Would you ever think that something that leaves a sooty mess on your hands could have so many benefits? Biochar is a form of charcoal that increases crop production, filters water, reduces smells, insulates homes, improves health and much more.
What is it?
Biochar comes from plant material: trees, manure, compost, grasses, corn etc. It is a form of charcoal. Archeologists have discovered biochar in the Amazon region where indigenous people created very fertile soils, called terra preta (black earth), that still exist 1000 - 2000 years after they were created.
How is it made?
Plant material is heated to high temperatures in the absence of oxygen (pyrolysis). This separates out biochar and bio-fuels. Biochar is mostly carbon.
Uses of biochar and its co-products
- Soil Conditioner. As an aid to fertilizing plants, storing water, aerating the soil, raising the pH (less acidic), less leaching of nutrients, supplying trace elements, increasing a plant’s immune system.
- Animal farming. Reducing smell in feed or litter, decreasing diarrhea, greater feed intake, less allergies, calmer animals.
- In buildings. Insulation, building blocks, air decontamination, humidity regulation, acoustic insulator, protection against electromagnetic radiation.
- Biogas. Better nutrient storage and less emissions.
- Bio-fuels such as oil or hydrogen. Can be used for energy to heat biomass, or for transportation or industry.
- Waste water treatment. As a carbon filter, a soil substrate, use with composting toilets.
- Drinking Water. Micro and macro filters.
- Textiles. Thermal insulation, deodorant for shoes and underwear, filling for mattresses and pillows to improve health.
- Other uses. Exhaust and room filters, carbon fibers and plastics, semiconductors and batteries, metal reduction, soaps, skin-cream and therapeutic bath additives, food coloring, industrial paints, energy pellets, detoxification, shield against electromagnetic radiation in electronic devices.
- Every month/year there are new uses for Biochar. Can you think of one?
There are startup businesses getting into biochar production and the future looks bright for biochar and the co-products from its production. So are you ready to use biochar or its co-products? There is most likely something on the above list that you could benefit from.
Here is information about biochar research from Cornell University:
https://css.cornell.edu/faculty/lehmann/research/biochar/biocharmain.html
And more insight into the different uses: https://www.ithaka-journal.net/55-anwendungen-von-pflanzenkohle?lang=en