Subject: ACTIVATED CHARCOAL IN COM

From: [email-masked] (Jim Mcnelly)
Date: Sun, 19 Mar 1995 23:34:00 +0600

References: <[email-masked]> 
DD> *#FROM   :[email-masked]
I wish these AOL newbies would learn to put their real names in a 
message!  

Mr (or is it ms?) DSschwabble writes:

DD> Due to my work in servicing very large aquariums I constantly have
DD> to throw out bucket after bucket of activated charcoal (from the
DD> filters). Would this charcoal be a good additive to my compost pile
DD> or gardens beds?????

Ha!

A truly interesting question! I have added activated carbon to soils 
before in order to buffer organic compounds and pesticides, but have not 
had the question of adding it to compost piles before. I *love* new 
questions.

Well Mr-s Dischwabble, I am going to contact some of my 
colleagues on this one. I *believe* that it is OK and safe to add to a 
pile, but whether or not it actually does any benefit is the real 
question.

Hmmm Pure carbon vs plant carbon. I don't know if I can sleep tonight 
wondering about this one!

Mr Compost~~~

Jim~ McNelly
[email-masked]

 * RM 1.3 02460 * Paradigms: Shift Happens

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From: [email-masked] (Christine Owens)
Date: 22 Mar 1995 02:31:50 GMT

In <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (DSchwab115) writes: 

>
>
>Due to my work in servicing very large aquariums I constantly have to
>throw out bucket after bucket of activated charcoal (from the filters).
>Would this charcoal be a good additive to my compost pile or gardens
>beds?????
>

Add away.  The carbon in the charcoal, plus the resident 
micro-organisms should be a great addition to the compost.

Chris Owens

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From: [email-masked] (Dave Whitman)
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 1995 21:25:31 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (Jim

> pile, but whether or not it actually does any benefit is the real 

I concur that the charcoal probably won't do any *harm*.  OTOH, while I
haven't actually done an experiment, I would be very surprised if the
compost-beasties can do much of anything to breakit down.  Although not
pure elemental carbon, charcoal is heavily reduced relative to it's
cellulose starting material, and I don't think there are many enzymes that
will go after it.

Charcoal is very unreactive, which is one reason why it's useful for
purifying such a wide range of materials.

Activated charcoal filters often get bio-fouled in use, but I'm pretty
sure that the bugs are living off compounds physisorbed on the charcoal,
not on the charcoal itself.  At any rate, I've never seen the charcoal get
eaten away - just slimy.

-- 
dave whitman             "The opinions expressed are those of the 
[email-masked]     author, and not Rohm and Haas Company."
                          They made me say that.  Really.

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From: [email-masked] ()
Date: 22 Mar 1995 19:15:58 GMT

re: adding used activated charcoal to compost...

As I understand it, activated charcoal is used in filters because
it has the capacity to "grab" contaminants out of the water, thus
cleaning the water.  Before you consider using it in the compost, 
you might want to have a rough idea of what sorts of stuff you've been 
filtering out of your water... if you are filtering lots of nasties
out of the water, you might not want to include concentrated doses
of it (stuck inside the charcoal) in your compost. 

fwiw,

- Tom

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From: [email-masked] (Christine Owens)
Date: 22 Mar 1995 02:31:50 GMT

Chris Owens

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From: [email-masked] (Dave Whitman)
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 1995 21:25:31 GMT

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From: [email-masked] ()
Date: 22 Mar 1995 19:15:58 GMT

fwiw,

- Tom