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Biochar , Tool for Climate Change Mitigation and Soil Management

  • Reference work entry
Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology

Definition of the Subject

Biochar is the solid remains of any organic material that has been heated to at least 350oC in a zero-oxygen or oxygen-limited environment, which is intended to be mixed with soils. If the solid remains are not suitable for addition to soils, or will be burned as a fuel or used as an aggregate in construction, it is defined as char not biochar. There is a very wide range of potential biochar feedstocks, e.g., wood waste, timber, agricultural residues and wastes (straws, bagasse, manure, husks, shells, fibers, etc.), leaves, food wastes, paper and sewage sludge, green waste, distiller’s grain, and many others. Pyrolysis is usually the technology of choice for producing biochar, though biomass gasification also produces smaller char yields. Syngas and pyrolytic bio-liquids, which have a potential use as energy carriers, are produced alongside biochar.

The strongest evidence for the beneficial effects of char additions to soils arises from the terra pretasoil...

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Abbreviations

Biochar:

The porous carbonaceous solid produced by thermochemical conversion of organic materials in an oxygen-depleted atmosphere which has physiochemical properties suitable for the safe and long-term storage of carbon in the environment and, potentially, soil improvement.

Black carbon:

The continuum of solid combustion products ranging from slightly charred degradable biomass to highly condensed, refractory soot. All components of this continuum are high in carbon content, chemically heterogeneous, and dominated by aromatic structures.

Carbon (dioxide) equivalent:

Common measure of global warming potential constructed by converting the emissions of the six greenhouse gases under the Kyoto Protocol of the UNFCCC into the equivalent radiative forcing units of CO2. CO2, N2O, and CH4 are the relevant Kyoto gases to be considered in evaluating biochar.

Carbon abatement (CA):

The net effect of changes in greenhouse gas fluxes that result from the production and application of biochar. This can include any or all of the following: carbon stored in biochar; CO2 equivalent emissions released during pyrolysis; offset CO2 equivalent emissions arising from avoided fossil fuel combustion; offset CO2 equivalent emissions from reduced chemical inputs to agriculture; change in nitrous oxide and/or methane flux through biochar addition to soils; change in carbon in soil organic matter due to biochar addition; and offset CO2 equivalent emissions from changed operations in the field. Which of these components is included will be specified in the text.

Carbon credit:

Any mechanism for allocating an economic value to a unit of carbon (dioxide) abatement. The most common units are EU Allowances (EUAs) (under the EU ETS), Emission Reduction Units (ERUs) (Joint Implementation, UNFCCC), Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) (Clean Development Mechanism, UNFCCC), and Verified Emission Reductions (VERs) (voluntary carbon market).

Carbon stability factor (CSF):

The proportion of the total carbon in freshly produced biochar which remains fixed as recalcitrant carbon over a defined time period (10, 100 years, etc., as defined). A CSF of 0.75 means that 75% of the carbon in the fresh biochar remains as recalcitrant carbon over the defined time horizon, and that 25% of the carbon has been converted into CO2.

Charcoal:

The solid product of natural fire and traditional biomass conversion under partially pyrolytic conditions without yielding bioenergy coproducts.

Mean residence time (MRT):

Inverse of decay rate, this is the average time for which carbon in new biochar remains present in a recalcitrant form.

Net primary productivity (NPP):

A measure of plant growth and the additional CO2 fixed and stored into plant biomass over a period of, for example, 1 year; technically, it is calculated as the balance between net photosynthesis and plant (dark) respiration.

Pyrolysis-biochar system (PBS):

A combination of a specified pyrolysis technology, transport, distribution and storage infrastructure and application of biochar.

Recalcitrant carbon:

Aromatic carbon which is resistant to chemical or biological oxidation and subsequent conversion to CO2.

Terra preta:

Literally “dark earth,” these are localized soils, intensively studied, whose dark color appears to result from historic and prolonged management with charcoal, probably for the enhancement of agricultural productivity in and around the Amazon Basin.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge financial support from the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the UK Government, and the European Regional Development Fund (Interreg IVb) in supporting the UK Biochar Research Centre.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UK Biochar Research Centre (UKBRC), School of GeoSciences, Science and Engineering at The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH8 9YL, UK

    Dr. Simon Shackley, Saran Sohi, Rodrigo Ibarrola, Jim Hammond, Ondřej Mašek, Peter Brownsort, Andrew Cross, Miranda Prendergast-Miller & Stuart Haszeldine

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  1. Dr. Simon Shackley
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  2. Saran Sohi
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  3. Rodrigo Ibarrola
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  4. Jim Hammond
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  6. Peter Brownsort
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  7. Andrew Cross
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  9. Stuart Haszeldine
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Correspondence to Simon Shackley .

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    Robert A. Meyers

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Shackley, S. et al. (2012). Biochar , Tool for Climate Change Mitigation and Soil Management. In: Meyers, R.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0851-3_386

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