Biochar Carbon Negative
Enviromentally Friendly
Agriculture smart dirt
Biochar Capabilities:
What is biochar?
Biochar is a solid material obtained from the carbonation thermochemical conversion of biomass in an oxygen-reduced environments. In more technical terms, biochar is produced by thermal decomposition of organic material from wood, manure or leaves under limited supply of oxygen, and at relatively low temperatures (500°C-700°C). This process is simular to the production of charcoal, which is perhaps the most ancient industrial technology developed by humankind. Biochar can be distinguished from charcoal that is used mainly as a fuel in a primary application. Soil amendment with the intention to improve soil functions, to reduce emissions from biomass that would otherwise naturally degrade to greenhouse gases.
How to improve agricultural products?
Brazil and Japan also has a long tradition of using charcoal in soil, a tradition that is being revived and has been exported over the past 20 years to countries such as Costa Rica. The Brazilian and Japanese traditions together provide long-term evidence of positive biochar impact on soils.
While the larger questions concerning overall biochar benefits to soils and climate have been answered in the affirmative, significant questions remain, including the need for a better understanding of some of the details of biochar production and characterization. Work is ongoing to develop methods for matching different types of biochar to soils for the best results.
How will biochar help the agricuctural farmers?
Biochar provides a unique opportunity to improve soil fertility for the long term using locally available materials. Used alone, or in combinations of compost manure, bones and/or agricultural chemicals that are added at certain rates every year to soils, in order to realize the benefits. Application rates of these can be reduced when nutrients are combined with biochar. Biochar remains in the soil, and single applications can provide benefits over many years. Cities and Farmers can also receive an energy yield when converting organic residues into biochar by capturing energy given off in the biochar production process. In both industrialized and developing countries, soil loss and degradation is occurring at unprecedented rates, with profound consequences for soil ecosystem properties. In many regions, loss in soil productivity occurs despite intensive use of agricultural chemicals, concurrent with adverse environmental impacts on soil and water resources. Biochar can play a major role in expanding options for sustainable soil management by improving upon existing best management practices, not only to improve soil productivity but also to decrease nutrient loss through leaching by percolating (filtering gradually through a porous surface of substance) water.
Biochar affects soil properties like pH and CEC?
Biochar reduces soil acidity which decreases liming needs, but in most cases does not actually add nutrients in any appreciable amount. Biochar made from manure and bones is the exception; it retains a significant amount of nutrients from its source. Because biochar attracts and holds soil nutrients, it potentially reduces fertilizer requirements. As a result, fertilization costs are minimized and fertilizer (organic or chemical) is retained in the soil for longer. In most agricultural situations worldwide, soil pH (a measure of acidity) is low (a pH below 7 means more acidic soil) and needs to be increased. Biochar retains nutrients in soil directly through the negative charge that develops on its surfaces, and this negative charge can buffer acidity in the soil, as does organic matter in general.
CEC stands for Cation Exchange Capacity, and is one of many factors involved in soil fertility. “Cations” are positively charged ions, in this case we refer specifically to plant nutrients such as calcium (Ca2+), potassium (K+), magnesium (Mg2+) and others. These simple forms are those in which plants take the nutrients up through their roots. Organic matter and some clays in soil hold on to these positively charged nutrients because they have negatively charged sites on their surfaces, and opposite charges attract. The soil can then “exchange” these nutrients with plant roots. If a soil has a low cation exchange capacity, it is not able to retain such nutrients well, and the nutrients are often washed out with water.
Adding biochar to alkaline soils ?
Adding biochar to an acidic and an alkaline soil found greater benefits on crop growth in the acidic soil, while benefits on the alkaline soil were minor. In another study, adding biochar to soil caused increases in pH which had a detrimental effect on yields, because of micro-nutrient deficiencies which occur at high pH (>6). Care must be taken when adding any material with a liming capacity to alkaline soils; however.
How long does biochar persist in the soil?
Biochars mineralizes in soils much more slowly than its uncharred precursor material (feedstock). Most biochars do have a small labile (easily decomposed) fraction of carbon but there is typically a much larger recalcitrant (stable) fraction. Scientists have shown Biochar carbon will persist in soils of this recalcitrant fraction ranges from decades to millennia.
