Beyond the Hype
Biomass Magazine
September 2010
By Anna Austin
The hype surrounding biochar as a climate change mitigation tool, soil amendment or power source is mesmerizing with promises of miraculous results. Too much talk and not much action, however, has raised doubts about its potential.
Market development has been inching along for years, but with no price on carbon there are no incentives for regions with decent-quality soil to use biochar as a soil amendment or for carbon sequestration. In addition, the capital costs of building production facilities are high and often unattainable.
However, new research is confirming biochar's climate mitigation potential and discovering additional applications. A recently published research paper authored by some of the world’s leading soil scientists shows that biochar has the potential to mitigate up to one-tenth of current greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The study takes into account the utilization of biomass resources untapped today and does not propose converting any additional acreage into cropland.
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Sustainable biochar to mitigate global climate change
www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/v1/n5/full/ncomms1053.html
Not talked about in this otherwise comprehensive study are the climate and whole ecological implications of new , higher value, applications of chars.
First, the insitu remediation of a vast variety of toxic agents in soils and sediments.
Biochar Sorption of Contaminants; www.biorenew.iastate.edu/events/biochar2010/conference-agenda/agenda-overview/breakout-session-5/agriculture-forestry-soil-science-and-environment.html
Dr. Lima's work; Specialized Characterization Methods for Biochar www.biorenew.iastate.edu/events/biochar2010/conference-agenda/agenda-overview/breakout-session-4/production-and-characterization.html
And at USDA; The Ultimate Trash To Treasure: *ARS Research Turns Poultry Waste into Toxin-grabbing Char www.ars.usda.gov/IS/AR/archive/jul05/char0705.htm
Second, the uses as a feed ration for livestock to reduce GHG emissions and increase disease resistance.
Third, Recent work by C. Steiner showing a 52% reduction of NH3 loss when char is used as a composting accelerator. This will have profound value added consequences for the commercial composting industry by reduction of their GHG emissions and the sale of compost as a nitrogen fertilizer.
( add http:// to my links)
To me, in the long run, the final arbiter / accountancy / measure of sustainability will be soil carbon content. Once this royal road is constructed, traffic cops ( Carbon Board ) in place, the truth of land-management and Biochar systems will be self-evident.
A dream I've had for years is to base the coming carbon economy firmly on the foundation of top soils. My read of the agronomic history of civilization shows that the Kayopo Amazon Indians and the Egyptians were the only ones to maintain fertility for the long haul, millennium scales. www.agronomy.org/publications/jeq/articles/38/6/2295
The Ag Soil Carbon standard is in final review by the AMS branch at USDA. Read over the work so far; www.novecta.com/documents/Carbon-Standard.pdf
Agriculture allowed our cultural accent and Agriculture will now prevent our descent. Wise Land management; Organic farming and afforestation can build back our soil carbon, Biochar allows the soil food web to build much more recalcitrant organic carbon, ( living biomass & Glomalins) in addition to the carbon in the biochar.
Every 1 ton of Biomass yields 1/3 ton Charcoal for soil Sequestration (= to 1 Ton CO2e) + Bio-Gas & Bio-oil fuels = to 1MWh exported electricity, so is a totally virtuous, carbon negative energy cycle.
Biochar viewed as soil Infrastructure; The old saw; "Feed the Soil Not the Plants" becomes; "Feed, Cloth and House the Soil, utilities included !". Free Carbon Condominiums with carboxyl group fats in the pantry and hydroxyl alcohol in the mini bar. Build it and the Wee-Beasties will come. Microbes like to sit down when they eat. By setting this table we expand husbandry to whole new orders & Kingdoms of life.
This is what I try to get across to Farmers, as to how I feel about the act of returning carbon to the soil. An act of penitence and thankfulness for the civilization we have created. Farmers are the Soil Sink Bankers, once carbon has a price, they will be laughing all the way to it. Unlike CCS which only reduces emissions, biochar systems draw down CO2 every energy cycle, closing a circle back to support the soil food web. The photosynthetic "capture" collectors are up and running, the "storage" sink is in operation just under our feet. Pyrolysis conversion plants are the only infrastructure we need to build out.
NASA?s Space Archaeology terra preta Program;
archaeologyexcavations.blogspot.com/2010/08/time-traveling-via-satellite.html
WorldStoves in Haiti ; www.charcoalproject.org/2010/05/a-man-a-stove-a-mission/ and The Biochar Fund biocharfund.org/ deserves your attention and support. Exceptional results from biochar experiment in Cameroon
NSF Awards $600K to BREAD: Biochar Inoculants for Enabling Smallholder Agriculture www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=0965336
US -Focused Biochar report: Assessment of Biochar's Benefits for theUSA
www.biochar-us.org/pdf%20files/biochar_report_lowres.pdf
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