slow down 'Climate heating' and 'Climate change' acceleration BUT we still have to stop burning fossil fuels if one expects Carbon removal to make any significant difference to the balance of the Carbon Cycle - which is accelerating out of balance. A number of Carbon Removal Marketplaces out there (and no doubt, more to come) may just tip the balance in favour of a sustainable Planet - money talks.

We are travelling outside the safe Earth boundaries on a number of indicators according to the 'Stockholm Resilience Institute' (https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/research-news/2023-09-13-all-planetary-boundaries-mapped-out-for-the-first-time-six-of-nine-crossed.html). And that's not even drawing on the relationships between those indicators as they are presumably all inter-connected and inter-dependent. So, a more accurate system dynamics picture, holistically speaking, is probably far worse than what researchers are measuring, though difficult to measure and model. I'm worried about ocean evaporation->increased atmospheric moisture/clouds (water is a potent greenhouse gas)->increased climate heating->increased ocean evaporation etc.. There's the 'Albedo flip effect' at the poles. There's also the melting permafrost problem->methane,  too, that has been underestimated in Earth system modelling. It is expected that in 2024 the average Global climate temperature increase will be above 1.5 degrees Celsius above the average at the beginning of the First Industrial Age for the first time - widely recognised as the upper 'safe climate' threshold according to the Paris Climate Summit and the many scientists that supported it (and possibly still do).

It's still a 'Climate Emergency'. Can we 'Save the Planet'? The first major Anthropocene is well underway with the 'Sixth Great Mass Extinction' event. The Planet's survival options are becoming more limited the longer Nations and people wait to do more to help as many species survive as possible. The Earth is becoming irreversibly modified by many unsustainable patterns of human-controlled resource mining, consumption and pollution. Time for a regenerative circular economy at all scales!

There will never be a perfect 'World Civilisation', or 'Globalisation', which is currently unsustainable and squeezes the rising Middle Class to consume more (I get sucked in from time to time too!). There will always be different cultures and reasons for conflict - and avoiding conflict. There will always be human suffering to some degree. Some would argue it's a part of the human condition but clearly much suffering is due to artificial physical scarcity. Maybe one of our only options left is 'sustainable adaptation' (with competition and collaboration) for survival? Back to Ancient human history with a post-structural twist perhaps? 'Ancient Brews' by Dr Pat could be a good starting point and complements the 'Permaculture', 'Regenerative Agriculture', 'Regenerative Agroforestry', 'Biochar', 'Biodynamic', 'Vegan' (manure optional) and 'Locavore' movements. Try and enjoy this life (and brews) while it lasts.

 

It's easy to become too academic about things and sometimes people criticise academics as being 'Out of touch with reality' but the reality is much academic research is informing possibilities of future reality and in some cases, a future that those academics never get to see. Live your dreams.

A greener path can be beaten until we get a Zen/other state of sustainability, which begins in the mind. But - I'm a little bit biased. There is no Zen! Zen doesn't exist. Sustainability doesn't exist - or does it? Why can't sustainability exist? If it does exist, where can I find it? My first step was designing a TLUD in the mind, then building it and adding a biochar piss bucket - 'Applied Science' in action.

 

What will be your next step? I know what mine is...see below - very experimental!

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Mon

08

Jan

2024

A cunning plan for 2024

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Fri

29

Dec

2023

A 'Closed loop' Green Hydrogen fuel system

Lund University in Sweden have come up with an interesting proposition for charging Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers (LOHC) with 'Green Hydrogen' for a 'Closed loop' fuel cycle.

