Biochar

FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Biocharischarcoalusedasasoilamendment.Like
mostcharcoal,biocharismadefrombiomassvia
pyrolysis.Biocharisunderinvestigationasan
approachtocarbonsequestrationtoproduce
negativecarbondioxideemissions.[1]Biocharthus
hasthepotentialtohelpmitigateclimatechangevia
carbonsequestration.[2][3]Independently,biocharcan
increasesoilfertilityofacidicsoils(lowpHsoils),
increaseagriculturalproductivity,andprovide
protectionagainstsomefoliarandsoilborne
diseases.[4]Furthermore,biocharreducespressureon
forests.[5]Biocharisastablesolid,richincarbon,
andcanendureinsoilforthousandsofyears.[1]

Apieceofbiochar.

Contents
1 History
2 Production
2.1 Centralized,decentralized,andmobilesystems
2.2 Thermocatalyticdepolymerization
3 Uses
3.1 Carbonsink
3.2 Soilamendment
3.3 Slashandchar
3.4 Waterretention
3.5 Energyproduction:BiooilandSyngas
4 Directandindirectbenefits
5 Research
6 Emergingcommercialsector
7 Seealso
8 Notes
9 References
10 Externallinks

History
PreColumbianAmazoniansarebelievedtohaveusedbiochartoenhancesoilproductivity.They
produceditbysmolderingagriculturalwaste(i.e.,coveringburningbiomasswithsoil)[6]inpitsor
trenches.[7]EuropeansettlerscalleditterrapretadeIndio.[8]Followingobservationsandexperiments,a
researchteamworkinginFrenchGuianahypothesizedthattheAmazonianearthwormPontoscolex
corethruruswasthemainagentoffinepowderingandincorporationofcharcoaldebristothemineral
soil.[9]

ThetermbiocharwascoinedbyPeterReadtodescribecharcoalusedasasoilimprovement.[10]

Production
Biocharisahighcarbon,finegrainedresiduethattodayisproducedthroughmodernpyrolysis
processes,whichisthedirectthermaldecompositionofbiomassintheabsenceofoxygen,which
preventscombustion,toobtainanarrayofsolid(biochar),liquid(biooil),andgas(syngas)products.
Thespecificyieldfromthepyrolysisisdependentonprocessconditions.suchastemperature,andcan
beoptimizedtoproduceeitherenergyorbiochar.[11]Temperaturesof400500C(752932F)produce
morechar,whiletemperaturesabove700C(1,292F)favortheyieldofliquidandgasfuel
components.[12]Pyrolysisoccursmorequicklyatthehighertemperatures,typicallyrequiringseconds
insteadofhours.Hightemperaturepyrolysisisalsoknownasgasification,andproducesprimarily
syngas.[12]Typicalyieldsare60%biooil,20%biochar,and20%syngas.Bycomparison,slowpyrolysis
canproducesubstantiallymorechar(~50%).Onceinitialized,bothprocessesproducenetenergy.For
typicalinputs,theenergyrequiredtorunafastpyrolyzerisapproximately15%oftheenergythatit
outputs.[13]Modernpyrolysisplantscanusethesyngascreatedbythepyrolysisprocessandoutput39
timestheamountofenergyrequiredtorun.[7]
TheAmazonianpit/trenchmethod[7]harvestsneitherbiooilnorsyngas,andreleasesalargeamountof
CO2,blackcarbon,andothergreenhousegases(GHG)s(andpotentially,toxins)intotheair.
Commercialscalesystemsprocessagriculturalwaste,paperbyproducts,andevenmunicipalwasteand
typicallyeliminatethesesideeffectsbycapturingandusingtheliquidandgasproducts.

