The mathamatics of terra preta.(sums)

[Essay]

Organic Chemistry Definitions that will come in handy when reading some of these soil science articles (coming soon).

 

Aliphatic (fatty)

aliphatic - definition of aliphatic by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

[From Greek aleiphar, aleiphat-, oil, from aleiphein, to anoint with oil; see leip- in Indo-European roots.]

 

-wiki says: In organic chemistry, compounds composed of carbon and hydrogen are divided into two classes: aromatic compounds, which contain benzene rings or similar rings of atoms, and aliphatic compounds (G. aleiphar, fat, oil), which do not contain aromatic rings.[1]

 

In aliphatic compounds, carbon atoms can be joined together in straight chains, branched chains, or non-aromatic rings (in which case they are called alicyclic). They can be joined by single bonds (alkanes), double bonds (alkenes), or triple bonds (alkynes). Besides hydrogen, other elements can be bound to the carbon chain, the most common being oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and chlorine.

 

The simplest aliphatic compound is methane (CH4). Aliphatics include alkanes such as fatty acids and paraffin hydrocarbons, alkenes ("alkanes" with a double bond, such as ethylene) and alkynes ("alkanes" with a triple bond, such as acetylene). my addition in ital.

 

Most aliphatic compounds are flammable, allowing the use of hydrocarbons as fuel, such as methane in Bunsen burners, and acetylene in welding.

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Aliphatic Hydrocarbons

Hydrocarbons which do not contain a benzene ring are called aliphatic hydrocarbons. Those which do contain a benzene ring are called aromatic hydrocarbons. ...

 

 

Amino Acids - Aliphatic Group

Aliphatic Amino Acids: Aliphatic R groups (side chains) are nonpolar and hydrophobic. Hydrophobicity increases with increasing number of C atoms in the hydrocarbon chain.

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alkyl - definition of alkyl by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

Alkyl:

A radical that has the general formula CnH2n+1, formed by removing a hydrogen atom from an alkane. Ethyl and propyl are alkyls. ...and btw, the alkane has the general formula CnH2n+2.

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aryl - Definition from Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary

Aryl:

a radical (as phenyl) derived from an aromatic hydrocarbon by the removal of one hydrogen atom.

 

Free Radical ...or just "a radical:"

an especially reactive atom or group of atoms that has one or more unpaired electrons; especially : one that is produced in the body by natural biological processes or introduced from outside (as in tobacco smoke, toxins, or pollutants) and that can damage cells, proteins, and DNA by altering their chemical structure.

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...or in this case, created by the removal of a Hydrogen atom from an end carbon (of an aliphatic chain), leaving the exposed bonding electrons. Alkyl (and aryl) radicals are less reactive than the oxygen-based free radicals that are so destructive to biologicals. The longer the chain, the less reactive the radical.

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So, if you've waded through that, go back to the beginning--aliphatics (chains of carbon):

As a chemist, I hesitate to post this gross oversimplification that is wrong, misleading and conflicting for anyone who knows about chemistry or biology (saturation, double & triple bonds, etc.), BUT....

 

I feel this will give folks a very easy picture of how organic matter breaks down in the soil profile.

 

Animal Fat: very long chain of carbon (~18 carbons).

Plant Oils: medium chains of carbon (~10 carbons).

SOM: (soil organic matter): short chains of carbon (1-5 carbons; methane, ethane, propane, butane, pentane, ethylene, acetylene, ...and radicals, esters, ketones, aldehydes, alcohols, or acids of these carbon "backbones").

Understanding SOM and sequestration...

...we should be thinking bacterial degradation of longer chains of carbon into the shorter carbon chains.

...this is how the bacteria multiply ...and fertilize the dirt, creating rich (think fatty, greasy) soil.

 

~ :)

[Essay]

Here's one of those soil science articles:

doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2007.07.013

Strengthening the soil organic carbon pool by increasing contributions from recalcitrant aliphatic bio(macro)molecules

 

Volume 142, Issues 1-2, 15 November 2007, Pages 1-101.

1. Introduction

2. Recalcitrant bio(macro)molecules

2.1. Precursor bio(macro)molecules of recalcitrant SOC

2.2. Fate of recalcitrant aliphatic compounds in the terrestrial environment

2.3. Formation of recalcitrant aliphatic soil organic matter fractions

3. Management options to increase recalcitrant biomacromolecules in terrestrial ecosystems

3.1. Plant species

3.2. Soil microorganisms

3.3. Animals

3.4. Soil management

3.5. Saturation of the recalcitrant soil organic carbon pool

4. Conclusions

References

 

Abstract

Photosynthetically fixed CO2 is converted into terrestrial bio(macro)molecules and sequestered as soil organic matter (SOM) by (bio)chemical and physical stabilization processes. SOM is generally divided in arbitrary pools for modeling SOM dynamics. Biochemically recalcitrant SOM fractions are enriched with alkyl carbon © structures and resist decomposition due to intrinsic molecular properties. The proportion of alkyl C and the mean age of SOM increase with increase in soil depth. Precursors of these recalcitrant bio(macro)molecules such as glycerides, waxes, and terpenoids occur in plants, microorganisms and animals. The intrinsic biochemical stability of naturally occurring recalcitrant aliphatic biomacromolecules may enhance the terrestrial storage of atmospheric CO2. Also, aliphatic macromolecules may be formed in soils upon non-enzymatic polymerization of low-molecular-weight lipids. In this review we propose that increasing the soil organic carbon (SOC) pool by land-use and management practices should also include strategies to increase the proportion of aliphatic compounds in the belowground biomass. Thus, collaborative research is needed to study the fate of plant-, microbial- and animal-derived aliphatic C as precursors for stabilized aliphatic SOC fractions, in particular in deeper soil horizons.

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ScienceDirect - Geoderma : Strengthening the soil organic carbon pool by increasing contributions from recalcitrant aliphatic bio(macro)molecules

See definitions in previous post:

http://hypography.com/forums/terra-preta/14351-the-mathamatics-of-terra-preta-sums-2.html#post246496

 

In that post I talked about degrading larger aliphatic molecules, but this article is talking about the resistance to degradation (recalcitrance) of the larger molecules.

While many of these aliphatic macromolecules come from added organic matter, many of them are synthesized (or altered) by the bacteria themselves, I suspect.

 

As they say, "...research is needed to study the fate of ...microbial ...derived aliphatic C...."

 

~ :)

[Michaelangelica]

thanks Essay interesting stuff.

 

There is a thread for ' research on TP' too.

[Michaelangelica]

The answer is simple. You can not reverse the current increase in atmospheric arbon dioxide increase if you not reduce the emissions by about 90% from the current level (8 Gt annually). If you can manage that however, you can probably also acieve an increase in sequestration by char to about 15% of the global net production, which is about 2 Gt. By that, you get a net sequstration of about 1 Gt annually, thus reaching the fairly safe level in about 75 years.

See my blog, the attached diagram and ppt-presentation

 

Folke Günther