So, a LOHC is charged with Hydrogen then converted to Hydrogen gas using an Iridium catalyst (with 99% conversion efficiency), for fuel cells to power electric transport in a 'Closed loop' cycle. I'm unsure how green the LOHC is: isopropanol (which is a common ingredient in screenwash) and 4-methylpiperidine but it would get reused - needs more research. I'm betting that if this preliminary research steams ahead, greener LOHCs will be discovered. Also, maybe a biochar-supported catalyst (BCSC) with highly tunable surface chemistry could replace or enhance Iridium (with less Iridium/nano-substitute reverse engineered Iridium, doped BCSC, needed). Same argument as the Perovskite crystals for Photovoltaic cells and panels. Lund University might have found the first Zen stone catalyst/structure for dehydrogenation of a greeener LOHC -but -Iridium might be specific to the LOHC mentioned in the study - why not take a punt and try it for other LOHCs? It's just a combination problem that could be machine learned for system integration - Catalyst + LOHC...lock and key. Could be a Nobel Science Prize if it's open source. So let's get down to business.

 

The system could take ten years to develop, according to researcher Professor Ola Wendt, but possible however by then ceramic Solid-State Batteries (SSBs) eg.Lithium-air, will probably have taken over most of the EV space eg.e-bikes, cars, buses, trains and trucks. Unsure about aviation. I imagine shipping could be an exception and the main application for this Hydrogen system as SSBs could be too expensive for larger scales of ships with enormous payloads - but - wait and see or do.

 

How would the shipping idea work? The advantage of this system for shipping is liquid fuel handling similar to Methanol and Green Ammonia (but safer) with the advantage of a 'closed (energy) loop' for reusing the LOHC which is more sustainable (with only water vapor emissions) than the 'open (energy) loop' of Methanol (CO2 emissions) and Green Ammonia (Nitrogen emissions). I should mention too that in the proposed 'Green Ammonia' hub at Gibson Island, IPL is still using the inefficient 'Haber-Bosch' process. I believe ammonia also has a higher value use case as fertiliser rather than for fuel but ideally organic fertiliser would be produced and used on the local scale combined with biochar compost.

 

'Green Hydrogen' could be produced at or near shipping ports, used to charge the spent/discharged LOHC collected from the ships while at port then refuel the ships with Hydrogen charged LOHC in a 'Closed loop'. Sparc Technologies are producing Hydrogen directly from water exposed to the sun with no electricity using a photocatalyst. A biochar photocatalyst (a type of 'Biochar Supported Catalyst') could be a more sustainable catalyst for their system which they are looking into. Alternatively, 'Green Hydrogen' could be produced with electricity using water electrolysis and could be powered by offshore wind turbines strategically located around the ports. There's wave energy too. And water fusion (which could trump this entire system with In Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU) of water for onboard fusion powering electric engines). Otherwise, if there isn't enough wind or wave action, electrolysis of water for Hydrogen could be grid-tied to an ideally 100% renewable powered grid. Hysata, based in Australia (as opposed to 'Plug Power'), has developed an efficient way to electrolyse water for 'Green Hydrogen', which could be done directly from seawater (more cost effective than using potable water without the opportunity cost) integrating the University of Hong Kong's recently developed SS-H2 stainless steel for non-corrosive electrodes - a recent breakthrough that could change the game. There's also the possibility of electromodding existing ships with electric engines and fuel cells though I'm not an expert in this area but I imagine it's possible.

 

There's a problem here for billionaires and the Earth - Do you build a less sustainable fuel system now and lock it in or do you sink your money into R&D for a more sustainable fuel system that might not be ready for deployment for another 10 years (or sooner or later) in the future? If you're purchasing a computer, you buy what's available and affordable at the time - but I'm talking about an entire transport industry with a massive C footprint. Maybe it's worth the wait and get it right for the next ?50+ years...It's the equivalent of using a standard USB-C port with backwards compatibility...in other words, the Hydrogen fuel cells, the electric engines and the 'Green Hydrogen' production processes and technologies can/will all improve over time but could be backwards compatible with and independent of a standard catalyst+LOHC system. So, it's essential to find the greenest chemistry possible for the catalyst+LOHC (maybe with machine learning chemical discovery) as it could be rolled out at large scale, and ideally using open source chemistry to avoid IP issues. I think the concept is great but the Devil is in the chemistry.

It's a gobsmacking opportunity for chemical engineers and the shipping industry!

