What is Biochar?
[[File:Biochar.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A piece of biochar]] '''Biochar''' is a type of [[charcoal]] added to [[soil]] that acts as plant food, or [[fertilizer]].<ref name=indep1>{{cite news|work=[[The Independent]] |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/ancient-skills-could-reverse-global-warming-1055700.html |title=Ancient skills 'could reverse global warming' |first=Geoffrey |last=Lean |date=7 December 2008 |accessdate=1 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110913052413/http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/ancient-skills-could-reverse-global-warming-1055700.html |archivedate=13 September 2011 }}</ref> Biochar is made by heating [[biomass]] like wood in an oven to very high temperatures. This removes all of the water and easy to burn material from the biomass leaving only [[carbon]]. The final result is fragile and dark black charcoal.<ref>{{cite journal | first1= Manoj|last1= Tripathi|first2= J.N.|last2= Sabu|first3= P.|last3= Ganesan|title= Effect of process parameters on production of biochar from biomass waste through pyrolysis: A review|journal= Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews|volume= 55|date= 21 November 2015|pages= 467–481|issn=1364-0321|doi= 10.1016/j.rser.2015.10.122}}</ref> == Uses == === Carbon sink === Biochar is made from organic material known as biomass. Biomass is mostly made from carbon.{{Citation needed|date=October 2019}} Carbon in biomass is captured from [[carbon dioxide]] in the air by plants. This means that when biochar is made carbon that was once in the air is made into a solid material. Biochar can last a very long time in soil and even longer in containers. Some people propose making biochar to remove carbon dioxide from the [[atmosphere]].<ref>Balal Yousaf, Guijian Liu, Ruwei Wang, Qumber Abbas, Muhammad Imtiaz, Ruijia Liu: Investigating the biochar effects on C-mineralization and sequestration of carbon in soil compared with conventional amendments using stable isotope (δ13C) approach. GCB Bioe