Pyrogenic carbon

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Under fumed carbon (C pyr ) is meant by strong heating resulting carbon structures.

Pyrogenic carbon is an important component of stable humus . One finds pyrogenic carbon in the form of finely divided charcoal in concentrations of partly over 40% in the so-called black earth and the Terra preta (black earth). They consist of a mixture of charcoal, humus, dung and mineral components. They came about partly through natural processes, but partly also through human influence e.g. B. the Terra preta do indio or at earlier charcoal burner sites.

Scientists are increasingly interested in pyrogenic carbon because it is chemically and biologically relatively stable and therefore - in contrast to soil organic matter and living and dead biomass - is viewed as a permanent carbon store.

opportunities

Since pyrogenic carbon (chemical: C) can be produced relatively easily and anywhere - for example using the Koehler technique, which has been known for thousands of years - it could make a significant contribution to reducing the CO 2 content of the air and thus the greenhouse effect .

The chemical process of hydrothermal carbonization (for example: “aqueous carbonization at elevated temperature”) can also produce coal with a particularly high carbon yield. This process, which technically imitates the lignite formation ("coalification") that took place in nature over 50,000 to 50 million years within a few hours, was developed by Markus Antonietti at the Max Planck Institute for Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam.

For example, CO 2 sequestration (to reduce the proportion of CO 2 in the atmosphere) is not only possible using the usual methods - with the known and sometimes heavily criticized storage risks - but also by introducing pyrogenic carbon into the soil .

The entry into arable soils in a stable form could - in addition to the main effect in the atmosphere - even improve soil fertility. Charcoal does not fertilize like ash, but rather it buffers water and nutrients in the soil due to its large surface . The high proportion of charcoal in the terra preta prevents the rain from washing the nutrients from the soil.

It is not clear what other processes besides combustion there are with which the charcoal carbon of the living humus soil is converted back into CO 2 .

Web links