 

https://scitechdaily.com/new-catalyst-could-provide-liquid-hydrogen-fuel-of-the-future/

https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/13/10/1336

https://www.hydrogeninsight.com/transport/in-safe-hands-onboard-the-world-s-first-ammonia-powered-ship-billionaire-andrew-forrest-s-green-pioneer/2-1-1576006

https://www.hydrogeninsight.com/industrial/we-will-make-green-ammonia-but-it-will-be-too-expensive-for-us-to-use-for-fertiliser-production-chemicals-firm/2-1-1559448

https://theconversation.com/why-green-ammonia-may-not-be-that-green-204363

https://sparctechnologies.com.au/sparc-green-hydrogen/

https://eng8.energy/energicell/

https://scitechdaily.com/cannot-be-explained-scientists-unveil-revolutionary-ss-h2-steel/

 

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Wed

13

Dec

2023

Join the dots

Can you join the dots?

I believe there are now 3 key areas of research for safe, affordable, extremely useful and permanent Carbon removal:

  1. Biochar research
  2. Phytolith/plant stone/plant opal/ PhytOC research
  3. Coal inertinite research

Learning Issues:

Can random reflectance (Ro) of biochar be used as an indicator of C stability/permanence of organic C removal for long-term C sequestration, using the 'inertinite' benchmark, for Mean Residence Time (MRT)/half life predictions?

What is the relationship between Phytoliths and random reflectance (Ro) in biochar?

 

Here's a research algorithm to get the party started:

-plant Si content eg.rice husk, bamboo, switchgrass->plant phytoliths->plant biochar->random reflectance of biochar >2%->Inertinite for 100 million years+

 

All we have to do is phase out and switch off fossil or C removal seems to be a waste of time - apart from all the materials that can be made with biochar, so, why not do it anyway as eventually the Gov will follow? Many more friends will be made for future green business investment with a C removal agenda than selling C drugs of dependency for climate heating acceleration. THE most conservative position is the fabled 'Precautionary Principle' with loads of science to back up the position. Indeed, the number of publications on biochar research is increasing exponentially year after year.

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Fri

08

Dec

2023

Renewable energy tech

In a planned just green transition/climate plan, progressively replacing non-renewables with renewables, for an eventual near-complete 'phase out' of fossil, demand reduction of oil, gas and coal needs to be matched to supply reduction (with the profit/capitalism problem) or else inflation could be a major issue for many countries and potentially destabilise entire economies and populations. The problem is every country is at a different level of development with a different energy mix. The effects of a 'phase out' of supply would be experienced differently and unevenly around the world. Greentech, apptech and C removal tech needs to replace the ageing machinery of fossil and end the fossil age. Ecological design systems, such as Permaculture and Biodynamics, can build out sustainable living patterns to fill the gaps left by a fossil 'phase out' and abandonment. Traditional Agricultural, Forestry, Agroforestry, Horticulture etc. systems will need to adapt to climate change. Biochar is arguably the key adaptation and C removal tech for this future. Bush regeneration could benefit too using biochar for biomimicry of charcoal, produced via Oxygen-limited pyrolysis during a bushfire, for seedling growth and plantings. We are entering a design Renaissance in mostly uncharted territory. No one/people should be left behind unless by their own choice. A regenerative circular economy, using a combination of regenerative systems and technologies, could stabilise Gaia's Life Support Systems.

 

If you think about it, renewable energy is just about everywhere you look just waiting to be harvested. Here's a list of some of my renewable technology favourites but not limited to other options eg.wind, geothermal, wave, gravity, compressed air, CO2 et al

  • Water

-ENG8 'Energicell' water fusion system

https://eng8.energy/energicell/

Could integrate with the 'Hydropanel' Atmospheric Water Harvesting (AWH) system, designed for mineralised potable water but for this application mineralisation would not be needed

https://www.source.co/how-hydropanels-work/

Could also use the cogenerated thermal for additional electricity generation with a Thermo Acoustic Stirling Engine (TASE)

https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2023/11/breakthrough-thermoacoustic-stirling-generator-converts-to-energy-with-no-moving-parts.html

 And store all the electricity in a battery for on-demand consumption, eg.

