BIOCHAR SUSTAINABILITY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

IBI WEBINAR SERIES Dr. N. SAI BHASKAR REDDY, GEOsaibhaskarnakka@gmail.com | 14th April 2015

BIOCHAR

Biochar is another name for charcoal used for purposes other than combustion.

Like all charcoal, biochar is created by the pyrolysis of biomass.

BIOCHARS

There are various types of biochars, based on feedstock's and production technologies.

Biochar as

Growth promoter

Soil conditioner

Soil amendment

Traditional use of biochar

BIOCHARCULTURE

Biocharculture is a holistic approach that has been historically tested, traditionally practiced, is culturally integral, economically viable, socially responsible, environmentally sustainable, and agreeable as a policy.

The uses of biochar—as part of biocharculture—include its application in the areas of soil management, livestock, biomass energy, water purification, green habitats, sanitation, food, health, etc.

BIOCHARCULTURE ADAPTATION BENEFITS

Securing the crop from drought and climate

variabiiity

Reclaim the degraded soils

water conservation

Lessen the impact of hazardous pesticides

and complex chemicals

reducing emissions and increasing the carbon

sequestration

Conversion of biomass into biochar

Increase in crop yieldincreases in C, N, pH, and available P to the

plants

Impacts of biochar last more than 1000 years.

Book published by MetaMeta, Netherlands, August 2014

SUSTAINABILITY OF BIOCHAR

Biocharculture integration into traditional and local practices should be encouraged. Encouraging local communities to produce and use biochar with locally available raw material is considered sustainable.

Biochar blends are mostly organic / natural

ENVIRONMENTAL

CARBON SEQUESTRATI

ON

REDUCED GREEN HOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

SECURING FROM CLIMATE

VARIABILITY

ONE OF THE GLOBAL

WARMING AND CLIMATE CHANGE

MITIGATION SOLUTIONS

LIVELIHOODS

INCREASED CROP YIELD

INCREASED INCOME

RECLAMATION OF DEGRADED SOILS

BIOLOGICAL

- INCREASED SOIL MOCROBES AND

FUNGI. REPULSION OF ANTS AND

TERMITES,

PHYSICAL

- SOIL MOISTURE RETENTION, SOIL

TEXTURE, AND TEMPERATURE, SURFACE AREA

CHEMICAL

RETENTION AND ACCESS OF NITROGEN,

PHOSPHOROUS, ADSORBTION OF

HAZARDOUS PESTICIDES

CHARCOAL PLUS

AMENDMENTS TO SOIL

BIOCHAR FRAMEWORK

Other Environmental Applications

Climate Change

Climate change will affect

food and water security.

The coming decades global warming will

cause droughts, floods, changes in rainfall patterns, severe

freshwater shortages, and shifts in crop

growing seasons—especially in developing countries (FAO 2008).

Adaptive measures are needed to mitigate expected adverse

outcomes; otherwise, areas such as Southern Africa will suffer severe

drops in agricultural yields by 2030 (World

Bank 2009).

Major challenges

Climate change -variability -extremes

Soil fertility Water management

Impact of hazardous

pesticides and nitrogen fertilizers

Burning of crop residue

Alkalinity of soils

AGRICULTURE SHARE – GDP vs. EMPLOYMENT

http://data.worldbank.org/sites/default/files/wdi-final.pdf

Climate Smart Sustainable agriculture

Sustainable agriculture can help developing countries adapt to climate change Sustainable agriculture is essential for development—and for achieving the MDG to eradicate poverty and hunger (World Bank and IFPRI 2006).

Today’s challenges for sustainable agricultural development are to respond to increasing demand for food, adjust to rapid climate changes caused by global warming, and reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions (FAO 2008a).

Climate change mitigation in agriculture will require more efficient use of fertilizer, soil conservation, and better production management.

Under current fertilization practices, crop plant uptake of nitrogen as a nutrient is about 50 percent, with losses and emissions to the atmosphere through runoff and leaching from soil erosion (Takle and Hofstrand 2008; FAO 2001).

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/w2612e/w2612emap12-e.pdf

Damage has occurred on 15 percent of the world’s total land area (13 percent light and moderate, 2 percent severe and very severe), mainly resulting from erosion, nutrient decline, salinization and physical compaction.

Developing Countries Climate• Arid and semi-arid areas account for one third of the earth’s surface land

area.

