1. BIOCHAR, To the rescue!
By Amanda Schaffer

2. What is biochar?
Biochar is a highly porous charcoal made from organic waste
Can be any forest, agricultural, or animal waste
Examples:
Woodchips
Corn husks
Peanut shells
Chicken manure

3. How it’s made
Waste called “biomass” is put into an octagonal shaped metal barrel
It’s then cooked at 1000oF
This process of cooking the biomass is a thermochemical process called pyrolysis.
After a few hours, the organic waste is transformed into charcoal-like pellets that farmers turn into fertilizer

4. More about Biochar
It’s high carbon content and porous nature can help soil retain water, nutrients, protect soil microbes.
It can increase crop yields while acting as a natural carbon sink - keeping carbon in the ground
Many scientists view that biochar is considered the black gold of agriculture

5. Cleaning the Air Biochar can clean the air in two ways
Preventing rotting biomass from releasing harmful CO2 into the atmosphere
Allowing plants to store the CO2 that they pull from the air via photosynthesis

6. What could happen
If biochar was used worldwide, CO2 levels could drop 8 parts per million within 50 years
CO2 levels in the air have been increasing at an alarming rate since the 1980’s.
Since 2000, carbon has been increasing 2 parts per million
During the 1980’s carbon amounts were increasing at 1.5 ppm per year.

7. Other uses for biochar
Gases given off during the process of creating biochar can be:
Converted into electricity
Condensed and converted into gasoline
Used in some pharmaceutical applications for the by-products

8. Is it possible?

9. Questions References: