AND EXCERPT FROM A FORBES ARTICLE FROM JUNE 2021

A Renewable Solution For Polluted Waters: Biochar Explained

Amin Mirkouei

Contributor

I write about low emission technologies and decarbonization solutions

Updated Jun 28, 2021, 12:08pm EDT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eutrophication is the result of overloaded nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen into water bodies like rivers and lakes. Eutrophication can reduce the oxygen in the water and increase aquatic plants’ growths that causes structural changes to the ecosystem, particularly enhancing algae and marine plants’ growth and threatening the survival of fish species. Eutrophication can decrease water quality and lead to changes in the levels of pH, oxygen, phosphorus, nitrogen, sediment, and water temperature.

 

Luckily, scientific advances in renewable materials and biomass-based products, such as biochar from organic materials like forest harvest residues, agricultural wastes and leftovers, and animal manure, can offer a more sustainable alternative.

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What is biochar?

Most people think that burning wood results in ashes, but there are other ways to apply heat to organic materials, such as heating in the absence of oxygen (pyrolysis), in which the material does not combust, but the chemical compounds thermally decompose into pyrolysis char, oil, and gases, also known as biochar, bio-oil, and syngas. These renewable products have various applications in addressing sustainability issues.

Biochar has been shown as a sustainable solution for addressing different challenges across food-energy-water systems, such as improving soil-plant health, treating water, and mitigating carbon emissions, as well as eutrophication control and waste management. Over 1,000 studies conducted in the past 20 years confirm that biochar can remove solid and liquid pollutants, such as nutrients, algae, parasites, pathogens, drugs, fish feces, uneaten fish food, and other chemicals that can pose environmental problems and negatively impact surface and groundwater.

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How biochar works...

Biochar has the ability to adsorb—the process of holding tiny particles (adsorbates) on the surface of larger solid materials (adsorbents)—pollutants and organic substances present in water because of its carbon-rich particles and textual features. Biochar’s adsorption abilities depend on properties like its surface area, architecture, and porosity, for removing or immobilizing nutrient contaminants from water. Once used for water treatment, biochar can then find applications in agriculture again, as it becomes a slow-release, nutrient-rich fertilizer for returning nutrients and minerals to the soil and increasing the soil’s ability to retain water and nutrients.

This is where the Biden administration’s plan to revise the definition of “waters of the United States” can have a significant impact to better protect the nation’s water resources and support key economic sectors. In addition, to fully promote socio-economic resilience and ecological integrity of regional food-energy-water resources, the Biden administration and Turkey President Erdogan should consider the latest scientific advances in the field of renewable and sustainable materials, such as biochar from biomass feedstocks.