• In many parts of the subhumid and semiarid tropics, crop yields are declining on response to inputs such as fertilizers, and droughts and shortages of irrigation water are increasingly evident.

• Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia pose two different challenges in raising food production to meet their food needs.

• ICRISAT (1998) estimates that semi-arid areas, especially within the tropics, cover most parts of the developing nations in the world including Latin America, most parts of sub-Saharan Africa, a large portion of Eastern and Southern Africa and parts of India and South East Asia.

http://www.eoearth.org/edit/article/51cbeda07896bb431f692df8/

Source: http://blogs-images.forbes.com/evapereira/files/2011/01/Developed_and_developing_countries3.png

An important accumulation of low economicand social development can be detected from both sides of the equator, roughly between 20S and 30N. Both in the north and in the south of that band the income levels grow steeply.

RECENT STUDIES / REPORTS

•

BIOCHAR PROJECTS -COUNTRY WISE

http://dx.doi.org/10.1596/978-0-8213-9525-7

BIOCHAR PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES

http://dx.doi.org/10.1596/978-0-8213-9525-7

BIOCHAR FEEDSTOCKS Biomass from agriculture, forestry, livestock rearing, food production and processing..Woody biomass— softwoods, hardwoods, or a combinationAgricultural residues including bagassefrom sugar cane, corn stover, rice husks, cereal straw, and coconut shells, etc..

http://dx.doi.org/10.1596/978-0-8213-9525-7

SOURCES OF BIOMASS FOR BIOCHAR

CROP RESIDUE (800 million tons of biomass burnt)

COTTON STALKS (22.3 million tons generated)

PROSOPIS JULIFLORA

RICE HUSK

OTHER BIOMASS

(in India)

Plants

Stoves

Biochar

Soil FertilityCarbon SequestrationEmission reductionWater conservation

EnergyEmissions reductionBiomass conservationBiochar as byproduct

Carbon as biocharWater and fertilizers conservationCarbon sequestration

Note: Presenter has designed low cost highly efficient 50 good stoves that produce biochar as a byproduct. http://goodstove.com Also see the book Understanding Stoves http://metameta.nl/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Understanding-Stoves-okt-10-webversion.pdf

BIOCHAR PRODUCING STOVES

CHARCOAL PRODUCTION

A B C

CHIMNEY

PRIMARY AIR

SECONDARY AIR

GEO metal retort

Magh biochar retort 2

Magh biochar retort 1

BIOCHAR PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES

http://dx.doi.org/10.1596/978-0-8213-9525-7

BIOCHAR PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

JAGGERYCOMPOST

BIOCHAR

SOIL MICROBES

GREEN MULCH

BIOCHAR COMPOST

http://dx.doi.org/10.1596/978-0-8213-9525-7

BIOCHAR APPLICATION METHODS

CROP YIELD INCREASE

SOIL IMPROVEMENT

WAGES FROM PRODUCTION

INCOME FROM SALE

INCREASE IN YIELD AND PRODUCTION

TEST PLOTS

CONTROL BIOCHAR COMPOST

4 KGS 8 KGS 12 KGS

1.5 FEET 6 FEET

CONTROL BIOCHAR

LIVELIHOODS

• Agriculture productivity increases

• Low input agricultureNatural

• Local jobs and equity

• Local enterprisesSocial

• Least skills required

• BiocharcultureHuman

• Local technologies

• Low energy Physical

• Low carbon economy

• Low costFinancial

• Carbon sequestration and energy security

• Mitigation and adaptation to climate changeEnvironment

CARBON OFFSET PAYMENTS

Initially, subsidies / carbon offset payments are needed in the developing countries for sustainability of biocharfacilitation

BIOCHAR BUSINESSES

In the present market less than 25% biochar businesses and production technologies are from developing countries

MARKET

Low price of biochar in the developing countries might trigger exports

Subsidies a hindrance

Lack of awareness

Gardening

Agriculture (Large Farms)

Household

Others

PRICE OF BIOCHAR

Unblended biochar and biochar products blended with other materials are being sold in many countries at a wide range of retail prices ranging from $0.08 to $13.48 per kilogram. The average price reported was $2.48 per kilogram.

http://www.biochar-international.org/State_of_industry_2013

http://dx.doi.org/10.1596/978-0-8213-9525-7

UTILIZATION OF BIOCHAR PRODUCT

CULTURAL

SPIRITUAL

BELIEFS

RITUALS

FESTIVALS

ALTARS

CREMATION

SOURCES (BIOMASS)