-saltwater acid-base flow battery

 https://aquabattery.nl/technology

 

  • Biomass

- All Power Labs PP30 (grid tied/micro-grid/standalone) + biochar

https://www.allpowerlabs.com/

 

- Rainbow Bee Eater 'ECHO2' for greenhouses: biochar, heat, power, wood vinegar and CORCs

https://www.rainbowbeeeater.com.au/

 

-Activated Carbon/biochar

https://www.bygen.com.au/

 

-Pacific Biochar, modding biomass energy plants for biochar production with some good biochar information

https://pacificbiochar.com/how-we-produce-biochar/

 

-looks like a well designed integrated hot water and power system (with options) for households but possibly exxy and unsure if it makes biochar (waiting for a reply)

https://www.oekofen.com/en-gb/myenergy365/

 

-Kon-Tiki 'Essential' biochar kiln: biochar or Terra Preta + cogeneration eg. water heating, essential oil distillation, heat, power. For power, large ceramic balls could be added to the bottom of the cone to increase temperature at the base + a base heat shield could be used as a heat exchanger coupled to an affordable, small and highly efficient Stirling Engine. A less efficient ORC could possibly be used but the heat exchanger would need to be modular for kiln tipping. Any ideas?
https://www.permachar.net/kon-tiki-essential-kte-biochar-kiln/

https://carbon4good.net/technology

 

-'Permastove Kitchen', for emission free and Carbon negative water boiling and cooking

https://www.permachar.net/permastove-kitchen-pk/

 

-The open source 'Permastove Burner' (from the 'Permastove Kitchen' above - a Top-Lit UpDraft burner, running on wood pellets, rice husk pellets etc. ) heating (with a flame) a Qnergy 600W QB80 free-piston Stirling engine with 24V x 25A=600W output (using a Power Interface Package (PIP)...could the ampage be reduced to 20A?)  that charges a solar generator eg.Airbase Duo (24V x 20A=480W input, with solar PV charging option as well eg. Anderson plug, but additional swappable battery modules could be a cheaper option than biomass and just as flexible - unless, there are extended periods of low solar input) as primary/backup power + biochar. There's also the possibility of a 'PowerGen 1200' with larger 'Permastove Burner' and Airbase 'Quad'. The charging would need to be done in batches with Permastove Burner emptied to collect the biochar after each run (more hassle than natural gas but Carbon negative plus all the applications/benefits of biochar).

Could be a winner for a household with low energy needs eg.a small dwelling, tiny house, bush shack or Mars colony (using Cyanobacteria pellets).

https://qnergy.com/developer-program/

https://stirlingengineforum.com/viewforum.php?f=1

 

  • Solar

- 'Airbase' Duo/Quad + 400W PV panels, with semi-solid state battery modules (but unclear on the battery chemistry)

https://www.decarbonventure.com/


- Dutch 'Rable Group' 600W PV panels + inverter, with no permits and fuse box modifications in a 20 minute installation

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2023/11/27/dutch-startup-unveils-600-w-two-module-residential-rooftop-pv-system/

 

-Printable carbon electrode perovskite PV cell

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2023/07/11/fully-printed-carbon-electrode-perovskite-solar-cell-achieves-19-2-efficiency/

 

-lot of potential here for cheap solar thermal storage using the same ceramic particles used in fracking (a much better use of clay and presumably not sponsored by the fracking industry!)

https://reneweconomy.com.au/csiro-says-curtain-of-ceramic-particles-could-finally-unleash-solar-thermal-technology/

 

  • Solid-state batteries

-3D printed ceramic batteries with custom sizes

https://www.sakuu.com/batteries

-e-bikes

https://www.stromerbike.com/en/stromer-sets-milestone-first-bike-brand-develop-next-generation-solid-state-ceramic-battery

-experimental, with a theoretical 1200Wh/kg energy density

https://www.anl.gov/article/new-design-for-lithiumair-battery-could-offer-much-longer-driving-range-compared-with-the-lithiumion

