Biochar
OVERVIEW COPY TEXT
Definition
Technical
Crystal
Biochar is considered to be the most stable form of organic carbon existing in the terrestrial environment[1].
Cavity
Historical
Archaic
Revival
Production
Feedstocks
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How To
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Application
Carbon Sequestration
Biochar has been identified as a key means of sequestering (removing and storing) carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into the Earth's soil. A group of scientists published in Nature in 2019 identified Biochar as the negative emissions technology "at the highest technology readiness level."[1] According to their research, the global carbon sequestration potential of biochar (when also using potassium as a low-concentration additive) is over 2.6 billion tons of CO2/year.[1]
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Soil Amendment
As a soil amendment, Biochar is the simplest way to increase long-term soil organic carbon content in a form which can endure for thousands of years, as seen in the Amazonian Black Earth.
Additional benefits of Biochar for soil include improved soil texture, nutrient retention, cation exchange capacity,[2] water retention,[3] and microorganism habitat.[4]
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Feed Additive
Livestock farmers increasingly use biochar as a regular feed supplement to improve animal health, increase nutrient intake efficiency and thus productivity. As biochar gets enriched with nitrogen-rich organic compounds during the digestion process, the excreted biochar-manure becomes a more valuable organic fertilizer causing lower nutrient losses and greenhouse gas emissions during storage and soil application.
An analysis of 112 scientific papers on biochar feed supplements has shown that in most studies and for all farm animal species, positive effects on different parameters such as growth, digestion, feed efficiency, toxin adsorption, blood levels, meat quality and/or emissions could be found. However, a relevant part of the studies obtained results that were not statistically significant. Most importantly, no significant negative effects on animal health were found in any of the reviewed publications. [2]
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Water Filter
Charcoal has been a part of water treatment for at least 4000 years.[3] Biochar’s incredible porosity and surface area give it a high capacity to adsorb a wide variety of contaminants from water.[4]
Laboratory testing shows that biochar can effectively reduce contaminants including:
• Heavy metals like lead, copper, zinc, cadmium, cobalt, and nickel;
• Organics such as gasoline compounds and other volatile organics, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and some herbicides, pesticides and pharmaceuticals;
• Chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biological oxygen demand (BOD);
• Nutrients such as phosphorus and ammonia;
• Totals suspended solids (TSS).[5]
A 2019 study in the Journal of Environmental Management Found that wastewater treatment using biochar in modified sand filters would be able to achieve a similar level of effectiveness in "significant microbe removal" and "reduce the land requirement for implementation of biochar in treatment facilities," helping overcome a "major constraint" to wastewater treatment on farms.[6]
How To
Video: https://youtu.be/kazEAzGWuIc
Manual: http://www.aqsolutions.org/images/2010/06/water-system-handbook.pdf
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Insulation
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Supercapacitor
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Asphalt
Ink
Paper
Plastic
Sources
[1] <https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-41953-0>
[2] <https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/11/3211/pdf>
[3] <https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2015.00733/full>