GOOD STOVES

•TLUDs

•Other stoves

CROP RESIDUE

POULTRY LITTER

WASTE MANAGEMENT

•Sludge

PRACTICES

FOOD PRESERVING

FOOD

CLEANING

MEDICINE

MATTRESS

TOOTH POWDER

AIR QUALITY

• CO2 / CH4WATER TREATM

ENT

AQUARIUM /

TERRARIUMS

BIOCHAR BRICKS

BIOCHAR URINALS

SOAK PITS

FILTERING MEDIA

INSECT REPELLE

NT

SOIL AMENDMENT

INCREASED PRODUCTI

ONSOIL

TEMPERATURE

REGULATED

MOISTURE RETENTION

WATER CONSERVA

TION

NITROGEN /

PHOSPHOROUS

RETENTION

NURSERIESPESTICIDES ADBSORBTI

ON

SOIL MICROBES DENSITY

INCREASE

BIOCHAR COMPOST

EARTHWORMS

INCREASE

TERMITES / ANTS

REPULSION

CARBON SEQUESTR

ATION

ANIMALS

POULTRY -CH4

REDUCTION

LIVESTOCK -URINE AND

DUNG

FYM / COMPOST

BIOMASS

BIOCHAR

ENERGY

SOIL

BIOCHAR

BIOCHAR COMPOST

AGRICUTURE

PADDY METHANE EMISSIONS REDUCTION

PESTICIDE & COMPLEX

CHEMICALS AFFECTS

MITIGATION

EMMISIONS REDUCTION FROM FARM

YARD MANURES AND

COMPOSTS

CROP RESIDUE MANAGEMENT

ANIMALS

APPLICATION IN ANIMAL PLACES TO TAP URINE,

SANITATION AND

EMISSIONS REDUCTION

RUMINANT ANIMALS METHANE EMISSIONS

REDUCTION AS FEED ADDITIVE

SOAKING IN WITH ANIMALS

URINE AND EXCRETA -

VALUE ADDITION

ENERGY

SOURCE FROM EFFICIENT TLUD COOK STOVES

AS BY PRODUCT FROM GASIFIER

STOVES, BOILERS ETC

CHARCOAL PRODUCTION

FROM BIOMASS / WASTE

MANAGEMENT

HABITAT

BIOCHAR BRICKS

BIOCHAR IN AQUARIUMS

BIOCHAR IN POULTRY FARMS

BIOCHAR IN FRIDGES,

MATTRESSES, ETC.

SANITATION

BIOCHAR URINALS

BIOCHAR TOILETS

BIOCHAR IN CATTLE SHEDS

CLEANING PLATES / UTENSILS

BATHING

HEALTH

CLEANING TEETH

BIOCHAR TABLETS

BIOCHAR IN FOOD AS PART

OF FOOD PREPARATIONS

WATER

WATER PURIFICATION –COLOR, ODOR, REMOVAL OF

HARMFUL ELEMENTS, ETC.

RITUAL / SPIRITUAL / RELIGIOUS / PRACTICES

FIRE / ALTAR / YAGNAS /

AGNIHOTRA

FIRE DURING FESTIVALS

CREMATIONS

NATURAL / ARTIFICIAL

FIRES IN FORESTS /

FIELDS, ETC.

METHANE EMISSIONS REDUCTION

LIVESTOCK URINE

BIOCHAR URINALS

POTTERY SHARDS

BIOCHAR IN LIVING PLACES

BIOCHAR BRICKS

BIOCHAR URBAN GARDENS

ADVANTAGES OF BIOCHAR URBAN GARDENS

Less weight and insulation to the rooftops

Economic savings through access to self grown food

Utilization of urban organic waste for biochar compost.

Aesthetics and green spaces on rooftops

REJUVENATING WATER BODIES

BIOCHAR DYKE

Perforated pipe

Sand

Biochar

Gravel

SEWAGIGATION

Road

Sewerage

Clean water for irrigation

Drip Irrigation

SEWAGIGATION

FLOATIGATION

water

Plastic container

Float (Styrofoam)

USED PET WATER BOTTLES FOR FLOATS

EMERGENT PLANTS IN DEEP WATERS

FLOATIGATION

FLOATIGATION

FLOATIGATION

BIOCHAR ALGAE TRAPS

REED ISLANDS WITH BIOCHAR

Ref: http//