Could biochar be a key technology in the fight against climate change? Here’s how this charcoal-like material made from plant waste can lock down carbon dioxide.
John Webster lights up a kiln filled with wood waste, which will produce biochar, at the Tooele County Landfill on Wednesday, April 19, 2023.This story is part of The Salt Lake Tribune’s ongoing commitment to identify solutions to Utah’s biggest challenges through the work of the Innovation Lab.
Biochar is wood waste or other plant material that has been heated in a low-oxygen environment. Denying oxygen keeps the material from releasing carbon dioxide, which causes climate change. In producing biochar, the carbon stays locked inside the material, and the material becomes more useful. In particular, biochar can be added to soil to make it hold more water and become more agriculturally productive.
In Utah and the West, biochar’s biggest opportunity comes from forests that are overstocked with wood that fuels wildfires. More than a century of fire suppression, combined with a more fire-inducing climate, make forest lands vulnerable to massive wildfires., including removing vegetation and collecting it in “slash piles.
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