We have the right to breathe clean air.
Turn agricultural residues that are burnt in the open space into biochar, lowering PM2.5 pollution and capturing carbon from atmosphere
We want to stop open agricultural burning, starting with corn residues
Thailand’s animal feed corn production capacity is ~ 5 million tons annually, while demand is expected at ~ 9 million tons annually. More capacity is necessary.
However, only the corn seeds (kernels) are used for animal feed production. What about corn stalks and other residues that do not have commercial value? For areas that cannot afford plowing machines, these residues are burnt.
Alternatively, we can turn these residues into a so-called biochar.
What is biochar?
Biochar is a carbon-rich, charcoal-like solid made from organic matter (or biomass) - such as corn residues, rice husks, wood, coconut husks etc. Biomass undergoes a pyrolysis process - a thermochemical conversion process at 400-700 °C without or with limited oxygen.
When biomass is transformed into biochar, the carbon can instead be stored for hundreds of years (or more), preventing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Benefit of Biochar in Agricultural Sector
Reduce Crop Exposure to Drought
Biochar has high surface area and adsorption capacity, improving water and nutrient retention of the soil or growing media.
Improve Soil Fertility
Biochar has electrical conductivity to loosely binds nutrients. This means less fertilizer is needed to achieve the same crop yield.
Reduce Soil Emission
Biochar is a powerful reducer of N2O emissions from nutrient application to soil and traps methane that is naturally created during composting.