The Biochar Factory

      Our pyrolysis reactor designed for the production of biochar was handed for mechanical construction and assembly to a construction and assembly company in Pingtung City and was completed on May 2010. This reactor was used to produce part of the biochar needed for the characterization. Figure 1 shows a schematic of the batch pyrolysis reactor designed at the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (Taiwan), and Figure 2 shows the built reactor.           This system was able to pyrolyze from 1 to 3kg of biomass (wood pellets, rice husk, and others) per run. The batch reactor vessel is a stainless steel horizontal tube with a diameter of 60 cm x 90 cm (Figure 2). The reactor was heated to temperatures between 250 and 350°C and kept at that temperature for 50 minutes to 1:30 hours, using a gas tank for fire feed.       Temperature is monitored using an iron temperature-sensing device that is insert...

What is pyrolysis?       Pyrolysis is the chemical decomposition of an organic substance by heating in the absence of oxygen. The word is derived from Greek word ‘pyro’ meaning fire and “lysis” meaning decomposition or breaking down into constituent parts. In practice it is not possible to create a completely oxygen free environment and as such a small amount of oxidation will always occur. However, the degree of oxidation of the organic matter is relatively small when compared to combustion where almost complete oxidation of organic matter occurs, and as such, a substantially larger proportion of the carbon in the feedstock remains and is not given off as CO2. However, with pyrolysis much of the C from the feedstock is still not recovered in charcoal form, but converted to either gas or oil. Simplified depiction of pyrolysis chemistry. How it occurs?  Pyrolysis occurs spontaneously at high temperatures (generally above approximately 300°C for wood,...

Biochar for carbon sequestration       Globally, soil is estimated to hold more organic carbon (1,100 Gt; 1 Gt=1,000,000,000 tones) than the atmosphere (750 Gt) and the terrestrial biosphere (560 Gt) (Post et al., 1990; Sundquist, 1993). In the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change of 1997, which was adopted in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Article 3.4 allows organic carbon stored in arable soils to be included in calculations of net carbon emissions. It speaks of the possibility of subtracting the amounts of CO2 removed from the atmosphere into agricultural sinks, from the assigned target reductions for individual countries. SOC sequestration in arable agriculture has been researched (Schmidt et al., 2000; Freibauer et al., 2002; West and Post, 2002; Sleutel et al., 2003; Janzen, 2004; King et al., 2004; Lal, 2004) against the background of organic carbon (OC) credit trading schemes (Brown et al., 2001; Johnson and Heinen, 2004). However, fundam...

Motivation To apply biochar into soil is being considered as a means to sequester carbon (C) while concurrently improving soil functions.  Biochar research is in its relatively on its first steps and as such, substantially more data is required before robust predictions can be made regarding the effects of biochar application to soils, across a range of soils, climatic, and land management factors.  Concomitant with carbon sequestration, biochar is intended to improve soil properties and soil functioning relevant to agronomic and environmental performance. Hypothesized mechanisms were suggested but are not very clearly, for potential improvement water and nutrient retention (as well as improved soil structure, drainage) would be mainly enhanced.  Considering the multi-dimensional and crosscutting nature of biochar, an imminent need is anticipated for a strong and balanced scientific review to effectively inform policy development on the current state of know...

Biochar: Biochar is commonly defined as charred organic matter, produced with the intent to deliberately apply to soils to sequester carbon and improve soil properties (Lehmann and Joseph, 2009). Biochar is generated from organic matter (mainly from waste), is treated at temperatures between 300~600 °C via pyrolysis (carbonization), when higher temperatures are applied (800-1100 °C) activation occurs.  Biochar or charcoal? The only difference between biochar and charcoal is in its utilitarian intention; charcoal is produced for other reasons (e.g. heating, barbecue, etc.) than biochar. Carbon cycle: Carbon-based molecules are crucial for life on earth, because it is the main component of biological compounds. Carbon is also a major component of many minerals. Carbon also exists in various forms in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is partly responsible for the greenhouse effect and is the most important human-contributed greenhouse gas. ...

Introduction Soils have the ability to absorb carbon dioxide and influence its concentration in the atmosphere. Biochar can be used to increase the ability of soils to sequester carbon and simultaneously improve soil health.  Image source:  http://katerva.org/tag/biochar/ What is biochar? Biochar is just charcoal made from biomass—which is plant material and agricultural waste—hence the name ‘biochar’. It is a fine-grained charcoal produced from pyrolysis: the slow burning of organic matter in a low- or no-oxygen environment. What differentiates biochar from charcoal is its purpose; it is produced as an additive to soils, mainly to improve nutrient retention and carbon storage. [1] Although the history of biochar extends thousands of years, its science is still relatively poorly understood. Image source: Odette V. History of biochar The term ‘biochar’ was coined in recent times, but the origins of the concept are ancient.[2] Throughout ...