posted 3 hours ago
This thread is a description of a process I've discovered and found very helpful, and a question for anyone that might have a tool suggestion!
I've been doing very small scale biochar production using the tin can method - remove one end of two cans, crimp one, poke a hole on the other, fill with materials and press the cans together to "seal" them, and toss the can into a fire or on a grill to convert the materials to biochar.
My goal has been to convert any paper-like home waste (paper towel, kleenex, paper plates, newspaper, non-glossy/bleached junk mail) into biochar, but the biggest constraint for me has been trying to be as efficient as I can with the biochar process, as I can't make a large fire or similar.
One tool that I've found very useful (after spending a long time trying to find something that worked) is a "rosin press". It's a metal tube, with a metal cap on one end, and a metal peg on the other end. I can put kleenex or other paper materials into the capped tube, put the peg in it, and then press it in a vice to produce a very compressed pellet of pre-biochar. Once turned into biochar, these still retain their pellet-like structure, and can be either crushed up or added to my compost piles as-is.
The only downside to this is that it's very physically intensive to bring small amounts of materials to a vice, tighten it as much as I can, and repeat until I'm out of materials.
Does anyone have any suggestions for a more efficient way to do this, or any hobbyist/home electric presses that would work for placing pressure on a small tube like that?
There are electric rosin presses, but they're all designed to heat up the tube as well, which is not something I want or need - I'm just looking for a way to put a lot of force into pressing the peg into the tube.
It's never too late to start gardening, and even the smallest project is worthwhile.