Centralized,decentralized,andmobilesystems
Inacentralizedsystem,allbiomassinaregionisbroughttoacentralplantforprocessing.Alternatively,
eachfarmerorgroupoffarmerscanoperatealowertechkiln.Finally,atruckequippedwithapyrolyzer
canmovefromplacetoplacetopyrolyzebiomass.Vehiclepowercomesfromthesyngasstream,while
thebiocharremainsonthefarm.Thebiofuelissenttoarefineryorstoragesite.Factorsthatinfluence
thechoiceofsystemtypeincludethecostoftransportationoftheliquidandsolidbyproducts,the
amountofmaterialtobeprocessed,andtheabilitytofeeddirectlyintothepowergrid.
Forcropsthatarenotexclusivelyforbiocharproduction,theresiduetoproductratio(RPR)andthe
collectionfactor(CF)thepercentoftheresiduenotusedforotherthings,measuretheapproximate
amountoffeedstockthatcanbeobtainedforpyrolysisafterharvestingtheprimaryproduct.For
instance,Brazilharvestsapproximately460milliontons(MT)ofsugarcaneannually,[14]withanRPRof
0.30,andaCFof0.70forthesugarcanetops,whichnormallyareburnedinthefield.[15]Thistranslates
intoapproximately100MTofresidueannually,whichcouldbepyrolyzedtocreateenergyandsoil
additives.Addinginthebagasse(sugarcanewaste)(RPR=0.29CF=1.0),whichisotherwiseburned
(inefficiently)inboilers,raisesthetotalto230MTofpyrolysisfeedstock.Someplantresidue,however,
mustremainonthesoiltoavoidincreasedcostsandemissionsfromnitrogenfertilizers.[16]
Pyrolysistechnologiesforprocessinglooseandleafybiomassproducebothbiocharandsyngas.[17]

Thermocatalyticdepolymerization
Alternatively,"thermocatalyticdepolymerization",whichutilizesmicrowaves,hasrecentlybeenusedto
efficientlyconvertorganicmattertobiocharonanindustrialscale,producing~50%char.[18][19]

Uses
Carbonsink
Theburningandnaturaldecompositionofbiomassandinparticularagriculturalwasteaddslarge
amountsofCO2totheatmosphere.Biocharthatisstable,fixed,and'recalcitrant'carboncanstorelarge
amountsofgreenhousegasesinthegroundforcenturies,potentiallyreducingorstallingthegrowthin
atmosphericgreenhousegaslevelsatthesametimeitspresenceintheearthcanimprovewaterquality,
increasesoilfertility,raiseagriculturalproductivity,andreducepressureonoldgrowthforests.[20]
Biocharcansequestercarboninthesoilforhundredstothousandsofyears,likecoal.[21][22][23][24][25]
SuchacarbonnegativetechnologywouldleadtoanetwithdrawalofCO2fromtheatmosphere,while
producingandconsumingenergy.ThistechniqueisadvocatedbyprominentscientistssuchasJames
Hansen,headoftheNASAGoddardInstituteforSpaceStudies,[26]andJamesLovelock,creatorofthe
Gaiahypothesis,formitigationofglobalwarmingbygreenhousegasremediation.[27]
Researchershaveestimatedthatsustainableuseofbiocharringcouldreducetheglobalnetemissionsof
carbondioxide(CO2),methane,andnitrousoxidebyupto1.8PgCO2Cequivalent(CO2Ce)peryear
(12%ofcurrentanthropogenicCO2Ceemissions1Pg=1Gt),andtotalnetemissionsoverthecourseof
thenextcenturyby130PgCO2Ce,withoutendangeringfoodsecurity,habitat,orsoilconservation.[28]

Soilamendment
Biocharisrecognisedasofferinganumberofbenefitsforsoilhealth.Manybenefitsarerelatedtothe
extremelyporousnatureofbiochar.Thisstructureisfoundtobeveryeffectiveatretainingbothwater
andwatersolublenutrients.SoilbiologistElaineInghamindicates[29]theextremesuitabilityofbiochar
asahabitatformanybeneficialsoilmicroorganisms.Shepointsoutthatwhenprechargedwiththese
beneficialorganismsbiocharbecomesanextremelyeffectivesoilamendmentpromotinggoodsoil,and
inturnplant,health.
BiocharhasalsobeenshowntoreduceleachingofEcolithroughsandysoilsdependingonapplication
rate,feedstock,pyrolysistemperature,soilmoisturecontent,soiltexture,andsurfacepropertiesofthe
bacteria.[30][31][32]
ForplantsthatrequirehighpotashandelevatedpH,[33]biocharcanbeusedasasoilamendmentto
improveyield.
Biocharcanimprovewaterquality,reducesoilemissionsofgreenhousegases,reducenutrientleaching,
reducesoilacidity,andreduceirrigationandfertilizerrequirements.[34]Biocharwasalsofoundunder
certaincircumstancestoinduceplantsystemicresponsestofoliarfungaldiseasesandtoimproveplant
responsestodiseasescausedbysoilbornepathogens.[35][36][37]
Thevariousimpactsofbiocharcanbedependentonthepropertiesofthebiochar,[38]aswellasthe
amountapplied,[37]andthereisstillalackofknowledgeabouttheimportantmechanismsand
properties.[39]Biocharimpactmaydependonregionalconditionsincludingsoiltype,soilcondition

