Perspective of the preparation of agrichars using fossil hydrocarbon coke

The increasing demand of fossil fuels and decreasing light oil proven reserves lead to a future scenario of abundant coke production from the refinement of non-conventional fossil hydrocarbons. This paper highlights the possibility of using coke as an agrichar for preparing fertile soils resembling Amazonian terra preta. It is suggested that this alternative may contribute to both the capture of greenhouse gas by afforestation and the increase of rainfall by the albedo effect. It is proposed that the ideal agrichar must function as a store of nutrients in the form of graphene substituted NPK groups at the micropore molecular structure, providing habitat for plant friendly microorganism inside its macropores. The possibility of a sink effect connecting nutrient storage with microorganisms has also been proposed. A preliminary discussion on the possible coking procedures to improve the resulting agrichar efficacy, three options for large scale desert greening using agrichar as well as recommendations for further research are presented.

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