Biochar is a charcoal-like substance that is made by burning organic material from agricultural and forestry wastes (also called biomass) in a controlled process called pyrolysis. Although it looks a lot like common charcoal, biochar is produced using a specific process to reduce contamination and safely store carbon. During recycling of organic residues, such as wood chips, leaf litter or dead plants, are burned in a container with very little oxygen. During the pyrolysis process, the organic material is converted into biochar, a stable form of carbon that can’t easily escape into the atmosphere. The energy or heat created during pyrolysis can be captured and used as a form of clean energy. Biochar is by far more efficient at converting carbon into a stable form and is cleaner than other forms of charcoal.

In terms of physical attributes, biochar is black, highly porous, lightweight, and fine-grained, and has a large surface area. Approximately 70 percent of its composition is carbon. The remaining percentage consists of nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen among other elements. Biochar’s chemical composition varies depending on the feed stocks used to make it and methods used to heat it.

Biochar is produced due to thermal organic waste processing of biomass in an oxygen-limited environment. The quality of feed stocks, or materials burned, have a direct impact on the quality of the final biochar product. Ideally, clean feed stocks with 10 to 20 percent moisture and high lignin content must be used—some good examples are field residues and woody biomass. Using contaminated feed stocks, including feed stocks from railway embankments or contaminated land, can introduce toxins into the soil, drastically increase soil pH and/or inhibit plants from absorbing minerals. The most common contaminants are heavy metals—including cadmium, copper, chromium, lead, zinc, mercury, nickel and arsenic—and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons.

Biochar production by Sky East can be manufactured through low-cost, small-scale production using modified stoves or kilns, or through large-scale, cost-intensive production, which utilizes larger pyrolysis plants and higher amounts of feed stocks. One of the most common ways to make biochar for on-farm use is through pyrolysis using a top-lit updraft biochar machine.

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Company Name: Sky East UK Ltd
Email: [email protected]
Address: 20 Farraline Court, Inverness, UK, IV1 1PN.
Phone No.: +44 7425 669 507
Website: https://skyeast.co.uk/easychar/