By Rico
Picture thanks to www.treehugger.com/Biochar_Answer.jpg
This plant was grown by Biochar.
This plant was grown by Biochar.
Around 1200 A.D., the Guarita people, who lived in the lower Amazon delta, discovered a dark soil known as terra preta. When corn was planted in this soil, they noticed extreme plant growth, which could only be explained by planting in the unique soil. They found the soil was excellent to use for pot making. Such pots still exist today. Archaeologists discovered these pots, on which art work told the story of the special soil.
Scientists learned of the special soil, and decided to test the uniqueness of its properties. They learned that substances in the soil are a type of charcoal, consisting mostly of carbon, which is produced from biomass. The biomass is produced via pyrolysis (the process of subjecting carbon compounds to very high temperature, in the absence of oxygen, and the resulting decomposition). The scientists declared this soil to be “biochar”. Biochar can store carbon-dioxide in the ground, which increases the productivity of the earth’s soil, thus explaining the extreme plant growth when this type of soil is used.
Biochar is a high carbon, fine grained, residue which can be produced in large quantities by smoldering biomass (that part of a habitat consisting of living matter, measured in per unit volume of habitat), or through modern pyrolysis action. The solid form of the biomass is biochar, the liquid form is bio-oil, and the gas form is syngas. The energy produced by biochar is higher than the energy produced by corn ethanol, per unit.
Biochar is thought to be more beneficial than fertilizers because it increases the soil content of carbon without the residual and harmful chemicals found in fertilizer. It also has many other co-benefits such as preventing nutrient leach from soils, increasing the available nutrients for plant growth, increasing the soil’s water retention, thus decreasing the amount of any type of required fertilizer. More in importantly, it has recently been shown that biochar decreases nitrous-oxide and methane emissions from the soil, thus reducing green house gases.
The modern day production of biochar consists of burning wood and/or heating it to 500 degrees Celsius, in an inert atmosphere, forcing decomposition to either a gas, liquid or solid matter. The solid matter has proved to be usable in farming practices, as fertilizer; the oil and gases can be used to fuel space heaters, furnaces and boilers; the oil and gases can also be “upgraded” for transportation use as gasoline or as bio-diesel substitutes. More exciting is the “waste” product, bio-oil, from biochar.
Biochar is slowly finding its way to market. Agrichar, T.M., produces farm fertilizers, which are available to the general public. As the country’s energy needs increase and natural resources such as petroleum oil decrease, bio-fuel production appears to be a viable alternative, without the harmful byproduct of green house gases.
Scientists learned of the special soil, and decided to test the uniqueness of its properties. They learned that substances in the soil are a type of charcoal, consisting mostly of carbon, which is produced from biomass. The biomass is produced via pyrolysis (the process of subjecting carbon compounds to very high temperature, in the absence of oxygen, and the resulting decomposition). The scientists declared this soil to be “biochar”. Biochar can store carbon-dioxide in the ground, which increases the productivity of the earth’s soil, thus explaining the extreme plant growth when this type of soil is used.
Biochar is a high carbon, fine grained, residue which can be produced in large quantities by smoldering biomass (that part of a habitat consisting of living matter, measured in per unit volume of habitat), or through modern pyrolysis action. The solid form of the biomass is biochar, the liquid form is bio-oil, and the gas form is syngas. The energy produced by biochar is higher than the energy produced by corn ethanol, per unit.
Biochar is thought to be more beneficial than fertilizers because it increases the soil content of carbon without the residual and harmful chemicals found in fertilizer. It also has many other co-benefits such as preventing nutrient leach from soils, increasing the available nutrients for plant growth, increasing the soil’s water retention, thus decreasing the amount of any type of required fertilizer. More in importantly, it has recently been shown that biochar decreases nitrous-oxide and methane emissions from the soil, thus reducing green house gases.
The modern day production of biochar consists of burning wood and/or heating it to 500 degrees Celsius, in an inert atmosphere, forcing decomposition to either a gas, liquid or solid matter. The solid matter has proved to be usable in farming practices, as fertilizer; the oil and gases can be used to fuel space heaters, furnaces and boilers; the oil and gases can also be “upgraded” for transportation use as gasoline or as bio-diesel substitutes. More exciting is the “waste” product, bio-oil, from biochar.
Biochar is slowly finding its way to market. Agrichar, T.M., produces farm fertilizers, which are available to the general public. As the country’s energy needs increase and natural resources such as petroleum oil decrease, bio-fuel production appears to be a viable alternative, without the harmful byproduct of green house gases.
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