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Consulting the Genius of the Place
Related Report
Assessment of Biochar’s Benefits for the United States of America
Gloria Flora
Published Jun 1, 2010
A report by Christoph Steiner, PhD, Hugh McLaughlin, PhD, PE, Andrew Harley, PhD, Gloria Flora, Ronal Larson, PhD, Adam Reed, JD for the Center for Energy and Environmental Security and The United States Biochar Initiative
Summary
Biochar is a charcoal carbon product derived from biomass that can enhance soils, sequester or store carbon, and provide useable energy. Lessons learned from Terra Preta (an ancient human-created soil type in Brazil) suggest that biochar will have carbon storage permanence in the soil for many hundreds and possibly thousands of years. Biochar is produced by subjecting biomass to elevated temperature, extracting energy in the form of heat, gases, and/or oils while retaining a large portion of the original biomass carbon in a solid form (charcoal or char). The relative percentage of solid carbon retained vs. the amount and form of energy produced is a function of the process conditions. The resultant solid carbon becomes biochar when it is returned to soils with the potential to enhance mineral and nutrient availability and water holding capacity, while sequestering carbon for on the order of a thousand years...
The overall purpose of the report is to provide U.S. decision-makers with a compelling vision of the significant potential benefits of biochar application with respect to the sections described below.
Page 1 | Biochar in agricultural and forestry applications in: Biochar from Agricultural and Forestry Residues – A Complimentary Use of “Waste” Biomass
Christoph Steiner, PhD
Page 15 | Biochar and energy linkages in: Biochar and Energy Co-products
Hugh McLaughlin, PhD PE
Page 27 | Biochar for reclamation in: The Role of Biochar in the Carbon Dynamics in Drastically Disturbed Soils
Andrew Harley, PhD
Page 39 | Biochar sustainability in: Biochar and Sustainable Practices
Gloria Flora
Page 51 | Biochar GHG reduction accounting in: Potential Biochar Greenhouse Gas Reductions
Ronal Larson, PhD
Page 66 | Biochar relevance in GHG markets in: Carbon Market Implications for Biochar
Adam Reed, JD
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