Normal biochar almost all biodegrades over several years. The cation exchange capacity of “terra preta” comes from accumulation of a relatively small % of polycarboxylate polycyclic aromatics.
But yes, burying biomass while somehow preventing decomposition has one of the lowest CO2 mitigation costs. My understanding is, the current best approach is drying it and adding some CaCl2 so it’s too dry for stuff to grow.
With the right plant design, converting biomass to (levulinic acid + furfural + hydrochar) and burying the hydrochar is even better economically. However, land requirements are too large to use exclusively biomass for carbon sequestration or fuels.
Yeah, just another piece of the puzzle. In the short term, albedo changes are going to make a lot more difference.
Do you know if the biochar degradation would be slower if placed relatively deep (> 2ft) down into soil which won’t be tilled, as could be done for an orchard?
Yes, biochar mostly won’t biodegrade if it’s buried in such a way that it doesn’t get oxygen. However, making biochar costs money, so it’s cheaper to dry biomass and add CaCl2.
Normal biochar almost all biodegrades over several years. The cation exchange capacity of “terra preta” comes from accumulation of a relatively small % of polycarboxylate polycyclic aromatics.
But yes, burying biomass while somehow preventing decomposition has one of the lowest CO2 mitigation costs. My understanding is, the current best approach is drying it and adding some CaCl2 so it’s too dry for stuff to grow.
With the right plant design, converting biomass to (levulinic acid + furfural + hydrochar) and burying the hydrochar is even better economically. However, land requirements are too large to use exclusively biomass for carbon sequestration or fuels.
Yeah, just another piece of the puzzle. In the short term, albedo changes are going to make a lot more difference.
Do you know if the biochar degradation would be slower if placed relatively deep (> 2ft) down into soil which won’t be tilled, as could be done for an orchard?
Yes, biochar mostly won’t biodegrade if it’s buried in such a way that it doesn’t get oxygen. However, making biochar costs money, so it’s cheaper to dry biomass and add CaCl2.