How is biochar made?
Biochar is produced when biomass is heated to 500 degrees with a minimum or absence of oxygen. Normal combustion oxidizes biomass into alkali ash, plus steam, CO2, other gases and vapors. If air is excluded, oxygen for combustion is stripped out of the biomass, which is reduced to carbon-carbon bonds of char. Charcoal was made for centuries around the world by simple methods with few or no tools. Small batches can be homemade with simple bucket or barrel burners. Modern gasification and pyrolysis technology uses controlled combustion in air-tight retorts to process tons of biomass into energy, gases and liquids.
