Terra Preta Soils

Carbon soil amending was done in New World antiquity. It is found in the literature as “Terra Preta Soils.” These soils were first thought to be natural in Central America and the Amazon basin. But, eventually it became apparent the soils were man-made. We believe ancient Aztec Indians saw their old fire pits were islands of fertility in otherwise barren fields. They expanded and linked them to make fields of superior fertility that far outproduced anything seen in Europe. Cortez expedition agriculturists were astounded at the productivity of these soils. The spread of the soils seems to be from Central America to the Amazon basin with first use in Central America.

The fire pits included two things: Elementary carbon and charcoal that do not decay. Wood decays, but the process is inhibited when wood even partially charcoaled due to the monoxide and smoking effects. Large particle size, grinding and cutting marks on charcoal and charcoaled wood confirmed it was man-made material.

Daniel Techter, Associate Professor at the Nicholas School of the Environment reported in Science Daily, November 8, 2006, that his studies showed “…carbon in roots does not migrate to the topsoil.” It took 100 years to remove 40% of the entrained carbon (as wood) from a soil depth of one foot. This could only be because of a slow rate of decomposition of wood and indicates the plants were absorbing carbon dioxide as it was produced by decay. This is consistent with our experimental findings.

Charcoal Evidence

Carbon found in Central and South American soils is a product of incomplete wood burning and hand grinding as comfirmed by particle size, shape and scaring. There were pottery shards of Central American origin confirming these were fire pits for cooking. We improve greatly on Indian hand ground charcoal with electrostatically captured “lampblack” which is much finer and contains the carbon allotropes, “Bucky balls” or “Fullerenes” which are of molecular size and have great surface area per unit weight. This is new technology.

Fullerenes are molecular geodesic spheres named after the designer-engineer F. Buckminster Fuller who popularized the geodesic dome in buildings. They are a byproduct of reduction carbon chemistry made by Cottrell electrostatic smokestack precipitators giving a six to seven magnitude (factors of ten) expansion of the carbon surface area with a dramatic increase in the eftectiveness.

As a soil amendment Fullerenes will recover for agriculture millions of acres of land long thought incapable of holding water while also sequestering carbon in perpetuity. Elemental carbon in molecule-sized particles improves soil by adsorbing or entraining water, holding it to be found by plant roots.

High temperature carbon reduction systems produce carbon as “carbon black” or elemental carbon in allotropic forms. Allotropes are molecules of an element, but with different numbers of atoms. They have been products of chimneys using the Cottrell precipitator for 100 years, but Fullerenes were not discovered until the carbon product was analyzed with electron microscopes. Cottrell precipitators were an early form of dealing with smokestack pollution. The technology has been refined over the century of their use, but it may be possible to control the Fullerene output with changes in electrostatic intensity, frequency or current density. These facts will come from research in nanotechnology which should be reasonably done given the simple equipment needed.

A small furnace and chimney outfitted with a Cottrell precipitator could do test runs with direct and alternating currents, varied frequencys, voltages and amperages. For each case the output could be examined and from the various product outputs a design scheme developed.

Where sequestration of carbon is an objective the burners are tuned to “reducing” flames in which elemental carbon allotropes are produced. Such processes using Cottrell precipitators produce varieties of “Fullerenes” or “Buckyballs.” The allotropic carbon molecular forms include 40 to 70 carbon atoms. They appear to offer many opportunitites in nanotechnology for capturing and sequestering heavy metal ions as well as carbon. They are very small smoke-like carbon particles that form aqueous slurries which are excellent absorbers and may ultimately form traps for unwanted heavy metal ions.

Allotropic carbon comes in a variety of forms from Cotrell Prepitators. Forms like the tube to the left. It is highly likely this process can be modified to manufacture nanotech components with different forms and shapes using the rather amenable geometry of the carbon atom which has two "p" electron bonds that are at 90 degrees on fixed axes while two more "s" electrons can bond at any angle and give molecules a lot of latitude in forming. One such form could be a half sphere which on entraining a heavy metal ion of a kind we would like to remove from soil would then attract another hemisphere to join with the first hemisphere and trap the ion in a tiny "cage" preventing any further bonding and compound formation.

Certainly, much has to happen before we can manufacture such molecule-sized components, but this is the future of this new branch of science and engineering. It holds much promise in many areas, ours not to be overlooked or excluded.

Where elementary carbon is a sequestration product we can use it for soil amendment. This is especially important with western soils that are little more than clay and sand. They respond wonderfully to carbon amendments as they did in Central and South America. We expect this phase of the service to be ultimately more important than sequestration as SCAF offers land recovery in its repertoire and for the first time in history we will put the lie to Will Rogers axiom, “Buy land! They ain’t makin’ any more of it,” we will make more land, farm land, millions of acres of it.

Smaller Particles

We know the Indians ground charcoal to particles down to 100^th centimeter. Lampblack particle sizes are on the order of one millionth centimeter. This increases surface area of the absorber by one million, an order of four magnitudes of ten. Thus, they function at the molecular level to hold water, trap poisonous heavy metal ions for great benefits to agriculture. It is for them entering a new dimension. The macro and micro worlds are two very different places. In the “micro” dimension gravity, electrostatics and magnetism are completely different than the way we experience them.

All organic matter added to soil improves nutrient retention. A carbon amendment is more effective in handling nutrients like phosphorus while making them available to plants. Finely divided elementary carbon is much more persistent in soil than organic amendments. Carbon atoms do not oxidize where organics do. The persistence of pure carbon in soil also makes it ideal for direct carbon sequestration, but we think it far too important as a soil amendment to limit the consideration to sequestration alone.

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