Why is biochar persistence in soils important?
The persistence of biochar when incorporated into soils is of fundamental importance in determining the environmental benefits of biochar for two reasons: It determines how long carbon in biochar will remain sequestered in soil and contribute to the mitigation of climate change; and it determines how long biochar can provide benefits to soil and water quality.
Why does biochar persist in soils longer than the original biomass from which it was made?
The carbon lattice structure made up of fused polyaromatic carbon rings is hypothesized to be the key property that confers a resistance to mineralization (conversion from organic carbon to carbon dioxide via respiration) by soil microbes that utilize organic matter i.e., hydrocarbons, as food. The energy required by microbes to access the carbon in biochar appears to be greater when it is released. Carbon compounds in the original biomass (feedstock) are a net positive energy sources and are more readily mineralized by soil microbes.
How is biochar carbon persistence measured?
The fused carbon ring structure of biochar can be measured, sophisticated and high-tech equipment can analyzes nano-structural properties. Biochar carbon mineralizes over time using field and laboratory incubation trials for validation, the degree of carbon aromaticity can be used to predict how much biochar would remain in soils over discrete time periods, for example 100 years or 1,000 years. Persistence is then quantified as mean residence time (MRT)—the average time that biochar is present in the soil
How can biochar mitigate climate change?
Large amounts of forestry and agricultural residues and other biomass are currently in the process of being burned or left to decompose thereby releasing carbon dioxide (CO2) and/or methane (CH4)—two main greenhouse gases (GHGs)—into the atmosphere. Under biochar conversion scenarios, easily mineralized carbon compounds in biomass are converted into fused carbon ring structures in biochar and placed in soils where they persist for hundreds or thousands of years. When deployed on a global scale through the conversion of gallstones of biomass into biochar, studies have shown that biochar has the potential to mitigate global climate change by drawing down atmospheric GHG concentrations.
Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases other than CO2?
Incorporating biochar into soil reduces nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions and increases methane (CH4) uptake from soil. Methane is over 20 times more effective in trapping heat in the atmosphere than CO2, while nitrous oxide has a global warming potential that is 310 times greater than CO2. A combination of biotic and abiotic factors are involved, and these factors will vary according to soil type, land use, climate and the characteristics of the biochar. An improved understanding of the role of biochar in reducing non-CO2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will promote its incorporation into climate change mitigation strategies, and ultimately, its commercial availability and application.
Can biochar impact climate through changes in the soil albedo?
Centuries of agriculture, soils globally have become depleted of there carbon. Agricultural development goals include restoring carbon to carbon-depleted soils. Unavoidably, adding carbon to soils darkens them, changing their albedo (a measure of sunlight reflectance). Fortunately, darker, carbon-rich soils are more fertile and will be more easily re-vegetated. Vegetation has a lighter albedo, so the albedo problem is very temporary in nature and is not a significant issue.
Could black dust from biochar have an impact on climate?
Small particles of black carbon are produced from the incomplete combustion of fossil and biomass fuels. When deposited on snow and ice, they are able to absorb heat and energy. The smallest black carbon particles associated with biochar production and application are much larger, in the millimeter range, than the particles associated with global warming, in the nanometer range. Thus application of biochar would result in little opportunity for long-range transport and deposition into the sensitive Arctic and mountain regions.
Does a successful biochar industry depend on carbon markets?
Biochar benefits farms of all sizes, in the form of greater crop productivity as well as numerous other quantifiable environmental benefits, among them climate change mitigation. While efforts are underway to develop mechanisms to quantify and monetize the climate benefits of biochar—chiefly in the form of carbon offset methodologies these would only add to the existing financial incentives for farmers and other stakeholders to start using biochar.
Is biochar production sustainable?
Feedstock supply and sustainable yield issues are by far the most important, from a sustainability perspective and from the financial and commercial points of view. This will require the sources of biomass selected for biochar production to be appropriate and be able to withstand a comprehensive life cycle analysis. Biochar can and should be made from waste materials. Large amounts of agricultural, municipal and forestry biomass are currently burned or left to decompose and release CO2 and methane back into the atmosphere. These include crop residues both field residues and processing residues such as nut shells, fruit pits, etc, as well as yard material, composted food and forestry wastes, and animal manures, bones.
