Biochar and carbon markets

Ernsting, Almuth; Smolker, Rachel; Paul, Helena

doi:10.4155/bfs.10.78

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Other risks and challenges associated include the risk of reversibility and challenges in monitoring, reporting and verification. Moreover, limited policy incentives and support, as well as lack of carbon pricing mechanisms that incorporate CO 2 removal through biochar (Ernsting et al 2011), hinder this technology's potential for large-scale commercialization. Pourhashem et al examined the role of government policy in accelerating biochar adoption and identified three types of existing policy instruments that can be used to stimulate biochar deployment in the USA: commercial financial incentives, non-financial incentives and research and development funding (Pourhashem et al 2019).…”

Section: Biocharmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategies for mitigation of climate change: a review

et al. 2020

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Climate change is defined as the shift in climate patterns mainly caused by greenhouse gas emissions from natural systems and human activities. So far, anthropogenic activities have caused about 1.0 °C of global warming above the pre-industrial level and this is likely to reach 1.5 °C between 2030 and 2052 if the current emission rates persist. In 2018, the world encountered 315 cases of natural disasters which are mainly related to the climate. Approximately 68.5 million people were affected, and economic losses amounted to $131.7 billion, of which storms, floods, wildfires and droughts accounted for approximately 93%. Economic losses attributed to wildfires in 2018 alone are almost equal to the collective losses from wildfires incurred over the past decade, which is quite alarming. Furthermore, food, water, health, ecosystem, human habitat and infrastructure have been identified as the most vulnerable sectors under climate attack. In 2015, the Paris agreement was introduced with the main objective of limiting global temperature increase to 2 °C by 2100 and pursuing efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 °C. This article reviews the main strategies for climate change abatement, namely conventional mitigation, negative emissions and radiative forcing geoengineering. Conventional mitigation technologies focus on reducing fossil-based CO2 emissions. Negative emissions technologies are aiming to capture and sequester atmospheric carbon to reduce carbon dioxide levels. Finally, geoengineering techniques of radiative forcing alter the earth’s radiative energy budget to stabilize or reduce global temperatures. It is evident that conventional mitigation efforts alone are not sufficient to meet the targets stipulated by the Paris agreement; therefore, the utilization of alternative routes appears inevitable. While various technologies presented may still be at an early stage of development, biogenic-based sequestration techniques are to a certain extent mature and can be deployed immediately.

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Section: Biocharmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategies for mitigation of climate change: a review

et al. 2020

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“…Among adverse impacts of biochar loss by fine PM emission form the application site is the potential pollution of neighboring residential zones and the unacceptable health risks to workers handling the biochar ( Gao and Wu , 2014). However, no published research has examined the possible net warming impact of airborne biochar particles ( Ernsting et al, 2011).…”

Section: Effects Of Biochar Application On Soc In Agricultural Soilsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Well‐designed studies must report consistently biochar chemistry and soil characteristics ( Biederman and Harpole , 2013). Aside evaluating ecological effects, an economic evaluation is needed as subsidies will be required for widespread biochar implementation, but it is unclear if and how subsidies will be financed through the C markets or trading C credits ( Ernsting et al, 2011). Thus, to get the most benefit from biochar application, environmental and social circumstances must both be considered ( Abiven et al, 2014).…”

Section: Research Needsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biochar application to soil for climate change mitigation by soil organic carbon sequestration

Lorenz

Lal

2014

J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci.

214

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Pyrogenic carbon (C) is produced by incomplete combustion of fuels including organic matter (OM). Certain ranges in the combustion continuum are termed ‘black carbon' (BC). Because of its assumed persistence, surface soils in large parts of the world contain BC with up to 80% of surface soil organic C (SOC) stocks and up to 32% of subsoil SOC in agricultural soils consisting of BC. High SOC stocks and high levels of soil fertility in some ancient soils containing charcoal (e.g., terra preta de Índio) have recently been used as strategies for soil applications of biochar, an engineered BC material similar to charcoal but with the purposeful use as a soil conditioner (1) to mitigate increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) by SOC sequestration and (2) to enhance soil fertility. However, effects of biochar on soils and crop productivity cannot be generalized as they are biochar‐, plant‐ and site‐specific. For example, the largest potential increases in crop yields were reported in areas with highly weathered soils, such as those characterizing much of the humid tropics. Soils of high inherent fertility, characterizing much of the world's important agricultural areas, appear to be less likely to benefit from biochar. It has been hypothesized that both liming and aggregating/moistening effects of biochar improved crop productivity. Meta‐analyses of biochar effects on SOC sequestration have not yet been reported. To effectively mitigate climate change by SOC sequestration, a net removal of C and storage in soil relative to atmospheric CO2 must occur and persist for several hundred years to a few millennia. At deeper soil depths, SOC is characterized by long turnover times, enhanced stabilization, and less vulnerability to loss by decomposition and erosion. In fact, some studies have reported preferential long‐term accumulation of BC at deeper depths. Thus, it is hypothesized that surface applied biochar‐C (1) must be translocated to subsoil layers and (2) result in deepening of SOC distribution for a notable contribution to climate change mitigation. Detailed studies are needed to understand how surface‐applied biochar can move to deeper soil depths, and how its application affects organic C input to deeper soil depths. Based on this knowledge, biochar systems for climate change mitigation through SOC sequestration can be designed. It is critically important to identify mechanisms underlying the sometimes observed negative effects of biochar application on biomass, yield and SOC as biochar may persist in soils for long periods of time as well as the impacts on downstream environments and the net climate impact when biochar particles become airborne.

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“…Enviral has also been granted a license for a 63 MLY ethanol plant in Leopoldov, Slovakia . In Brazil, Granbio recently reopened their 82 MLY plant in 2019 after it was shut down in 2016 due to problems with the pretreatment . St1 Biofuels Oy has also designed and constructed a plant based on Cellunolix technology that converts sawdust and other wood wastes to 10 7 L ethanol per year on the Renforsin Ranta industrial estate in Kajaani, Finland .…”

Section: Sustainable Production Pathways To C2‐c4 Alcoholsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Production and Use of Sustainable C2‐C4 Alcohols – An Industrial Perspective

Gehrmann

Tenhumberg

2020

Chemie Ingenieur Technik

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In the recent past, society has become increasingly aware of the environmental impact of political and corporate action. Hence, several industrial sectors are currently undergoing a transition to more sustainable products and processes. Sustainable production processes for C2‐C4 alcohols can help to decrease the environmental impacts of large downstream markets such as fuels and polymers. However, a reliable and consistent framework is needed for companies to further develop and commercialize these processes. Furthermore, standardized procedures for determining the sustainability of a process are essential in evaluating the environmental benefits.

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Biochar and carbon markets

Cited by 8 publications

References 2 publications

Strategies for mitigation of climate change: a review

Strategies for mitigation of climate change: a review

Biochar application to soil for climate change mitigation by soil organic carbon sequestration

Production and Use of Sustainable C2‐C4 Alcohols – An Industrial Perspective

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