Basic information about biochar describing the benefits of biochar and ways to make money with biochar

1. WHAT IS BIOCHAR?
• What is it good for?
• How can you make money with it?
Kelpie Wilson
Wilson Biochar Associates
kelpiew@gmail.com

2. Biochar is baked biomass that you can add to soil*

3. Biochar Definition and Properties
• Biochar is biomass that is thermally altered in the
absence of oxygen, ie, it is baked, not burned, and
flammable gasses are released (hydrogen, CO)
• Heat transforms plant carbon (found in cellulose and
lignin) into fused aromatic carbon rings that are very
stable
• Biochars made from different feedstocks at different
temperatures can have very different physical and
chemical properties

4. Biomass to Biochar
Carbon Atoms
(graphene)
Molecular
scale
Cellulose
Lignin
Cellular
scale

6. Biochar Benefits - Economic and Social
• Climate & pollution
• Energy
• Soil Improvement
• Waste Management
Biochar Markets

7. •Biochar and Pollution

8. Biochar retains fertilizer, reducing nutrient
pollution

9. Reclaiming mine tailings
Hope Mountain Mine near Aspen, Colorado.
100-year old mine tailings contaminated with heavy
metals re-vegetated with biochar in one year.

10. •Biochar and Climate

11. Climate Benefits Depend on Biochar
Stability

12. Carbon Cycle and Biochar

13. Biochar, the Carbon Cycle and Climate
Change
"If you could continually turn a lot of organic material
into biochar, you could, over time, reverse the history
of the last two hundred years… We can run the movie
backward. We can un-mine some of the coal, un-drill
some of the oil.”
~ Bill McKibben, author, climate activist and
founder of 350.org

14. •Biochar and Energy

15. Energy-medium scale
Phoenix Bioenergy, Merced, California
• 500 kW electricity
• 1 ton of biochar per day

16. Energy-small scale
biochar-making cook stoves for developing countries

17. •Biochar and Soil

18. Soil Benefits - Biochar can replace depleted Soil
Organic Carbon (SOC)
Since the industrial revolution, the conversion of natural ecosystems
to agricultural use has resulted in the depletion of SOC levels,
releasing 50 to 100 GT of carbon from soil into the atmosphere.

19. Biochar Benefits to Soils
• increase soil carbon levels
• improve fertilizer use efficiency
• decrease toxicity of aluminum and other
metals
• increase water holding capacity of the soil
• improve soil conditions for micro and macro
soil life forms (bacteria, fungi, earthworms)
• moderate (usually increase) soil pH
• decrease tensile strength and bulk density of
soil (easier tillage)

20. Iowa – natural biochar
• Iowa soils – some of
the most fertile in the
world
• Why? Natural biochar
from prairie fires
• Root zone excludes
oxygen, producing
char, not ash

21. Biochar retains soil moisture
Iowa corn did better this drought year because the soils
are high in natural biochar. Test plots with added biochar
at Iowa State showed about 15% better water retention.

22. Terra Preta – human-created soils in the
Amazon are 500-6,000 years old

23. Habitat for soil organisms
“permanent compost”
A. Fungal hyphae
B. Bacteria
C. 100-year old char
from forest fire
D. 350-year old char
from forest fire

24. Refuge for Roots

25. Tropical soils show the most dramatic results

26. Worms Love Biochar
Biochar works
best when
composted
with other
organic matter
before adding
to garden soil.
This allows life
to colonize the
biochar.

27. Plants trials with biochar
Beans, Taro, Pine Seedlings – no biochar on Left,
biochar on Right

28. Biochar as a Peat Substitute
Biochar on left; Peat on right

29. •Biochar and Waste

30. Waste that can be turned into biochar
• Paper and cardboard
• Construction waste
• Urban greenwaste (tree trimmings, grass, etc.)
• Fuel-load reduction wood (burn piles)
• Manure
• Human waste

31. Pile and Burn
Cost: $2,000/acre
Return: waste treatment – fuel load reduction
Byproducts: smoke, ash, sterilized soil

32. Alternative to Pile and Burn:
Carbon Cultures Mobile Biochar Kiln

33. Biochar Technology Showcase Events
November 6-9, 2012 in Kerby, OR
• Mobile Biochar Technology Comes to the Southern Oregon
Woods
• Waste-to-wealth technology transforms burn piles from cost
center to profit center – public invited to demonstrations and
lectures offered multiple times during November 6-9
• Hosted by: Carbon Cultures, the Illinois Valley Forest Practices
Committee, the Forestry Action Committee, and Illinois Valley
Business Entrepreneurial Center
• More information at: www.carboncultures.com/carbon-cultures-
showcase-event/
• Biochar Technology Showcase Event planning, publicity,
outreach and logistics by Wilson Biochar Associates

34. •Biochar Markets

35. Emerging Biochar Markets – Wholesale:
• Soil remediation and water cleanup – mine tailings,
storm water run-off from industrial sites, bio-swales
• Re-vegetation of stream banks and eroded, difficult
sites like forest landings and old roads; tree planting
• Nursery and potting media – tree seedlings, bedding
plants
• Commercial farming and horticulture, including
hydroponics and use in livestock barns for odor control
• Commercial composting – accelerates composting
process, controls odor
• Green roofs
• Urban tree care

36. Emerging Biochar Markets – Retail:
• Home gardening amendments and fertilizer blends –
branded products sold at garden centers
• Artisanal biochar and compost blends sold at local
farmer’s markets
• Bedding and container plants in biochar soil blends
sold at garden centers and nurseries
• Biochar-compost blends sold by the yard or pickup
load direct from composting facilities
• Biochar sold for odor control in horse stalls, chicken
coops, piggeries, etc

37. Biochar products for sale

38. Popular biochar blends
• Biochar composted with animal manure
• Biochar inoculated with compost tea
• Biochar composted with food waste and bokashi
(anaerobic lactobacillus fermentation)
• Other additives include minerals, NPK, fungi, worm
castings, fish emulsion, urea, etc.

39. How to make money with biochar – some ideas:
• Sell biochar to wholesale markets
• Produce blended biochar products and sell to retail
markets
• Contracts (private, public) to produce biochar for
land remediation, re-vegetation and erosion control
• Forestry and landscape contractors convert yard
waste and logging waste to biochar for large and
small landowners
• Farmers and gardeners can save money by
producing soil amendments for use on the farm

40. Wilson Biochar Associates
Wilson Biochar Associates specializes in biochar technology and market
development. We provide strategic advice and services to businesses and
organizations:
• Technology Assessment, Research, Analysis and Documentation – reports, white
papers, collaborative studies, standards and protocols, technology documentation,
product manuals, instructional materials
• Communications – press releases, news articles, feature articles, web content,
presentations
• Strategic Planning – campaigns and programs, organizational development, proposals
• Social Networking and Community Development – build support for campaigns,
products, projects and ideas in online and local communities
Kelpie Wilson
Wilson Biochar Associates
Home office: 541-592-3083
Mobile: 541-218-9890
kelpiew@gmail.com
www.wilsonbiochar.com