Biochar for environmental management: an introduction
Biochar for environmental management: an introduction
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DOI:
10.4324/9780203762264-8
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发表时间:
2015-02
期刊:
影响因子:
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通讯作者:
J. Lehmann;S. Joseph
中科院分区:
文献类型:
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作者:
J. Lehmann;S. Joseph
uct obtained when biomass, such as wood, manure or leaves, is heated in a closed container with little or no available air. In more technical terms, biochar is produced by so-called thermal decomposition of organic material under limited supply of oxygen (O2), and at relatively low temperatures (<700°C). This process often mirrors the production of charcoal, which is one of the most ancient industrial technologies developed by mankind – if not the oldest (Harris, 1999). However, it distinguishes itself from charcoal and similar materials that are discussed below by the fact that biochar is produced with the intent to be applied to soil as a means of improving soil productivity, carbon (C) storage, or filtration of percolating soil water. The production process, together with the intended use, typically forms the basis for its classification and naming convention, which is discussed in the next section. In contrast to the organic C-rich biochar, burning biomass in a fire creates ash, which mainly contains minerals such as calcium (Ca) or magnesium (Mg) and inorganic carbonates. Also, in most fires, a small portion of the vegetation is only partially burned in areas of limited O2 supply, with a portion remaining as char (Kuhlbusch and Crutzen, 1995). The question as to what biochar actually is from a chemical point of view rather than from a production point of view is much more difficult to answer due to the wide variety of biomass and charring conditions used. The defining property is that the organic portion of biochar has a high C content, which mainly comprises so-called aromatic compounds characterized by rings of six C atoms linked together without O or hydrogen (H), the otherwise more abundant atoms in living organic matter. If these aromatic rings were arranged in perfectly stacked and aligned sheets, this substance would be called graphite. Under temperatures that are used for making biochar, graphite does not form to any significant extent. Instead, much more What is biochar? 1