Biochar is a simple ‘pre-combustion’ method of carbon capture and storage. It does not have the potential scale of more elaborate systems, or suffer the complexities of geological storage. It is here now, it is proven to work, and it can be widely applied.
It can be challenging to implement biochar in a truly ‘carbon negative’ solution. The integration of systems operations – handling, drying, pyrolysis, energy – over the duty cycle, and throughout the year, can be complex. Connecting to the carbon markets is not always straightforward.
Nevertheless, 3 tons CO2/ha/yr is a realistic goal for biochar. Every million hectares is 3m tons/yr less CO2 in the atmosphere. A staged, replicable, biochar solution can deliver effective sequestration at a national level.
