Increase soil fertility, improve water quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and more.
Biochar is another name for activated charcoal used for agricultural purposes and a bi-product of Phoenix Energy’s biomass power plants. It is a valuable resource in the fight against global warming. Phoenix Energy and its partners sell biochar to entities interested in reducing their carbon footprint and maximizing their agricultural productivity.
Biochar is used to increase soil fertility, improve water quality, reduce soil emissions of greenhouse gases, reduce leaching of nutrients in the soil, and reduce soil acidity. Biochar is being investigated as an approach to carbon sequestration in the production of negative carbon dioxide emissions.
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a critical resource in the fight against climate change.
Biochar acts like a sponge, holding water, and creating a home for microorganisms to thrive, creating more nutrient dense, rich soil.
Biochar creates pockets and filters for water in the soil, improving the quality and quantity of water stored in soils.
Biochar is a carbon negative product: it actually pulls down greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere.
The use of biochar-containing construction materials reduces GHG emissions from transportation infrastructure.
practical uses for a better environment
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When applied as a soil amendment on agricultural lands, biochar can increase crop yield. Biochar improves nutrient storage and/or availability, soil structure, water holding capacity, abundance of mycorrhizal fungi, and assists in nutrient uptake by plants If using biochar as a soil amendment, work the biochar into the plant’s root zones, up to 4-6” in depth surrounding the root zones.
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Biochar is not a fertilizer, but it helps retain fertilizer in the soil - which means less leaching of nutrients by the containers in your plant nursery. The best use of biochar in a nursery is a layer of biochar at the bottom of the bot to aid in water filtration without nutrient loss. This should result in lower use of fertilizers and water in your nursery.
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Biochars derived from grass, wood, and biosolids; such as Earthworks forest byproduct generated biochar, have been shown to raise wheat germination rates by over 5% annually. The specialized charcoal product traps carbon and enriches soils, while yielding commercial benefit for large and small scale farmers. If using biochar in a field intended for cover crops - go for it and mix the bochar right in!
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Biochar can be used to purify stormwater, filter contaminants, or reduce erosion. For this purpose, the biochar should be placed in the pathway of water runoff from roads, roofs, or land. Bichar filters are different from activated carbon filters in a number of ways. One is that Activated Carbon filters are generally produced from nonrenewable coal sources whereas bochar is the byproduct of a renewable energy process. Biochar filters are best used in a multi-barrier filtration system as a low-cost, highly effective, carbon-neutral source of clean water filtration.
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When biochar is added to concrete mixtures it has two critical effects - first, it enables the concrete to store carbon, locking up carbon dioxide in long term structures; second, it actually improves the strength of the cement mixture itself. Utilizing biochar as an additive in cement mixtures can increase the strength and durability of the cement by up to 2% while mitigating the climate change impacts of cement production itself.
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