A recent study explored the effect of biochar on soil, unlocking valuable insights on the CO2-tackling potential of this innovative technology.
Researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University conducted lab experiments on biochar-enriched soil, examining its ability for extra sorption of carbon dioxide (CO2).
The results, published in Nature, showed that biochar increased the soil’s carbon storage capacity, and it enabled further CO2 sorption for more carbon sequestration.
In their laboratory experiments, the university research team applied biochar and mineral-rich biochar to soils, verifying that all kinds of the material unlocked carbon sequestration and further CO2 sorption.
Additionally, the experiments showed that the minerals in biochar play a key role in the chemical sorption of CO2 in the soil.
By applying Mg-biochar to soil, the team noticed an increase in the specific surface area of soil that had enhanced its physical adsorption. The MgO and Mg(OH)2 present in Mg-biochar reacted with atmospheric CO2, transforming it into carbonate minerals.
On the other hand, soil enriched with Ca-biochar did not increase specific surface area like the one treated with Mg-biochar. Still, the Ca(OH)2 and CaClOH present in Ca-biochar have the ability to react with CO2, storing it in the soil mainly as inorganic carbonate minerals.
As one of the major takeaways from this work, the researchers highlight that biochar-amended soil has the capacity for additional sorption of atmospheric carbon dioxide, where Ca or Mg alkaline-earth metal mineral in biochar production can significantly boost the soil’s CO2 sorption ability.
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According to the research team, failing to consider this extra CO2 uptake potential of the soil could lead to underestimating the carbon sequestration potential that can be introduced with biochar.
The scientists also calculated that all cultivated topsoils treated with biochar in China could lead to the sequestration of 7.38–12.5 billion tons of carbon along with an additional 0.34–2.66 billion tons of CO2 sorption, a leap that would contribute towards the country’s goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2060.
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