 

  • Hydrogen

- 'Lavo Life' home/building 'Green Hydrogen' integrated battery and PV panel system

https://www.lavo.com.au/

 

- Sparc Technologies' solar thermal 'Green Hydrogen' (with ?biochar photocatalyst) system https://sparctechnologies.com.au/

 

-Solhyd, a KU Leuven spinoff, using AWH and PV cells for in Situ H2O electrolysis for H2 production in a modular panel system

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2023/12/08/ku-leuven-spinoff-plans-mw-scale-production-of-solar-hydrogen-panels/

0 Comments

Tue

05

Dec

2023

3 levels of Carbon action

3 levels of Carbon action in order of priority (not a triage)
1. C emission prevention at the source ('Prevention')
2. C emission removal with possible cogeneration ('Removal')
3. C emission mitigation ('Mitigation')


All 3, 'Prevention, Removal and Mitigation') need to be integrated into an adaptation response at all scales, which could require a 'Climate Plan' for this strategy to be effective.

 

'Prevention'
The Australian Gov needs to shift climate and energy policies from doing more harm than good to doing more good than harm. A complete fossil 'phase out' should be on the table for a 'fossil free future' that is possible, though a mind boggling proposition. Complexity and difficulty is a challenge but not impossible to work with. The Gov can regulate, provide incentives and disincentives and tax but ultimately most climate action comes from every consumer choice that together have a collective impact on climate and the Earth's ability to survive. Existing and especially new fossil infrastructure and supply limits choices at the large-scale system level to 'phase out' the fossil and transition to renewables. A moratorium on new fossil expansions and projects (which I call the 'Ancient sunlight lever') may not go far enough for what is needed to achieve a 'safe climate'.

 

'Removal'

An example of C emission removal with cogeneration value adds could be biochar (C removal->Carbon Removal Marketplace + multiple applications) plus possible cogeneration such as power, heat, wood vinegar etc. Divestment from fossil and investment in C removal tech producing Biochar is the best use of money/bang for buck I can possibly think of ATM (and goes well beyond dubious offsetting programs). Yes, there are other technologies to remove C but Biochar is the safest (if tech is operated correctly), cleanest (with EBC certified tech), most affordable (at different scales with some variation between tech), most Democratised (eg.Kon-Tiki kilns and TLUD stoves) and most useful (multiple functions) technology to remove the excess C from the atmosphere and ultimately store it for hundreds of years, to Millennia and beyond. This would give Gaia more time to heal her life support systems that are quickly breaking.

 

'Mitigation'
Although C emission mitigation is important and shouldn't be underestimated it can be expensive eg.cleaning up dirty industry. There are plenty of options for smaller scale C emission mitigation too which can be affordable or even free in some cases eg.heat pumps.

 

The 'Time problem'

Although there are many drivers and sources of C emissions, fossil combustion is the main source. The time it takes converting phytoplankton + zooplankton (gas and oil) and vascular plants (coal) to fossil (millions of years), the time it takes to mine fossil at large scales (variable), the time it takes to burn fossil (a little) and the time (and effort) it takes to reverse/remove the C emissions from historical and new fossil combustion with C removal, such as pyrolysis of biomass to biochar (too long/not fast enough). Unlike biochar with multiple applications, fossil is a one trick pony - cheap energy, though the economics are shifting towards renewables as a cheaper and greener choice. It seems phytoplankton, a microalgae, is our fate - the past and the future.

 

'Net Zero Emissions'

I speculate that the Earth would need to go beyond 'Net Zero Emissions' (NZE) by 2050 in order to remove historical C emissions in the atmosphere, which include emissions between now and 2050. This goes against scientific consensus for NZE by 2050 in order to avoid average global temperatures exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels in order to maintain a 'Safe climate'. The timeline of 2035 for NZE seems to be popping up more and more though I'm not clear on the science behind this but from a 'Precautionary Principle' position it makes a lot of sense.  In Australia, according to the 'Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering', representing nearly 900 leading engineers and scientists, NZE by 2035 could be achievable with existing mature, low-carbon technology. I would go further and suggest that C removal technology could be added to the mix with BECCS and other Biochar tech also coming of age.

