Biochar
What is Biochar?
Biochar is through a process called plasma pyrolysis or plasma gasification which are renewable energy technologies that heat biomass under high temperatures in the absence of oxygen.
When carbon dioxide emissions have been sequestered in biochar, the biochar prevents the release of the carbon dioxide emissions back into the climate, thus becoming a valuable tool in fighting climate change. The carbon dioxide emissions are retained in the biochar for 100 to 10,000 yrs, with 5,000 being a common estimate.
Biochar is also a valuable soil amendment. Like a fertilizer, plants and food crops grown with biochar thrive and produce more food than food crops grown without the addition of biochar. In addition to creating a valuable soil enhancer, sustainable biochar practices produces synthesis gas which is a fuel used like natural gas, making it a valuable resource for renewable energy. When biochar is used as a soil amendment, and buried in the ground, we are not only removing and sequestering carbon dioxide emissions, we are “recycling carbon.”
Biochar and the use of the synthesis gas generated in the production of Biochar, helps fight global climate change by replacing the fossil fuels that would have generated new “net” carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.
It has been estimated that through the use of Biochar Technologies, we can store approximately 2.2 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions each year by 2050.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Levels of greenhouse gas emissions
What effect do greenhouse gases have on climate change?
What are the sources of greenhouse gas emissions?
How to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
What is the Prospect for Future Carbon Dioxide Emissions?
What is the “Greenhouse Effect” and the “Natural Greenhouse Effect”?
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting
