Carbon Commentary · Biochar can sequester carbon cheaply - The Diigo Meta page

• 09 Oct 08
  

  Organic matter, such as agricultural waste, heated in the absence of oxygen splits into two types of material: a charcoal (biochar), and hydrocarbon gases and liquids. When added to soils, the charcoal can provide a powerful fertiliser. The hydrocarbons c

  climate_crisis carbon agriculture biochar

  • The pre-Columbian population appears to have fed their naturally thin soils with large amounts of charcoal which have remained until today. Known as ‘terra preta’ soils, they have remained fertile for hundreds of years after the application of carbon in the form of charcoal.
  • Dynamotive in Canada and BEST Pyrolysis (Australia/US) are making good progress towards commercial-scale plants processing hundreds of tonnes of material a day. I don’t doubt that large industrial-scale biochar manufacturing facilities will be successfully developed within three or four years. This area is already attracting substantial sums of private capital, and the technological challenges are not of the greatest difficulty. The crucial determinant of whether the sequestration of biochar becomes a large-scale worldwide activity is financial. Does it make sense to store charcoal in soil rather than burn it?

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