Production of leaf charcoal and uses with chickens.

I have seen no activity on this site with individuals producing biochar from leaves. It really is an art form, if the leaves are to dry, it simply combusts, prefers to be made with wetter leaves, unless leaves are stockier like water oak leaves. It is also proactive to include, burning acorns, producing biochar from these. It takes time to produce good results, extinguishing a bit of shot in dark, done well may produce still some non charred material. You light at least one side, obviously, then continue to fold back areas non burnt leaves, over the burning side. You have to repeat this folding action a lot, sometimes it burns around edge, then simply take the contents with rake from center unburnt, folding over sides, sometimes hollowing center, sometimes not. Towards the end sometimes it’s is proactive to, once the center of some sides is charcoal, fold the charcoal over the top, letting cook the rest of the center, then extinguish. I made probably just 25 gallons of it recently, from leaves that combust fast if allowed to dry out, the being to wet for that. Just giving the option for those that don’t have large amounts of wood available but do have leaves.

I have not much seen, chickens eat off large pieces of charcoal. But they do eat all charcoal water oak acorns and biochar leaves. Probably the best bet for getting chickens to eat biochar is in the form of leaves, probably most specialized use of this outcome, other then quite normals uses. A little link. https://www.muranochickenfarm.com/2018/05/charcoal-for-chickens.html

I live in an area where trees grow very quickly.  People are always chopping down trees and trying to get rid of the wood.  I have read several times where the quantity of biochar you make is much greater with wood than with other biological waste.  When considering burning wet things, including wood, I always find it much easier to let them dry out first. They produce much higher quality char and much less smoke. Those are some of my goals. I understand that there are other areas in which it is harder to get wood.

John S
PDX OR

Maybe try it like this?

The thing that makes sense to me in this one, is that you've got all of these rice husks, as I understand it, that are organic waste.  If you dry them and burn them, that makes sense. One point I was trying to make is that if you've got too many trees, like us here in the PNWet, trees make for more material. But maybe they have rice husks instead of tree wood, so go for it.  Dry will make more char and less smoke.

John S
PDX OR

Adam Hackenberg wrote:I have seen no activity on this site with individuals producing biochar from leaves. It really is an art form, if the leaves are to dry, it simply combusts, prefers to be made with wetter leaves, unless leaves are stockier like water oak leaves.

Good observation. I agree.  As you say, for making biochar, leaves are sort of a problem -- either too wet or too dry, making smoke or making ash. But even dead, they are doing what nature designed them to do. Unless you can put them in a closed retort inside a hot fire, or mix them with a substantial volume of woody mass, I don't see a path to making good char.

But then, there may be another option: the collective talents of this forum are many, and full of creative surprises.

I understand that the value of charcoal derived from leaves and small acorns, is from the beneficial  relationship with chickens that consume these materials. I have made a-lot of charcoal from wood, I have not noticed chickens to eat much, if any of the material. It isn’t near as easy to make as a large wood fire, extinguished early. As for smoke, I live next to an asphalt operation that spews out toxic smoke, I can’t say I get a headache from it like asphalt will give you. As for quantity it makes a good bit, I burn all leaves to reduce scent of property, ash and charcoal act as filters and such.