Biochar can be a tool for improving soils and sequestering carbon in soil. However, this technology as any other must be implemented in a way that respects the land rights of indigenous people and supports the health of natural ecosystems. The goal of biochar technology as IBI envisions it is to improve soil fertility and sequester carbon, taking into consideration the full life cycle analysis of the technology. Properly implemented, biochar production and use should serve the interests of local people and protect biodiversity.
What about human health concerns from dust created during biochar production and application?
Dust is a concern with biochar applications; but the best practices require that biochar applications be done during periods of low wind to prevent the blowing of fires. Agricultural techniques already exist to apply powdered fertilizers and other amendments. Several techniques are available to help keep wind losses to a minimum: biochar can be pelleted, prilled, mixed into a slurry with water or other liquids, mixed with manure and/or compost, or banded in rows.
What Does the IBI advocate when adding carbon from coal, using old tires or toxic waste in soils?
Coal is not a renewable resource. Biochar refers specifically to materials made from present-day biomass, not fossil carbon. Tires and other potentially toxic waste materials are not appropriate as sources of biochar for soil improvement.
Costs and benefits of producing and using biochar:
The benefits that potentially flow from biochar production and use include waste reduction, energy co-production, improved soil fertility and structure, and climate change mitigation. Not all of these benefits are accounted for under current economic systems, but under the carbon constrained economies of the future, the climate mitigation benefit is likely to be accounted for as an economic benefit. Biochar benefits are partly offset by the costs of production, mainly hauling and processing feedstocks. Profitability of biochar systems will be especially sensitive to prices for energy and for greenhouse gas reductions and offsets.
Can biochar be patented?
While some biochar producers may be able to patent a specific biochar production process or method, there exist a number of low-cost technologies that can make biochar at the home or village level, and more are being developed.
What kind of biochar do you want to add ?
It is important to note that not all biochar is the same. Biochar is made by pyrolysing biomass—pyrolysis bakes the biomass in the absence of oxygen, driving off volatile gases and leaving behind charcoal. The key chemical and physical properties of biochar are greatly affected by the type of feedstock being heated and the conditions of the pyrolysis process. For example, biochar made from manure will have a higher nutrient content than biochar made from wood cuttings. However, the biochar from the wood cuttings may have a greater degree of persistence over time. The two different biochars will look similar but will behave quite differently. The IBI Biochar Standards provide more clarity on the characteristics of biochar.
Some biochar materials, for example those made from manures and bones, are mainly composed of ashes so-called “high mineral ash biochars” and thus can supply considerable amounts of nutrients to crops. Keep in mind that this fertilizer effect will likely be immediate and short-lived, just as is the case with synthetic fertilizers.
Can I use biochar immediately after producing it?
Biochar straight out of the pyrolysis unit might take some time to reach its full potential in soil, because it needs it's surfaces to "open up", or "weather". This happens naturally in soil, but the process can be sped up by mixing compost with biochar for example. Nutrient retention with biochar is thought to improve with time, along with crop benefits. Mixing biochar with compost is a great idea, since apart from the ash (and there might only be small amounts of it in biochar), biochar is not a fertilizer in itself so the compost can provide nutrients which the biochar can help retain.
How will the biochar added to soils get exported to rivers and oceans?
With the finding that the export of Biochar to terrestrial ecosystems via rivers is significant. This should not be interpreted, however, as being greater than the export of uncharred material. In fact, the export of Biochar is only 10% of the total export of organic carbon, which is on the same order of magnitude or even smaller than the proportions that the authors cite for Biochar contents in soils of 5 - 40%. Therefore, Biochar in soil is not preferentially exported from watersheds.
Biochar decomposition rates:
Based on citations the authors conclude that production rates of Biochar exceed decomposition rates and thus “a relatively labile BC pool must exist, allowing for considerable losses from soils.” However, the studies cited acknowledge high uncertainty in the rates of Biochar production, and, in the case of BC degradation, do not support inferences about Biochar degradation via microbial metabolization—rather just total losses from soil, be it via erosion, leaching or mineralization. Based on uncertainty in both production and decomposition of Biochar we believe that further research is warranted to understand Biochar fluxes in the environment.
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