Kosfeld Fenna Thesis - Flipbook - Page 72
Phase 1 Experimentation
Phase 2 Experimentation
Objective:
Objective:
Test Biochar ground and different grain sizes.
Urea as plasticiser and fertiliser
When researching the most common fertilisers used in linear
agriculture and also a residue material from urine, urea, I came
across the study of urea being used as a plasticiser and binder
with fertilising impact ( Giroto). My 昀椀rst experiments were solely
to test the behaviour and binding ability of ground Biochar and
urea diluted in water. The urea/water solutions varied from
1/2—urea/water to 1/4—urea/water.
The test results were very brittle, with almost no self-holding
structure and a long drying time ( 3-7 days). In additional research, I realised that the use of urea as a fertiliser, making up
50% of the world’s nitrogen fertiliser applications, is the one major problem I want to change with this project. The accessibility
and locality of organic fertiliser and plant enhancements should
be the focus rather than the continuity of the linear industry of
synthetic fertilisers in agriculture that are aligned with food and
health interdependencies and lack of political and social autonomy, as the mattter of material scarcity and the high demand for
fertiliser and food lead to vulnerable interdependencies between
provider and user.
Realisations working with urea as fertilising material
urea diluted in water in ratio acts well as a plasticiser and turns
biochar powder into a liquidy paste
urea does not act as a binder for structure as hoped
heat applied to urea/water solution makes the composition more
rigid than without the process of heating
Urea ratio to water is purely for tests because ratio does not apply to ready material that should fertilise the land and be threedimensional.
Find different binders and fertilisers that can give
Biochar is a structure. The choice of binder and fertiliser also
de昀椀nes the stakeholder, the environment the 昀椀nal material wants
to act as a circular part. The aim is to 昀椀nd sources of Biochar,
binder and fertiliser in a circular, ideally 0 km realm.
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