BIOCHAR

Key ingre­dient for a sustainable economy.
 

 

Biochar – a nega­tive Emis­sions Tech­no­logy (NET)
with count­less appli­ca­tion possibilities

Feedstock

Feed
Additive

Soil Improver

Soil
Addi­tive

Production Additive

Filling mate­rial
in production

Buil­ding mate­rial
addi­tive

The PYREG tech­no­logy carbo­nizes your resi­dual mate­rials into pollutant-free, highly porous biochar. Unlike rotting or inci­ne­ra­tion, this process does not release the carbon contained in the resi­dual mate­rials as CO2, but binds it stably in the biochar and thus removes CO2 from the atmo­sphere.
This makes the produc­tion of biochar one of the Nega­tive Emis­sions Tech­no­lo­gies (NET) urgently needed for climate protec­tion. When this biochar is perma­nently incor­po­rated into so-called carbon sinks (e.g. soil, buil­ding mate­rials, asphalt), the sustainable storage of CO2 is successful in the long term.

During this process, carbon is not released into the air as CO2. Instead, it is stabily bound in the biochar and thus removed from the atmo­sphere.
Markets need CO2-redu­cing products, espe­ci­ally in this time of climate change.
Depen­ding on the proces­sing stage, biochar can be used in a wide range of applications:

Biochar –

as a feed additive

 

Biochar feed additive

Advan­tages

Biochar is used in silage, as animal feed, in litter, for manure treat­ment or as a compost addi­tive.  Biochar improves animal health, reduces unplea­sant odors, opti­mises the quality of ferti­liser and reduces losses of nutri­ents that are harmful to the climate and the environment.

  • Increased vita­lity, feed effi­ci­ency, feed intake and weight
  • Streng­thening of the immune system and decrease in morta­lity rate
  • Increase in milk quality in cows due to improved udder health
  • Reduc­tion of diar­rhea and dise­ases of the hooves and footpad
  • Increase in egg produc­tion and egg quality in poultry
  • Impro­ve­ment of meat quality
  • Signi­fi­cant increase in milk ingredients
  • Improved stable hygiene and reduced odor pollution
  • Enormous odor reduc­tion of the liquid manure
  • Reduc­tion of costs for medi­cines and veterinarians

Biochar –

as a soil additive

Advan­tages

An intact humus layer stores nutri­ents and water as well as large amounts of the green­house gas CO2. Biochar faci­li­tates this process. With a surface of 200-500 m² per gram and a high poro­sity, biochar can absorb up to five times its own weight in water and the nutri­ents contained in it. The “green carbon” remains stable during decom­po­si­tion and does not rot.

As a result, farmers can improve the quality of soil with biochar, save money for ferti­li­sers and obtain addi­tional credits from emis­sion certificates.

  • It improves the quality of soil, saves money for ferti­li­zers and provides addi­tional credits from emis­sion certificates
  • Nitrate loads in soil and ground­water are consider­ably reduced
  • Soil acidi­fi­ca­tion is reduced
  • Humus build-up is increased
  • Excel­lent capa­city to store nutri­ents and water
  • Plants with­stand extreme weather condi­tions, such as weeks of drought stress and subse­quent irri­ga­tion is signi­fi­cantly improved
  • Biochar can signi­fi­cantly improve the biogas yield
  • Improves the stress resis­tance of urban trees

Biochar –

as a filling additive

Production additive

Advan­tages

The possible uses of biochar (pyro­ly­ti­cally produced biomass carbon) are extre­mely varied. It also has nume­rous posi­tive effects when used in indus­trial processes.  In the cement industry, biochar can be used as an additive/replacer as well as in the produc­tion of buil­ding materials.

Last but not least, biochar is bene­fi­cial because it substi­tutes fossil fuels and thus improves the CO2 foot­print (for more reading: Weber 2016, Biokohle. Herstel­lung, Eigen­schaften und Verwen­dung von Biomas­se­kar­bo­ni­saten, p. 279–282 [German]).

Surface


500 m²/g

Carbon Content

Up to
95% Carbon

Water Holding Capacity


5 TIMES
of ist own weight 

Carbo­niza­tion drives sustaina­bi­lity
and enables circularity

Biochar as a Soil conditioner

Biochar has been redis­co­vered in recent years as a natural soil improver. Already thou­sands of years ago, South American Indians knew about the highly fertile effect of “terra preta” (black earth). Terra preta refers to fertile, dark soils in the Amazon region, which were created by pre-Colum­bian Indians thou­sands of years ago. Nutrient-poor soil was enri­ched with a composted or fermented mixture consis­ting of plant resi­dues, manure and human feces, as well as char­coal from the hearths.

