Abstract
Biochar application to soil is a promising carbon sequestration and soil amendment strategy due to its ability to store carbon for multiple centuries in soil and improve the fertility of the receiving agricultural lands. Other potential benefit includes co-production of renewable energy supply in gaseous (biogas) or liquid (bio-oil) form. Biochar can possess a range of properties that can alter the quality characteristics of the receiving soil such as pH, bioavailable nutrients, and cation exchange capacity. Different types of soil require suitable alkalinity and nutrient levels to increase crop productivity. It is difficult to estimate the precise characteristics of any potential application site since soil conditions (e.g., pH, moisture, baseline microbial profile, etc.) may vary across the whole area. Biochar application can also widely affect soil CH4 and N2O fluxes, which in turn makes it difficult to predict the exact amount of net CO2 sequestration. It is necessary to apply appropriate methodologies to achieve the full sustainable potential of biochar in climate change mitigation and soil amendment. In this study, a fuzzy optimization model is developed to guide the implementation of industrial-scale biochar-based carbon management networks (BCMNs) in consideration of system uncertainties. The application of the model is illustrated via a case study which attains a degree of satisfaction value of 69.5 % (? = 0.695) with a corresponding carbon sequestration (CS) potential amounting to 600 kt.
