Biochar
Biochar
While eggs and poultry have many advantages over ruminants when it comes to less GHG’s, there’s still one problem they share in equal amount with ruminants. That’s the negative impact they have on water from their manure being spread on fields as fertilizer.
For centuries farmers have spread animal manures as fertilizers on freshly plowed fields before planting their crops. The manures have high amounts of the nutrients plants need like nitrogen and phosphorus. Chicken manure is considered on of the best.
The problem starts when spring rain comes into contact with that spread manure before the seeds planted can grow into the plants that would root those nutrients and it runs off into streams and rivers, until it reaches bays and oceans. Once there, those nutrients feed algae that grows at a rapid rate, creating Dead Zones where nothing else can live because the algae has consumed all of the oxygen in the water in and around it. Countless species of saltwater flora and fauna perish in these effected areas.
But even in this problem eggs and poultry hold out a promise better than ruminants.
That promise is Biochar and the technology that produces it.
Biochar is made from biofuels. Biofuels are plants such as animal grade field corn, switch grass and animal wastes like chicken litter that yields high energy when burned in a non oxygen process called pyrolysis. In all mediums mentioned, Biochar reduces biofuels to a dry, granulated charcoal like substance.
Biochar made with chicken manure is the best environmental choice among all biofuels since waste is being recycled rather than having to grow plants like corn and switch grass that would need more land to grow it as demand expanded.
Aside from reducing or eliminating poultry and egg production contribution to nutrient runoff pollution, Biochar products made from chicken manure have great potential positive environmental uses.
For a yet to be understood reason, when introduced into coal fired power plant emission streams, Biochar products made only with chicken manure are best at removing mercury from those emissions, keeping one of the worlds deadliest pollutants from entering the environment.
But the greatest benefit is still yet to come. Trial applications show, that when seeded into soil, Biochar restores a fields Carbon Sink activity by drawing carbon back into the Biochar treated soil and keeping it there. This Carbon Sequestration has the potential to significantly reduce global warming since it can be easily and quickly introduced into much of the worlds agricultural activity.
Giving Nature supports Biochar research. Follow our blog and social media to look for posts on Biochar’s progress and our advocacy for it.
Go here to learn about the Biochar International Initiative:
Other sources:
https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms1053
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100810122030.htm