However, biochar is not a ferti­liser if used alone. It is highly porous and has a surface area of up to 300m² per gram. Biochar acts as a sponge that can absorb up to five times its own weight. It stores water and nutri­ents and allows micro­or­ga­nisms to settle in its pores. This property is also described by the absorp­tion capa­city (AC). It depends on both the pyro­lysed biomass and the pyro­lysis condi­tions of the carbo­niza­tion process.

To achieve the same effect as in the Amazon region, however, the biochar first needs to be ‘acti­vated’, meaning it must be enri­ched with nutri­ents and soil orga­nisms, for example during compos­ting. If pure biochar is intro­duced into the soil, it with­draws the water and the subs­tances dissolved in it from its surroun­dings and thus has exactly the oppo­site effect.

Casca­ding use of biochar

The casca­ding use of biochar in animal husbandry and ferti­lizer manage­ment, where the absorp­tion capa­city of biochar plays an important role, is also inte­res­ting from an economic point of view.

Stage 1: Silage

At the begin­ning, biochar is added to the silage, which prevents the forma­tion of myco­to­xins. At the same time, pesti­cides are fixed and the forma­tion of butyric acid is prevented, resul­ting in cleaner fermen­ta­tion and a noti­ceable impro­ve­ment in feed quality.

Stage 2: Diges­tive process

The biochar then enters the feed via the silage, enhan­cing diges­tion of the animals. The feed intake is increased, which results in an increase in weight. This also reduces the forma­tion of green­house gases.

Stage 3: Stable hygiene

Biochar is added to the litter, thus binding the liquid nutri­ents and redu­cing ammonia emis­sions. It helps prevent putre­fac­tion, which in turn improves stable hygiene. After just a few days, unplea­sant odors are noti­ce­ably reduced. What’s more, stables do not have to be mucked out so often, thus saving time and material.

Stage 4: Liquid manure

Biochar can also be mixed into the liquid manure, which binds vola­tile nutri­ents and improves the micro­bial envi­ron­ment. This reduces nutrient losses, which improves the ferti­li­zing effect of the liquid manure. In addi­tion, the liquid manure becomes almost odorless.

Stage 5: Farmland

After absorp­tion of the manure (solid-liquid sepa­ra­tion), the solids are composted toge­ther with the stable bedding, which produces valuable black earth, thanks to the high propor­tion of biochar. The incor­po­ra­tion of this black soil and the stabi­lized liquid manure into the soil improves the water reten­tion capa­city, the filter perfor­mance and the aera­tion of the soil, which results in higher ferti­lity. Soil acidi­fi­ca­tion is prevented and the leaching of ferti­li­zers and pesti­cides into ground­water is reduced.

Biochar used in indus­trial processes

The possible uses of biochar (pyro­ly­ti­cally produced biomass carbon) are extre­mely varied. It also has nume­rous posi­tive effects when used in indus­trial processes. Biochar can be used as an additive/replacer as well as in the produc­tion of buil­ding mate­rials. The final use of the biochar deter­mines the dura­bi­lity of the carbon sink, an essen­tial requi­re­ment for the approved effec­ti­ve­ness of a Nega­tive Emis­sion Tech­no­logy (NET). For example, for soil appli­ca­tions, a scien­ti­fi­cally based annual decay must be assumed. However, if the biochar is used as a sand repla­ce­ment in concrete, for example, this is not neces­sary because the biochar cannot oxidize in the absence of air.

The final use of the biochar deter­mines the dura­bi­lity of the carbon sink. For example, for soil appli­ca­tions, a scien­ti­fi­cally based annual decay must be assumed. However, if the biochar is used as a sand repla­ce­ment in concrete, for example, this is not neces­sary because the biochar cannot oxidize in the absence of air.
The final use of the biochar deter­mines the dura­bi­lity of the carbon sink. For example, for soil appli­ca­tions, a scien­ti­fi­cally based annual decay must be assumed. However, if the biochar is used as a sand repla­ce­ment in concrete, for example, this is not neces­sary because the biochar cannot oxidize in the absence of air.

It is bene­fi­cial because it substi­tutes fossil fuels and thus improves the CO2 foot­print (for more reading: Weber 2016, Biokohle. Herstel­lung, Eigen­schaften und Verwen­dung von Biomas­se­kar­bo­ni­saten, p. 279–282 [German]).

ENGI­NEE­RING SUSTAINABILITY

During this carbo­niza­tion process, the majo­rity of the carbon is actually seques­tered in the resul­ting Biochar, thereby inhi­bi­ting the release of CO2 into the atmo­sphere, for centu­ries. This seques­tered CO2 amount can be certi­fied and used either to achieve sustainable corpo­rate goals or to trade them on the open market. (Source: Wald­zen­trum Univer­sität Münster (2019))

OPERA­TING 1 YEAR

EQUI­VA­LENT TO THE YEARLY GROWTH OF 180.000 TREES

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