(depletedorhealthy),temperature,andhumidity.[40]Modestadditionsofbiochartosoilreducenitrous
oxideN2Oemissionsbyupto80%andeliminatemethaneemissions,whicharebothmorepotent
greenhousegasesthanCO2.[41]
Studieshavereportedpositiveeffectsfrombiocharoncropproductionindegradedandnutrientpoor
soils.[42]Biocharcanbedesignedwithspecificqualitiestotargetdistinctpropertiesofsoils.[43]Biochar
reducesleachingofcriticalnutrients,createsahighercropuptakeofnutrients,andprovidesgreatersoil
availabilityofnutrients.[44]At10%levelsbiocharreducedcontaminantlevelsinplantsbyupto80%,
whilereducingtotalchlordaneandDDXcontentintheplantsby68and79%,respectively.[45]Onthe
otherhand,becauseofitshighadsorptioncapacity,biocharmayreducetheefficacyofsoilapplied
pesticidesthatareneededforweedandpestcontrol.[46][47]Highsurfaceareabiocharsmaybe
particularlyproblematicinthisregardmoreresearchintothelongtermeffectsofbiocharadditionto
soilisneeded.[46]

Slashandchar
SwitchingfromslashandburntoslashandcharfarmingtechniquesinBrazilcandecreaseboth
deforestationoftheAmazonbasinandcarbondioxideemission,aswellasincreasecropyields.Slash
andburnleavesonly3%ofthecarbonfromtheorganicmaterialinthesoil.[48]
Slashandcharcankeepupto50%ofthecarboninahighlystableform.[49]Returningthebiocharinto
thesoilratherthanremovingitallforenergyproductionreducestheneedfornitrogenfertilizers,thereby
reducingcostandemissionsfromfertilizerproductionandtransport.[50]Additionally,byimprovingthe
soil'sabilitytobetilled,fertility,andproductivity,biocharenhancedsoilscanindefinitelysustain
agriculturalproduction,whereasnonenrichedsoilsquicklybecomedepletedofnutrients,forcing
farmerstoabandonthefields,producingacontinuousslashandburncycleandthecontinuedlossof
tropicalrainforest.Usingpyrolysistoproducebioenergyalsohastheaddedbenefitofnotrequiring
infrastructurechangesthewayprocessingbiomassforcellulosicethanoldoes.Additionally,thebiochar
producedcanbeappliedbythecurrentlyusedmachineryfortillingthesoilorequipmentusedtoapply
fertilizer.[51]

Waterretention
Biocharisadesirablesoilmaterialinmanylocationsduetoitsabilitytoattractandretainwater.Thisis
possiblebecauseofitsporousstructureandhighsurfacearea.[52]Asaresult,nutrients,phosphorus,and
agrochemicalsareretainedfortheplantsbenefit.Plantstherefore,arehealthierandfertilizersleachless
intosurfaceorgroundwater.

Energyproduction:BiooilandSyngas
Mobilepyrolysisunitscanbeusedtolowerthecostsoftransportationofthebiomassifthebiocharis
returnedtothesoilandthesyngasstreamisusedtopowertheprocess.[53][54]Biooilcontainsorganic
acidsthatarecorrosivetosteelcontainers,hasahighwatervaporcontentthatisdetrimentaltoignition,
and,unlesscarefullycleaned,containssomebiocharparticleswhichcanblockinjectors.[55]
Ifbiocharisusedfortheproductionofenergyratherthanasasoilamendment,itcanbedirectly
substitutedforanyapplicationthatusescoal.Pyrolysisalsomaybethemostcosteffectivewayof
electricitygenerationfrombiomaterial.[56]

