Biochar is a valuable commodity which offers a greener solution for a variety of agricultural, environmental, and industrial processes. Because biochar can be made from a variety of green waste materials and through a number of different processes, the possible applications for biochar are numerous. The research done by Şen & Pereira (2021) shows that of the six main methods of biomass creation there are a host of beneficial applications. For more information on what Northern Biochar Systems can do for you see the headings below!

Studies have shown that biochar is an extremely beneficial addition to soil blends for agricultural, industrial, and environmental rehabilitation purposes. The unique absorption characteristics of biochar allow it to capture and neutralize a variety of organic and inorganic pollutants (Şen & Pereira, 2021). These absorption qualities also allow it to provide beneficial nutrients to soils and plants, such as nitrogen and potassium (Jiao et al., 2022). Biochar soil blending can also reduce the amount of greenhouse gases which are naturally released through decomposition and soil disturbance (Jiao et al., 2022). The addition of biochar can also simultaneously improve soil drainage through its porosity and improve the soil’s moisture retention properties (Aralappanavar et al., 2022), making it particularly beneficial to those living in areas with seasonal precipitation differentials. The addition of biochar to agricultural soils has been proven to increase crop yields by 10% – 22.2% compared to non-enriched soils (Jeffery et al., 2011; Xu et al., 2021)

All over California, wineries and viticulturists are beginning to experiment with adding biochar to the nutrient-stripped soils of their vineyards. While normally vineyards rely on human intervention for irrigation, fertilization, and soil nutrients, these are costly and resource intensive practices. The vineyards that have added biochar to their soils have noticed a significant increase in water retention, micronutrients, microorganism populations, and in the yields of cover crops and grapes. Biochar is being seen as a “terroir amplifier” for the flavour of wines and as an environmentally friendly way to lower costs, lessen human intervention, sequester carbon, reduce waste, and improve production.

Chemical fertilizers, genetically improved crop varieties, and intensive agricultural management practices have been introduced worldwide to ensure global food security. However, the harmful effects of these chemical fertilizers and intensive agricultural management practices caused a dramatic effect on soil quality and led to the loss of fertile agricultural lands. To combat this loss organic sources of nutrients such as biosolids, sludge, and crop residues have been applied to agricultural lands and have improved both soil fertility and soil quality (Aralappanavar et al., 2022). However, these applications are at risk for the rapid loss of organic amendments and the high demand for them is a major challenge to overcome.

Biochar-mineral composite fertilizers are highly efficient and only require a minimum quantity in soils for better crop yield and soil quality improvement. These biochar fertilizers are an effective soil amendment, which allows a low-cost-intensive nitrogen application to the soil without any harmful effects on the quality of the soil (Aralappanavar et al., 2022). Biochar fertilizers have been recognized as an innovative approach to using waste products to create an inexpensive and ecofriendly fertilizer, which could offset the consumption of chemical fertilizers in agriculture and improve our sustainability and food security (Aralappanavar et al., 2022).

The addition of biochar to compost has been proven to provide a wide variety of benefits to composting processes and final compost products. Whether assisting in the process of aerobic fermentation, removing contaminants from compost inputs, accelerating the degradation and humification of organic matter, or shortening the duration of composting procedures, biochar has many valuable uses in co-composting practices (Jiao et al., 2022). Currently, biochar is a widely applied method to improve the physical and chemical properties of final composting products, increase microbial activity, promote nitrogen retention, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and accelerate compost maturity (Jiao et al., 2022). If we continue to incorporate biochar into composting practices we can create a cleaner fertilizer industry, facilitate sustainable development, and promote a circular economy within the agricultural sector.

Charcoal has been used in the medical treatment of animals for hundreds if not thousands of years. In the last decade livestock farmers have begun to use biochar as a regular feed supplement to improve animal health, increase nutrient intake efficiency from feed, and thus increase the productivity of their livestock. The positive effects of biochar in animal feed have been shown to improve various metrics such as toxin adsorption, digestion, blood values, feed efficiency, meat quality and/or greenhouse gas emissions (Schmidt et al., 2019). During the digestion process biochar gets enriched with organic compounds, and the resulting biochar-manure becomes a valuable organic fertilizer and causes lower nutrient losses and lower greenhouse gas emissions during storage and soil application (Schmidt et al., 2019). Having a naturally enriched source of fertilizer is just one of the benefits that farmers will gain from the addition of biochar in a livestock diet. Other benefits include:

• Increase in feed intake

• Weight gain

• Increased feed efficiency

• Higher egg production and quality in poultry

• Strengthening of the immune system

• Improvement of meat quality

• Improvement of stable hygiene and odor pollution

• Reduction of claw and feet diseases

• Reduction of veterinary costs

The use of biochar in animal feed has the potential to improve animal health, feed efficiency, and livestock housing conditions, to reduce nutrient losses and greenhouse gas emissions, and to increase the soil organic matter content and thus soil fertility (Schmidt et al., 2019). In short, biochar enriched animal feeds may have the potential to dramatically improve the sustainability of animal husbandry and improve food security.

Aaron Smith, a dairy farmer near Mount Hope, Ontario, was surprised at the beneficial effects of biochar on his dairy cows and calves after they helped themselves to a spilled bag of biochar in his barn. To read more about Smith’s story click here. Or check out the video below to hear about the research that Simon Burgess of Reaseheath College in the UK is doing to improve dairy cow health and reduce livestock methane emissions through biochar enriched animal feeds.

Biochar excels at the absorption of a number of organic and inorganic contaminants, including heavy metals, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, phosphorus, pesticides, herbicides, and oil (Şen & Pereira, 2021). These absorption qualities make biochar a cost effective solution to solving soil and water pollution in urban, industrial, agricultural, and resource extraction sites. If desired, the absorption qualities of biochar can also be improved through activation by physical or chemical processes (Şen & Pereira, 2021).  

Several city and port authorities in the western United States, including the Port of Tacoma and the Port of Port Townsend, are currently using Biochar filtration systems to prevent leachates from urban and industrial areas from entering water run-off zones and ocean ecosystems. The water filtration process utilizing biochar made from waste products from local paper and sawmills has been shown to successfully absorb harmful pollutants such as copper, zinc, and oil before the run-off flows into wastewater treatment areas or into Puget Sound (Gray et al., 2015).  

Due to Biochar’s astounding absorption qualities it is currently being studied as an environmentally friendly water filtration medium. Previously activated carbon has been considered the most effective carbonized water filtration medium. However, activated carbon is typically derived from coal and it undergoes a more complicated activation process beyond the abilities for rural or isolated communities. Biochar offers a more environmentally conscious and renewable filtration medium that can be produced locally from waste biomass, and which out performs sand-filtration (Kaetzl et al., 2020). Several experiments have been conducted to assess the effectiveness of biochar for wastewater and greywater filtration and have found that it performs well, and there are opportunities to improve its use in water filtration (Castiglioni et al., 2022; Kaetzl et al., 2020). In particular, biochar made from woody biomass seems to hold the most promise for water filtration systems (Castiglioni et al., 2022)

Currently the University of Colorado – Boulder is currently researching the use of biochar as a replacement for activated carbon products in water filtration systems in developing rural communities in South East Asia. The goal of their research is to create a system for small and intermediate water filtration systems for individuals and communities from locally produced biochar. To read more about their research check out this article from the International Biochar Initiative.