Farewell Living Web Farms

One decade after our first test-run of the new biochar production system, it’s time to formally say farewell to Living Web Farms. For almost 15 years Living Web farms functioned as a working demonstration farm, specializing in biological-centered regenerative agriculture, showcasing 'farm-scale' biochar production, along with unique renewable energy and water management systems, and intensive grazing in a serene, pastoral landscape just south of Asheville NC. Thanks to the generosity of Living Web’s funders many of us were able to donate a considerable amount of food and dedicate many of our working hours to exploring new approaches to biological-centered farming.  However, most of my work in particular centered around biochar, first as for-profit production facility manager, and then later in the exploration of biochar production as it fits in a broader, more circular, economy.

No hyperbole here: Biochar production is a core appropriate technology; a carbon-negative waste management tool that sequesters carbon, produces energy and improves soil.

It’s in this spirit of exploring a more circular economy that I’ll continue to write about my future work here in this space. For now, I’d like to share some of my previous work with biochar production in the context as an 'engine' for a circular economy.

Energy Production:

Pyrolysis of woody biomass requires a heat source to get going, but the process becomes a self-sustaining exothermic process after just a short time. Biochar systems can be designed with energy reclamation in mind, from simple cookstoves to syngas-fueled electricity generators. The system at Living Web took a low maintenance middle-of-the-road approach by employing large gas to water heat exchangers to reclaim as much heat from flue gas as possible. Stored as hot water, typically varying seasonally between 90 and 130 degrees F,  we were able to most successfully use reclaimed ‘carbon-negative’ heat for a variety of targeted applications. One of our more effective applications involved circulating heated water through table-mounted mats made from repaired solar pool heaters. These tables were installed in our greenhouse and used to germinate seeds and keep early summer starts warm before transplanting.

Single flat of lettuces on repurposed solar pool heater turned Biochar process heating mat

Waste Management:

Biochar can be produced from many different sources of biomass, including waste wood from sawmills, or agriculture residues that are otherwise burned or left to rot. In this regard, biochar production is considered a viable tool for waste valorization. At Living Web, we took this a step further, diverting excess process heat for recycling (otherwise, non-recyclable) waste plastics. Here, HDPE flakes were placed in a mold, and heated to upwards of 400F for over 4 hours before being removed and pressed in a purpose-built screw press. This process is described in full here. Pictured below are two of my favorite projects, a 30 lb planter and cruiser style skateboard made from IBC totes and 50 gallon drums.

30 lb, 10 gallon planters, molded from HDPE drums using biochar process heat

Detail of skateboard, molded from stained IBC containers, considered too dirty to recycle

Carbon Sequestration:

Biochar in soils is widely considered a useful mechanism for sequestering atmospheric carbon in soils for many lifetimes; we can look to 19th century technology for another way to employ biochar production to temporarily tie up carbon: Asphalt. Much of the current work with biochar and asphalt is centered around char as a replacement for some aggregate in conventional asphalt blends - and for good reason. However, in 2019, the living web farms biochar crew looked to capturing heavy condensates from pyrolyzed lignin (tar) as a binder for conventional asphalt. Replacing all petroleum-based binders with wood-based binders, simulating an early recipe for “tarmac”, we made a few sample chunks of what a bio-based asphalt may look like today.

4 years later: Our sample section of Bio-Asphalt with pyrolysis oil binder still holds its shape

Soil Fertility:

Last of all, and perhaps most importantly, biochar plays an outsized role in enhancing soil fertility. In sandy soils, biochar can hold nutrients and retain much needed water. In our western North Carolina clayey soils, biochar can lower bulk density and allow for gas exchange into the root zone, simultaneously holding on to water when needed and facilitating drainage during heavy rains. Perhaps most important is the role biochar plays in promoting biologically active soils by moderating extremes and providing safe haven for microbes. It’s been nearly a decade now since I first used a small roto-tiller and applied biochar at 6-8” depth around my decaying oak stump. In the past I spoke at length about various ways to ‘inoculate’ biochar, but my experience shows that simply burying biochar deep into the root zone and following with successive mulching of ramial wood chips has yielded the most robust, fertile and biologically-active soils on my property. Contrary to conventional organic gardening wisdom, many of my nitrogen-hungry vegetables, including corn, okra, melons, squashes, eggplants and tomatoes thrive in these beds conditioned only with biochar mulched only with ramial wood chips.

Biochar in the root zone, and ramial wood chips applied as a mulch are a perfect pairing for fungal-dominant fertility

Farewell Living Web Farms

Although farm operations have ceased, Living Web Farms will continue to operate in a limited capacity with an online presence; previous blogs are still posted and our extensive YouTube catalog will continue to be managed. For those wanting to learn more, I’m especially proud of my previously shared work with plastic recycling, urine as a fertilizer, and my deep dive into applications for wood ashes. Our workshop on biochar inoculation has proven very popular, and I’ll have much to add with my work with homegrown paint in this space in the coming months.