Biochar Research
BlackEarth Products is now an industry partner with The University of Queensland and is supporting independent research into Biochar and liquid condensates.
The research of Biochar can be broken down into two basic areas. 1. Engineering development of systems which cleanly produce Biochar and other by-products like energy and condensed smoke liquids. 2. Agricultural and horticultural field testing of application rates and growth rates in different soil and plant types. Below is a brief overview of Biochar developments and field testing, much more information can be sourced by following the links below.
Engineering development to cleanly produce Biochar
Biochar can be made from many potential sources of dried biomass like commercial chicken litter, wood plantation waste, agricultural trash, industrial by-products, urban waste and the list goes on.
1. Sourcing and handling of Biomass - Biomass comes in many shapes and sizes with different moisture rates and points of origin. Most equipment is designed to handle a uniform size of biomass and needs a minimum moisture rate so drying and processing biomass into smaller sizes has been developed into some systems. Some systems are mobile and others have been built on-site close to biomass like sugar cane farming areas, large forestry plantations and urban waste sites.
2. Developing technology – There are many different systems which have been developed to create Biochar, most use one basic rule which is the heating of biomass without oxygen which we term pyrolysis. Fast and slow pyrolysis systems have been developed and both systems can be focused on producing different by-products and amounts of Biochar; high pressure fast pyrolysis can be finished in seconds while slow systems can take hours to complete but can create a higher percentage of Biochar.
3. Producing large amounts of Biochar – Many systems need to move biomass though them while the pyrolysis process occurs. This creates a few difficult engineering challenges which have now been overcome and large systems are coming online all the time. Continuous flow pyrolysis and fast rotary hearth technologies are two currently proven technologies available to Biochar producers. Batch systems are also available and currently used to produce smaller quantities of Biochar.
4. Handling Biochar - When produced, some Biochar can ignite if it is not handled correctly . BlackEarth Products Biochar has added moisture content injected during processing which stops any chance of re-ignition, this injected moisture process also clumps the biochar together stopping any chance of dust ignition with sparks or open flames.
Carbon Sequestration and Biochar
When a plant grows it converts carbon dioxide into carbohydrates during photosynthesis; this high carbon source is mostly released back into the atmosphere when the plants die and is referred to as part of the natural carbon cycle. Agricultural crop trash is often burnt or left to decompose, releasing a large percentage of C0² back into the atmosphere. When, for example, agricultural crop trash is turned into Biochar 50% or more of this stored carbon is locked up for potentially 5000 years or more once it is added to soils.
Adding this to the fact that Biochar reduces the need for high energy fertilisers and pumped irrigation water plus Biochar has also shown positive results in reducing methane and nitrous oxide emissions in agricultural soils both of which are powerful greenhouse gases so it is obvious that Biochar has many benefits for both your garden and our planet.
BlackEarth Products are committed to a low to negative carbon business model and will continue to stream line our core Biochar products with better manufacturing, handling, packaging and transport technology. These advancements will help make BlackEarth Products a world leader in Biochar development.
Biomass, Biochar and Energy
The creation of energy from biomass is an exciting field of research but some areas of research tread a fine environmental line. Using waste from industry, agriculture and urban centres allows green energy facilities to produce Bio-oil, Syngas and of course Biochar. These are areas are now rapidly expanding in many areas around the globe.
Condensed smoke liquids and oils
Condensed smoke liquids and oils are a by-product of producing Biochar, the amount of liquids produced depends on the feedstock. Chicken litter waste can produce up to 300lt of liquid per ton, the condensed liquid called ‘Pyroligneous Acid’ it contains over 200 organic compounds and can be separated into many different products, liquid smoke or wood vinegar, bio-oils and bio-tars . The liquid smoke is high in organic acids (formic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid and more) and is a well known compost activator which has been used in Japanese agriculture for many years. BlackEarth Products is testing and developing a liquid smoke product which has shown extremely positive results so far, we will release more information at a later date.
Grass roots development
With the release of the BBC’s documentary “The Secret of El Dorado – Story of the Discovery of Amazonia” many backyard gardeners and permaculturalists started using bonfire wood char and developed ways to produce Biochar in 44 gallon drums or gasifier wood stoves. The real development with grass roots gardening has come with Biochar composting and liquid compost teas. These small scale gardens are producing extremely good quality high carbon soils which team with life creating wonderful green lush gardens.
Agriculture and Horticultural testing of Biochar
Research into Biochar is happening all over the globe. Dr Lukas Van Zwieten from Wollongbar (NSW) Primary Industries Institute has been at the forefront of development and testing and has had positive results across many field tests. Dr. Paul Blackwell is based in the northern wheatbelt of Western Australia in Geraldton and has been developing deep banding Biochar into soils using oil mallee trees. His results were very positive especially those with added biological and mineral fertilisers.
Many of the Australian Biochar projects can be found here >>>>
News and general information about Biochar can be found at www.biochar.net >>>>
