51 S.K. Brar et al. (eds.), Biotransformation of Waste Biomass into High Value Biochemicals, DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-8005-1_3, © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014 3.1 Introduction “Biochar” might be a relatively new term; however, it is not a new product. Biochar (BC) is the thermochemical degradation product of organic materials in the absence of oxygen. It can be distinguished from charcoal by its reaction conditions for pro- duction as well as its application potential in soil amendments. Soils throughout the world contain biochar deposited through natural events, such as forest and grassland fires (Krull et al. 2008). In fact, areas high in naturally occurring biochar, such as the west Mississippi River and east Rocky Mountains in North America, are some of the most fertile soils in the world. Historical use of biochar dates back at least 2,000 years (O’Neill et al. 2009). In the Amazon Basin, evidence of extensive use of bio- char can be found in the unusually fertile soils known as Terra Preta and Terra Mulata by ancient indigenous civilizations (O’Neill et al. 2009). Due to the large amounts of biochar incorporated into its soils, this region still remains highly fertile despite centuries of leaching from heavy tropical rains. In parts of Asia, notably Japan and Korea, the use of biochar in agriculture also has a long history. Recently, heightened interest in more sustainable farming systems, such as Korean Natural Chapter 3 Thermochemical Transformation of Agro- biomass into Biochar: Simultaneous Carbon Sequestration and Soil Amendment Mausam Verma, Naceur M’hamdi, Zeineb Dkhili, Satinder Kaur Brar, and Kshipra Misra M. Verma (*) CO2 Solutions, 2300, rue Jean-Perrin, Québec, QC, Canada G2C 1T9 N. M’hamdi • Z. Dkhili Institut National Agronomique de Tunisie (INAT), 43 Rue Charles Nicole, Cité Mahrajène Le Belvédère, Tunis 1082, Tunisia S.K. Brar INRS-ETE, Universite du Quebec, 490, Rue de la Couronne, Quebec, QC, Canada G1K 9A9 K. Misra Defence Institute of Physiology & Allied Sciences, Timarpur, Lucknow Road, Delhi 110054, India