Char
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Bioenergy > Technologies > By-products > Char
Char, also known as agrichar (Note), biochar (bio-char), or biomass-derived black carbon, is a form of charcoal produced from biomass. Char is most commonly used as a fertilizer or soil amendment. Char may also have the potential to sequester large amounts of carbon in the soil. Much of the interest in char has been stimulated by research on terra preta, "dark earth" in the Amazon. While most soil in the Amazon is relatively infertile, there are large areas of deep, rich soil which were most likely created by agricultural communities over hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Citation needed
Contents |
Publications
See books, reports, scientific papers, position papers and websites for additional useful resources.
- Black is the new green by Emma Marris; NATURE, Vol 442, 10 August 2006. Article explores the carbon sequestration and fertility benefits of using char produced as a by-product from gasification and other biofuel production technologies.
- An Inventory Of Data, For Reconstructing 'Natural Steady State' Carbon Storage In Terrestrial Ecosystems by Jonathan Adams, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This webpage provides an inventory of data on carbon sinks in various ecosystems.
Websites
- Terrapreta.bioenergylists.org - A website devoted to discussions on char, also known as terra preta, a Portugese expression meaning dark earth.
- Cornell University Bio-Char page - A website by a Cornell professor of biogeochemistry on the properties and possibilities of char, or bio-char.
- BEST Energies - Sells the "Agrichar™" biochar product.
Events
2008
- 8-10 September 2008, NewCastle, UK: 2008 Conference of the International Biochar Initiative: Biochar, Sustainability and Security in a Changing Climate (Themes: biochar, sustainability, climate)
2007
- 29 April - 2 May 2007, Terrigal, New South Wales, Australia: International Agrichar Initiative 2007 Conference.
News
- Scientist says ancient technique cuts greenhouse gas, 5 December 2008 by Reuters: "An ancient technique of plowing charred plants into the ground to revive soil may also trap greenhouse gases for thousands of years and forestall global warming, scientists said on Friday."
- "Heating plants such as farm waste or wood in airtight conditions produces a high-carbon substance called biochar, which can store the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and enhance nutrients in the soil.
- "'I feel confident that the (carbon storage) time of stable biochar is from high hundreds to a few thousand years,' said Cornell University's Johannes Lehmann, at an event on the sidelines of U.N. climate talks in the Polish city of Poznan."
- "Lehmann estimated that under ambitious scenarios biochar could store 1 billion tons of carbon annually -- equivalent to more than 10 percent of global carbon emissions, which amounted to 8.5 billion tons in 2007."
- "The technique rings alarm bells among some environmentalists worried it could spur deforestation, but its chief problem may be that it is barely proven on a commercial scale."[1]
- Climate Geo-engineering with ‘Carbon Negative’ Bioenergy: Climate saviour or climate endgame?, November 2008 by Biofuelwatch: Critical report on "carbon negative" biofuels and biochar released by biofuelwatch.
- Investigates whether proposed "bio-geoengineering ‘solutions’" such as "large-scale use of biomass as a substitute for fossil fuels, whilst simultaneously drawing down atmospheric CO2 by sequestering some of the carbon in the biomass, either underground or as charcoal to be added to soil" will in fact "help to stabilise climate."
- The report concludes that such "proposals are almost certain to exacerbate biodiversity loss, ecosystem destruction and significantly increase GHG emissions. As such they will accelerate the rate and scale at which our life support systems, including climate, are collapsing." (Executive Summary (PDF file))
- International Biochar Conference Criticized, 8 September 2008. A press release issued jointly by the Global Forest Coalition, Biofuelwatch (UK) and Global Justice Ecology Project, "International Biochar Conference Uses False Claims to Promote Dangerous Technology in the name of Climate Change Mitigation", condemned the 2008 Conference of the International Biochar Initiative, warning that the conference "will be misleading governments and the public with claims that biochar - a by-product of second generation agrofuel production - can curb climate change and improve soil fertility."
- Sandy Gauntlett was quoted as saying "In the name of 'climate change' mitigation [biochar proponents] want to greatly speed up agrofuel expansion, which is already a leading driver of deforestation, other ecosystem destruction and forced removal of indigenous peoples."[2]
Note
Agrichar™ is the global brand name and US registered trademark for the Biochar produced from the BEST Energies slow pyrolysis process.
| By-products of bioenergy production | edit | |
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Ethanol production: Dried Distillers Grains (DDG) | Wet Distillers Grains | Bagasse | ||
| Charcoal | edit | |
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Char (Agrichar/Biochar) (International Biochar Initiative) | ||
| Bioenergy conversion technologies | edit | |
| Technologies categorized by bioenergy processes: Biochemical: Aerobic, Anaerobic, Landfill gas collection (LFG), Biodiesel production, Ethanol production Technologies categorized by feedstock: Technologies by commercialization status: Analysis of technologies: Life-cycle analysis | ||
