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BIOCHAR, To the rescue!

Learn about biochar, a highly porous charcoal made from organic waste like woodchips and chicken manure. Discover how it's made through pyrolysis and its benefits for soil, crop yields, and carbon sequestration. Find out how biochar can clean the air and reduce CO2 levels globally, with potential uses in energy production and pharmaceuticals.

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BIOCHAR, To the rescue!

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  1. BIOCHAR, To the rescue! By Amanda Schaffer

  2. What is biochar? • Biochar is a highly porous charcoal made from organic waste • Can be any forest, agricultural, or animal waste • Examples: • Woodchips • Corn husks • Peanut shells • Chicken manure

  3. How it’s made • Waste called “biomass” is put into an octagonal shaped metal barrel • It’s then cooked at 1000oF • This process of cooking the biomass is a thermochemical process called pyrolysis. • After a few hours, the organic waste is transformed into charcoal-like pellets that farmers turn into fertilizer

  4. More about Biochar • It’s high carbon content and porous nature can help soil retain water, nutrients, protect soil microbes. • It can increase crop yields while acting as a natural carbon sink - keeping carbon in the ground • Many scientists view that biochar is considered the black gold of agriculture

  5. Cleaning the Air • Biochar can clean the air in two ways • Preventing rotting biomass from releasing harmful CO2 into the atmosphere • Allowing plants to store the CO2 that they pull from the air via photosynthesis

  6. What could happen • If biochar was used worldwide, CO2 levels could drop 8 parts per million within 50 years • CO2 levels in the air have been increasing at an alarming rate since the 1980’s. • Since 2000, carbon has been increasing 2 parts per million • During the 1980’s carbon amounts were increasing at 1.5 ppm per year.

  7. Other uses for biochar • Gases given off during the process of creating biochar can be: • Converted into electricity • Condensed and converted into gasoline • Used in some pharmaceutical applications for the by-products

  8. Is it possible?

  9. Questions References: • http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/03/30/biochar.warming.energy/ • http://www.charyproduce.com/images/site/full/sweet%20corn1.jpg • http://oxfordinspires.org/Programmes/images/earth-planet.jpg

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