Each day, Debbie Beck sets out to reduce the world's carbon footprint. From her Green Building Research Lab at Portland State University, Beck is researching ways to benefit the environment through the use of biochar.

"The more work I do, the more excited I get about biochar," said Beck.

Biochar, as used by Beck and her colleagues in the Green Building Research Lab, has the potential to dramatically improve the performance of green roofs.

Biochar is a carbon byproduct of biomass and other materials that -- when fed into a thermal recovery machine -- create a fine black carbon powder that has profound effects on soil performance, Beck said.

Biochar is actually "carbon negative," in that it reduces carbon dioxide that pollutes the air, in part by sequestering carbon from being emitted from soil.

The carbon in biochar resists degradation and can maintain carbon in soils for hundreds or thousands of years.

"The creation of biochar as a net carbon-negative has caught the attention of a lot of people," including an eastern Oregon company that is working on a production system for biochar, she said.

When combined in small amounts with soil, biochar retains water and nutrients, and lowers the concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorous.

Beck's research has focused on how biochar can be used to help ecoroofs preserve water, while also not requiring fertilizers. Keeping irrigation water runoff clean would be a dramatic improvement in ecoroof systems, she said.

She said biochar has widespread applications for farming and, in urban settings, for yards and city parks. By trapping excess nitrogen and phosphorous, biochar prevents water runoff from entering streams, lakes or even large ponds and feeding algae blooms.

"Keeping excess nutrients out of the water is so important," she said.

Biochar works because, at the molecular level, the char has a high surface area and creates a home for microbes that do not escape. Farmers see a reduced need for fertilizers.

Beck said biochar turns agricultural waste into a soil enhancer, but other materials such as tires and medical waste can also be converted through a thermal recovery machine into biochar.

In addition, the development of biochar soil management will help infertile soils in the tropics and reduction of off-site pollution in industrialized countries.

Biochar is a 2,000 year-old practice that converts agricultural waste into a soil enhancer that can hold carbon, boost food security and discourage deforestation.

But, as Beck pointed out, the process has application for more than just farming and now more than agricultural waste can be used to create biochar.

Biochar is found in soils around the world as a result of vegetation fires and historic soil management practices.

In addition to the work being done at PSU's Green Lab, the Seattle BioChar Working Group promotes the use of biochar as a tool to fight climate change.