| 原文摘要 | At best, common renewable energy strategies can only offset fossil fuel emissions of CO2 – they cannot
reverse climate change. One promising approach to lowering CO2 in the atmosphere while producing
energy is biochar bio-energy, based on low-temperature pyrolysis. This technology relies on capturing the
off-gases from thermal decomposition of wood or grasses to produce heat, electricity, or biofuels. Biochar is
a major by-product of this pyrolysis, and has remarkable environmental properties. In soil, biochar was
shown to persist longer and to retain cations better than other forms of soil organic matter. The precise halflife
of biochar is still disputed, however, and this will have important implications for the value of the technology,
particularly in carbon trading. Furthermore, the cation retention of fresh biochar is relatively low
compared to aged biochar in soil, and it is not clear under what conditions, and over what period of time,
biochar develops its adsorbing properties. Research is still needed to maximize the favorable attributes of
biochar and to fully evaluate environmental risks, but this technology has the potential to provide an
important carbon sink and to reduce environmental pollution by fertilizers.
|