Directandindirectbenefits
Thepyrolysisofforestoragriculturederivedbiomassresiduegeneratesabiofuelwithout
competitionwithcropproduction.
Biocharisapyrolysisbyproductthatmaybeploughedintosoilsincropfieldstoenhancetheir
fertilityandstability,andformediumtolongtermcarbonsequestrationinthesesoils.
Biocharenhancesthenaturalprocess:thebiospherecapturesCO2,especiallythroughplant
production,butonlyasmallportionisstablysequesteredforarelativelylongtime(soil,wood,
etc.).
Biomassproductiontoobtainbiofuelsandbiocharforcarbonsequestrationinthesoilisacarbon
negativeprocess,i.e.moreCO2isremovedfromtheatmospherethanreleased,thusenabling
longtermsequestration.[57]

Research
Intensiveresearchintomanifoldaspectsinvolvingthepyrolysis/biocharplatformisunderwayaround
theworld.From2005to2012,therewere1,038articlesthatincludedthewordbiocharorbiochar
inthetopicthathadbeenindexedintheISIWebofScience.[58]Furtherresearchisinprogressbysuch
diverseinstitutionsaroundtheworldasCornellUniversity,theUniversityofEdinburgh,whichhasa
dedicatedresearchunit.,[59]andtheAgriculturalResearchOrganization(ARO)ofIsrael,VolcaniCenter,
whereanetworkofresearchersinvolvedinbiocharresearch(iBRN,IsraelBiocharResearchersNetwork
(https://sites.google.com/site/ibrnisraelbiocharnetwork/))wasestablishedasearlyas2009.
StudentsatStevensInstituteofTechnologyinNewJerseyaredevelopingsupercapacitorsthatuse
electrodesmadeofbiochar.[60]AprocessdevelopedbyUniversityofFloridaresearchersthatremoves
phosphatefromwater,alsoyieldsmethanegasusableasfuelandphosphateladencarbonsuitablefor
enrichingsoil.[61]

Emergingcommercialsector
Calculationssuggestthatemissionsreductionscanbe12to84%greaterifbiocharisputbackintothe
soilinsteadofbeingburnedtooffsetfossilfueluse.Thusbiocharsequestrationoffersthechancetoturn
bioenergyintoacarbonnegativeindustry.[62]
JohannesLehmann,ofCornellUniversity,estimatesthatpyrolysiscanbecosteffectivefora
combinationofsequestrationandenergyproductionwhenthecostofaCO2tonreaches$37.[62]Asof
midFebruary2010,CO2istradingat$16.82/tonontheEuropeanClimateExchange(ECX),sousing
pyrolysisforbioenergyproductionmaybefeasibleevenifitismoreexpensivethanfossilfuel.
Currentbiocharprojectsmakenosignificantimpactontheoverallglobalcarbonbudget,although
expansionofthistechniquehasbeenadvocatedasageoengineeringapproach.[63]InMay2009,the
BiocharFundreceivedagrantfromtheCongoBasinForestFundforaprojectinCentralAfricato
simultaneouslyslowdowndeforestation,increasethefoodsecurityofruralcommunities,provide
renewableenergyandsequestercarbon.
Applicationratesof2.520tonnesperhectare(1.08.1t/acre)appeartoberequiredtoproduce
significantimprovementsinplantyields.Biocharcostsindevelopedcountriesvaryfrom$300
7000/tonne,generallytoohighforthefarmer/horticulturalistandprohibitiveforlowinputfieldcrops.In

developingcountries,constraintsonagriculturalbiocharrelatemoretobiomassavailabilityand
productiontime.Analternativeistousesmallamountsofbiocharinlowercostbiocharfertilizer
complexes.[64]
VariouscompaniesinNorthAmerica,Australia,andEnglandsellbiocharorbiocharproductionunits.In
EnglandCarbonGoldsupplyarangeofbiocharbasedsoilimprovers,compostsandfertilisersfor
arboriculture,horticultureandturfcareaswellastohomegrowers.InSwedenthe'StockholmSolution'
isanurbantreeplantingsystemthatuses30%biochartosupporthealthygrowthoftheurbanforest.The
QatarAspireParknowusesbiochartohelptreescopewiththeintenseheatoftheirsummers.
Atthe2009InternationalBiocharConference,amobilepyrolysisunitwithaspecifiedintakeof1,000
pounds(450kg)wasintroducedforagriculturalapplications.Theunithadalengthof12feetandheight
of7feet(3.6mby2.1m).[65]
AproductionunitinDunlap,TennesseebyMantriaCorporationopenedinAugust2009aftertestingand
aninitialrun,waslatershutdownaspartofaPonzischemeinvestigation.[66]

