solution

Biochar production is a sustainable solution

Join us as we build a sustainability movement to mitigate our world of wasted carbon and nutrients

What does it mean to transform nuisance to nourishment?

How can we transform nuisance to nourishment? We can reimagine waste, reclaim useful carbon and nutrients, replenish our agricultural soils, stop releasing CO2 and methane from current biosolids waste management techniques into our atmosphere, easily break down dangerous compounds and kill pathogens through dehydration and thermal treatment. It means converting nutrient-rich, organic biosolids (municipal and industrial treated wastewater sludges) into engineered biochar—a form of charcoal produced from super-heating biomass in an oxygen starved environment (Pyrolysis – a process of chemically decomposing organic materials at elevated temperatures in the absence of oxygen).

The benefits of biochar date back to indigenous times when tribes used it create artificial soil (or, terra preta) in the Amazon Basin; a process later displaced by industrially produced synthetic fertilizers. While the basic principles of making biochar haven’t changed over the centuries, the methods certainly have.

Today, Northeastern Biochar utilizes proven and proprietary thermal treatment technology to dehydrate and treat biosolid waste materials in an environmentally safe way. Rooted in health, safety, and environmental conservation, we are committed to making the world a cleaner, greener place.

What is biochar and why is it important?

Biochar is a highly porous charcoal made from biological material (known as biomass) that is high in organic carbon. It is the most economical and environmentally safe process for thorough and final treatment of biosolid wastes, converting it into valuable resources that support sustainable agriculture and eco-friendly innovation.

As a key element to a carbon-negative strategy, biochar serves as the best possible fertilizer and can be a powerful agent in contaminated soil remediation and odor management.

Biochar is Better

Biochar extracts and retains the critical nutrients of energy, emissions, and waste—repurposing them into fuel for other living things to flourish. It is also one of very few viable methods for long-term carbon sequestration.

The benefits and uses of biochar are many and varied. They include:

  • Reduces the loss of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous and other valuable nutrients into air, water, and landfills.
  • Increased soil fertility and agricultural yields.
  • Improved soil structure, aeration, and water penetration.
  • Shrinking dependence on and use of imported oil, fossil fuels, synthetic fertilizers, and pesticides.

biochar under a microscope

The incredible amount of surface area within engineered Biochar promotes rapid, extensive chemical bonding, greatly enhances soil porosity, increases ground water retention (via capillarity), and re-establishes an environment within which healthy soil microbes and plant root tendrils thrive.

How does the process work?

Biochar can be applied to soil by drop spreaders and remain stable far longer than synthetically produced fertilizers or more natural options such as compost, plant residue and manure, all of which oxidize quickly. Through the process of gasification and pyrolysis technology, tons of biomass can be processed into energy, gases, and liquids—fueling sustainability and creative reuse of waste.

Biochar can be applied to soil by drop spreaders and remain stable far longer than compost, plant residue, or manure which oxidize quickly. In some cases, this can mean hundreds, even thousands of years. By comparison, synthetic and natural fertilizer products commercially available today have a viable life span that is measured in weeks and months.

And its impact is felt at levels both miniscule and massive. From speeding and strengthening seed growth to combatting climate change, biochar, when harnessed correctly, has the ability to address a wide-range of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.

Helping Industries Achieve their Zero-Waste Goals

INDUSTRIES WE SERVE

  • Viable product parts aggregate – reduces weight; increases strength/rigidity.
  • Cleanly converts wood and biological waste into electricity.
  • Insulates food packaging material.
  • Acts as a feed supplement and air-purifying agent.
  • Improved soil health and resilience.
  • Lower cost of fertilizer product acquisition
  • Remediate contaminated soils.
  • Most cost effective biosolids disposal option for waste haulers.
  • Highly effective odor management solution.
  • Reduces global impact of bio-waste and wastewater.
  • Superior composting agent.
Explore the Movement

Creative Reuse of Carbon Starts Here

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