Biochar is the carbon rich product obtained when biomass, such as wood, manure or leaves, is heated in a closed container with little or no available air.

1. Name – CK Dotaniya
Ph.D. Research Scholar, Soil Science and
Agricultural Chemistry,
College of Agriculture, SKRAU Bikaner
Email-ckdotaniya1991@gmail.com
Mob.- 9571362926

2. Role of Biochar in Agricultural production and
mitigation of climate change
Presented by:
Chetan Kumar Dotaniya
Credit Seminar
Department of Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry
College of Agriculture
Swami Keshwanand Rajasthan Agricultural University
Bikaner

3. Contents
• What is Biochar?
• Materials used to make biochar
• Methods of biochar production
• Properties of fresh biochar
• What makes biochar work?
• Potential functions of biochar
• Methods of biochar application
• Experimental findings
• Conclusions

4. Biochar
• Biochar is the carbon rich product obtained
when biomass, such as wood, manure or
leaves, is heated in a closed container with
little or no available air.
• Discovered in sub-soils of fired forest in
amazonian region (Brazil) and known as terra
preta.
• Earlier known as agrichar.

5. Terra preta in Amazonian region

6. Materials used to make biochar
• Dairy, poultry, agricultural and other waste
materials.
• Eg. Poultry Liner, Paper Sludge, Dairy Manure,
Green Waste, Wood Waste, Rice Hulls, Algae
Waste, Straw, Pig Manure, Cotton Trash, Nut
Shells, Woody Weeds, Switch Grass etc.

7. Methods of biochar production
• Traditional Method (Heap Method)
• Slow pyrolysis
• Fast pyrolysis
• Intermediate pyrolysis
• Carbonisation
• Gasification

8. Heap Method

9. Slow pyrolysis
• Relatively low reactor
temperatures (450- 650 ⁰C).
• operating at atmospheric
pressure.
• very low heating rates,
ranging from 0.01-2.0 ⁰C/s.
Fast pyrolysis
• High reactor temperature
(>700 ⁰C) ,
• operating at elevated
pressure.
• high heating rates, ranging
from 10-50 ⁰C/s.
Intermediate pyrolysis
• A hybrid of slow and fast pyrolysis

10. Carbonisation
• Hydrothermal carbonization: Biochar is obtained by applying
high pyrolytic temperature (200–250°C) to a biomass in a
suspension with liquid under high atmospheric pressure for
several hours.
• Flash carbonization: A flash fire is lights up at an elevated
pressure at the underneath of a packed bed biomass. The fire
travels in an upward direction through the carbonization bed
against the downward flow of air supplied to the process.
• The biomass feedstock to some extent is oxidized in the
gasification chamber at a temperature of about 800°C at
atmospheric or elevated pressure .
Gasification

11. Properties of fresh biochar
• High mineral content, especially Ca (for low pH soils), K. Mg
and P with relatively higher solubility.
• Reactive surfaces that can complex soil organic and mineral
matter and toxic substances.
• A high concentrations of oxygenated functional groups
especially carboxylic and phenolic.
• A high redox potential.
• High micro/meso pore volume for adsorption of gases and
liquids.
• Soluble or easily oxidized surface organic molecules
(especially aliphatic) that are produced in low temperature
pyrolysis .

12. What makes biochar work?
• During formation, the porous, amorphous biochar structure
adsorbs bio-oils, nitrogen, phosphorus and other nutrients.
• Very high surface area.
• In soil, biochar is extremely resistant to decomposition.
• Soil micro organisms and H20 inhabit micropores.
• Nutrient leaching and volatilization are inhibited.
• Nutrients are bioavailable to plants.

13. Potential functions of biochar
• It improve soil health.
• Waste management
• Mitigate climate change
• Improves growth, development and yield of
crops
• Miscellaneous uses [Urban & Roof gardening,
Floatigation (growing plants on water) etc.)

14. Biochar as soil heath improver

15. Biochar to manage wastes
• Crop residues, poultry litter, green urban waste, industrial
waste (from paper mills) can be used to produce biochar.

16. Biochar to mitigate climate change
• It has carbon in recalcitrant form and can hold
it in soil for hundred of years.
• Due to high retention power, it reduce N2O
and CH4 emission from soil.
• Otherwise easily decomposable OM can
change in to resistant form by converting to
biochar.

17. Effect of biochar on crop growth
• By improving soil health, biochar improves
growth & development of crops.

19. Miscellaneous uses of biochar
• Due to its light weight, high nutrient content and
water retention power. It can be used as plant
growth medium in Following:
• Urban gardens
• Roof & terrace gardens
• Floatigation

20. Terrace garden

21. Floatigation

22. Methods of biochar application

23. Experimental Findings

24. Effect of biochar application on crop yield
Crop Soil Type Biochar
treatment
(t ha-1)
Fertilizer
treatment
(kg ha-1)
Yield
increase over
control (%)
Reference
Wheat Ferrosol 0 and 10 1.25 g
Nutricote®
/250g soil b
+ 250 Van Zwieten
et al., (2010)
Radish Alfisol 0, 10, 25 and
50
N (100) + 320 Chan et al.,
(2008)
Maize Fine sand
loam and
sand
0, 2.5, 5.0
and 10
Nil No effect Feng et al.,
(2012)

25. Effect of biochar application on crop yield
Crop Soil Type Biochar
treatment
(t ha-1)
Fertilizer
treatment
(kg ha-1)
Yield increase
over control
(%)
Reference
Maize Oxisol 0, 8 and 20 Lime
(dolomite)
(2.2);N(156-
170;P(30-43);
K (84- 138)
+ 28 (2004) +
30 (2005) +
140 (2006)
Major (2010)
Beans Oxisol 0, 30, 60 and
90
Lime (300); N
(20); P (20)
+ 39 Rondon et
al., (2007)
Wheat Silt loam 0 and 9 Nil No effect Karhu et al.,
(2011)

26. Effect of biochar addition on the concentration
of extractable heavy metals in soil
*BB- Bamboo Biochar (Yang et al. 2016)
RSB- Rice Straw Biochar

27. Effect of organic amendments on SOM
content of different sized aggregate
*Aggregate size fractions Schnee et aI., 2018
I - 1.0-2.0 mm
II-0.4-1.0 mm
III- 0.2-04 mm
IV- <0.2 mm

28. Effect of organic amendments on base
saturation of different sized aggregate
*Aggregate size fractions Schnee et aI., 2018
I - 1.0-2.0 mm
II-0.4-1.0 mm
III- 0.2-04 mm
IV- <0.2 mm

29. Conclusions
• It sequester carbon for longer period.
• It improves physical, chemical and biological
properties of soil.
• Mitigate climate change by reducing emission
of GHG.
• Act as sink of heavy metals.
• Improves yield of crop, when applied in
combination with other organic/inorganic
fertilizers.