Seealso
Activatedcarbon
Charring
Pelletfuel
Soilcarbon
Soilecology

Notes
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Archivedfromtheoriginalon13September2011.Retrieved1October2011.
2."Geoengineeringtheclimate:science,governanceanduncertainty".TheRoyalSociety.2009.Retrieved
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3.DominicWoolf,JamesE.Amonette,F.AlayneStreetPerrott,JohannesLehmann,StephenJosephAmonette
StreetPerrottLehmannJoseph(August2010)."Sustainablebiochartomitigateglobalclimatechange".
NatureCommunications1(5):19.Bibcode:2010NatCo...1E..56W.doi:10.1038/ncomms1053.ISSN2041
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4."SlashandChar".Retrieved19September2014.
5.BenoitAnthonyNdameu(November2011)."BiocharFundTrialsinCameroon:HypeandUnfulfilled
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6.Solomon,Dawit,JohannesLehmann,JaniceThies,ThorstenSchafer,BiqingLiang,JamesKinyangi,
EduardoNeves,JamesPetersen,FlavioLuizao,andJanSkjemstad,Molecularsignatureandsourcesof
biochemicalrecalcitranceoforganiccarboneinAmazonianDarkEarths,71Geochemicaetcosmochemica
ACTA2285,2286(2007)("AmazonianDarkEarths(ADE)areauniquetypeofsoilsapparentlydeveloped
between500and9000yearsB.P.throughintenseanthropogenicactivitiessuchasbiomassburningandhigh
intensitynutrientdepositionsonpreColumbianAmerindiansettlementsthattransformedtheoriginalsoils
intoFimicAnthrosolsthroughouttheBrazilianAmazonBasin.")(internalcitationsomitted)
7.Lehmann2007a,pp.381387Todate,scientistshavebeenunabletocompletelyreproducethebeneficial
growthpropertiesofterrapreta.Itishypothesizedthatpartoftheallegedbenefitsofterrapretarequirethe
biochartobeagedsothatitincreasesthecationexchangecapacityofthesoil,amongotherpossibleeffects.In
fact,thereisnoevidencenativesmadebiocahrforsoiltreatment,butreallyfortransportablefuelcharcoal.
Abandonedorforgottencharcoalpitsleftforcenturieswereeventuallyreclaimedbytheforest.Inthattime
theharshnegativeeffectsofthechar(highpH,extremeashcontent,salinity)hadwornoffandturnedto
positiveastheforestsoilecosystemsaturatedthecharcoalswithnutrients.supranote2at386("Onlyaged

biocharshowshighcationretention,asinAmazonianDarkEarths.Athightemperatures(3070C),cation
retentionoccurswithinafewmonths.TheproductionmethodthatwouldattainhighCECinsoilincold
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8.Glaser,Lehmann&Zech2002,pp.219220"ThesesocalledTerraPretadoIndio(TerraPreta)characterize
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onlylowamountsofcharcoalareaddedtosoilsasaresultofforestfiresandslashandburntechniques."
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22.Lehmann2007b"thissequestrationcanbetakenastepfurtherbyheatingtheplantbiomasswithoutoxygen(a
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23.Lehmann2007a,pp.381,385"pyrolysisproduces39timesmoreenergythanisinvestedingeneratingthe
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Externallinks
InternationalBiocharInitiative(http://www.biocharinternational.org)
EuropeanBiocharFoundationandCertificate(http://www.europeanbiochar.org)
BiocharFund(http://www.biocharfund.org/)
BiocharResearchatCornellUniversity(http://www.css.cornell.edu/faculty/lehmann/index.html)
Biochar.org(http://www.biochar.org)
BiocharNews(http://www.biochar.net)
BiocharIndia(http://www.biocharindia.com)
TheBigBiocharExperiment(UK)(http://www.bigbiocharexperiment.co.uk)
IsraelBiocharResearchNetwork(https://sites.google.com/site/ibrnisraelbiocharnetwork)
AgriculturalGeoEngineeringPast,Present&Future(https://www.soils.org/files/am/ecosystems/
kinght.pdf)
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