BIOCHAR AS A GAME CHANGER FOR AGRICULTURE AND CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION

 BIOCHAR A GAME CHANGER IN CLIMATE CHANGE AND AGRICULTURE FIELD

WHAT ARE BIOCHAR ?

          

Biochar are type of charcoal obtained from plant material such as agricultural residue, wood waste, etc by pyrolysis i.e., thermo-chemical conversion of biomass organic matter . Here, organic matter is heated in absence of oxygen and converted into biochar, bio-oil and syngas.

WHAT ARE THE PROPERTIES OF BIOCHAR ?

Biochar is characterised by high porosity, high absorption, more stable, higher carbon content, modify the pH. Biochar can retain mositure, nutrient, foster the growth of soil microbes, able to absob the heavy metals such as lead,mercury, cadmium and arsenic.Biochar is an ideal tool for soil improvement, carbon sequestration and environmental regeneration.

WHAT ARE THE APPLICATION OF BIOCHAR ?

According to IIT Delhi study , India Biochar could sequestrate an average 376.11megatoones of CO2 equivalent carbon in the soil and could help india to reduce 41.41-63.26% of emissions from agriculture and allied activities. 

biochar is a potential solution to improve soils by increasing soil organic carbon and ferility and microbial activity and add compost to the soil, high retaintibility of soil moisture helps to increase yield, makes crop production carbon neutral, reduce the consumption of fertilizers.

Biochar can absorb metal contaminant such as lead,mercury,cadmium and arsenic used in agriculture and industries such as pigmentation, water transporting pipes, building materials. thus help in improving water quality and sanitation .

Biochar has a potential to remove air-pollutants produced from burning crop-residue or solution to problem caused by stubble burning such as CO2, CO, NOX, S, VOC, SOOT, BLACK CARBON. Helps to improve the air quality and increase longevity.

Biochar has great potential to store carbon di-oxide and store into soil because of high surface area and lower activation energy. India can convert 517.82mega tonnes of crop residue in biochar and applied 20 tonnes per hectares could sequestrate an average of 21MT CO2 equivalent of carbon due to enhanced crop yield., apart from adding soil organic carbon it add nitrogen and phosphorus. 

HOW BIOCHAR IS PRODUCED ? 

Biochar production is rooted in amazonian civilization where heated organic matter is buried under soil in absence of oxygen and which helps in improving soils , increasing yield, etc. In modern times industrial methods of biochar production is being developed

Here, any organic matter such as wood, plant waste, agricultural residue, crop residue, domestic food scraps and animal waste act as a feedstock can be used to make biochar. typically 50% of feedstock rawmaterial converted into BIOCHAR. 

The PYROLYSIS PROCESS is used to convert organic matter into Biochar. it is thermal decomposition of material at extremely high temperature in an inert environment (limited oxygen supply) . the pyrolysis produces heat and gas along with stablised biochar which is more cleaner. the quality of biochar depends on technique used, rawmaterial used, quanity of oxygen supply and temperature used.

LIMITATIONS AND CHALLENGES TO BE OVERCOMED FOR BIOCHAR :

1. Energy consumed in production

2. moisture content in it

3.infrastructure

4. initial cost of plant is expensive

5. variour sources of feedstocks

6. high labour cost

7. monsoonal season biocharring will not work due to rain

INDIAN GOVERNMENT SCHEMES :

 

Integrated solar dryer and pyrolysis pilot plants for smart cities

promoting the application of Biiochar in soil improvement and amendment

crop residue management

clean energy project