Biochar farming: defining economically perspective applications

• Published in: Clean technologies and environmental policy Vol. 21; no. 7; pp. 1389 - 1395
• Main Authors: Maroušek, Josef, Strunecký, Otakar, Stehel, Vojtěch
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.09.2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agricultural economics; Agricultural land; Agricultural production; Arable land; Biomass; Carbon; Carbon sequestration; Charcoal; Commercial farms; Cost control; Earth and Environmental Science; Economic development; Environment; Environmental Economics; Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology; Environmental policy; Farmers; Farming; Farms; Fertilization; Industrial and Production Engineering; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Laboratories; Nutrients; Oxidation; Payback periods; Production; Production costs; Pyrolysis; Raw materials; Recycling; Retention; Review; Soil improvement; Soil quality; State-of-the-art reviews; Sustainable Development; Soil; Nutrients; Economy; Biochar; Process management
• ISSN: 1618-954X; 1618-9558
• DOI: 10.1007/s10098-019-01728-7

Biochar refers to the high-carbon, black fine-grained product of biomass pyrolysis. Independent studies repeatedly confirmed that its incorporation into arable land is a reliable carbon sequestration method that significantly improves soil quality. The latest development leads to a reduction in the production cost (− 10 to 30 USD t −1 ); however, the use of biochar in commercial agriculture remains scarce. The reason is that biochar can substitute lower-quality charcoals (150–300 USD t −1 ). Therefore, farmers tend to sell their biowaste for energy purposes, respectively, preferring a quick profit over the forgotten soil-improving practices, which hold long-term benefits. A review of the current state of the art was performed in order to search directions toward the most profitable biochar farming applications. There are indications that a promising direction might be its on-farm production followed by on-farm use and nutrient recycling, or more precisely, special fertilization applications. Graphic abstract