 

REFERENCES

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/30/the-climate-crisis-explained-in-10-charts-co2-green-energy-cop28

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/20/australia-should-wipe-out-climate-footprint-by-2035-instead-of-2050-scientists-urge

https://www.frontiersin.org/search?query=microalgae&tab=top-results&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.frontiersin.org%2F

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Sat

25

Nov

2023

Biochar and materials discovery

Biochar, a biotechnology, is a C based material produced via pyrolysis of biomass (with a limited and controlled Oxygen supply) with an enormous surface area from the nanoscale (pores) and larger that can be functionalised, determined by: the feedstock type, the pyrolysis technology and operation, biological inoculation, combination with other elements or compounds or even bio-composite requirements. In other words - 'designer biochars' are possible that can be matched to the application, possibly using a combination of an interface/autonomous lab with machine learning (ML) software and rapid material prototyping then all the way to field trials and commercialisation at different scales of manufacturing.

 

LEARNING ISSUES
- What desirable properties (biological, chemical, physical) does the Biochar material need for the application eg. A specific plant/crop?
- what material/resource can be replaced with a new Biochar material?

  • Could break down every material in every materials-based application/product (a gigantic task) and look for Biochar material bio-substitutes. Maybe start with plastics.
  • How can non-C based materials be mimicked by a designer eg. a doped Biochar material with similar/same properties?
  • What is the effect of pyrolysis on sub-cellular organelle surface biochemistry?
  • Convergence between the chemical engineer 'programmer' and the ML materials discovery interface/'autonomous lab'

 

The Mother of all biochar chemical engineering questions:

  • How can anyone program and test biochar with ML when every biochar particle has a unique 3D matrix with a diaspora of chemical binding and bonding sites?
    • Maybe needs an error corrected Quantum computer with 10s of thousands of Qubits, 3D vector+raster graphics modelling on the nanoscale (eg. Nvidia graphics cards) with a cutting edge AI platform....but I'm just speculating. Maybe start with 'Deep Forest'.
    • Somehow cause and effect would need to be measurable
    • A lot of dead ends and a lot of new possibilities
    • Could be used to discover new biochar-based materials for solid state batteries and more
    BUT the 'Biochar Matrix Disclaimer': Do I need to know everything about the 3D biochar matrix, which might be random, before using biochar in a given application? I imagine that as the 3D matrix models become clearer and cheaper over time, the specificity of biochar materials will  improve. I don't think we have the time to wait for a much deeper understanding of matrix surface biochemistry given the urgency of the climate emergency and the need to rapidly remove C from the atmosphere!

I can think of a number of applications where an autonomous lab might not be very useful:

eg1. in the case of gardening, horticulture, agriculture, agroforestry et al - biochar compost (alchemy)

    The sky is the limit for how much chemistry research could be done around this but field trials with different biochar composts combined with different ingredients eg.manures, sea kelp etc. for different plants in different soils in different climates would probably be a better strategy. A lot of research has already been done in this area but there's probably a lot more to do as every growing system using biochar compost would be variable for the best results

eg2. biochar (80% w/w) combined with 'no-bake binders' (according to the 'Composite Materials Consultancy' in the UK) to produce biochar bricks. I should mention too they seem to be fire retardant.

   Although understanding the chemistry is important, testing mechanical properties are presumably more important for building material research.

 

REFERENCES

The 3D biochar matrix

  • https://www.doublehelixoptics.com/
      • not a bad start, down to 20nm resolution - needs to get down to <5nm
      • check out the video..verrry nice
    • ->
    • https://deepforest.readthedocs.io/en/latest/landing.html
    • ->
    • https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/84407
    • ->

      Autonomous/ML labs

    • https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03745-5
    • https://news.ncsu.edu/2023/11/smart-dope-autonomous-lab/
    • https://www.rmit.edu.au/news/all-news/2023/nov/machine-learning-solar
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