Biochar Applications

Biochar is made by heating biomass to a temperature of 400 – 800°C under the absence
of oxygen. The process used is called pyrolysis.

Soil Improver and Composting

Farming, Animal Husbandry

In Europe, 90% of Biochar is used not for crops, but for animal husbandry where it is utilised as a part of animal feeds (Gerlach and Schmidt, 2012). It is claimed that Biochar can enhance growth and prevent disease in many farm animals.

Biochar is a traditional feed additive that was often used to treat digestive problems of livestock. Since 2010, Biochar is increasingly used as an additive to daily feed mixtures. The use of Biochar (i.e. vegetal carbon) as a feed additive is authorised by the EU-Feed Regulation (Parliament, 2011). Only Biochar made from natural and untreated wood is permissible. We are pleased to confirm our Biochar products conforms with the regulations.

As Biochar gets enriched with nitrogen-heavy, organic compounds during the digestion process, the excreted biochar-manure becomes a more valuable organic fertiliser. This can cause low nutrient losses and greenhouse gas emissions during storage and soil application.

Biochar in Building Materials

Two of Biochar’s fundamental properties are its extremely low thermal conductivity and its ability to absorb water up to 5 times its weight. These properties mean that Biochar is the perfect material for insulating buildings and regulating humidity. In combination with clay, lime and cement mortar, Biochar can be used as an additive for plaster or bricks and concrete elements at a ratio of up to 80%.

This blending creates walls with excellent insulation and breathing properties, able to maintain humidity levels in a room at 45 – 70% in both summer and winter. This ensures the air in the rooms cannot become too dry, which can be a cause of respiratory conditions, and also prevents condensation forming around thermal bridges and on outside walls, which would lead to the formation of mould.

Biochar can be applied to the outside walls of a building using standard plaster spraying or rendering equipment. Applied at a thickness of up to 20 cm, it can be a substitute for Styrofoam. Through the use of biochar-based insulation material, houses can become long-term carbon “sinks”, while at the same time providing a healthier indoor climate. And should such a house be demolished at a later date, the biochar-clay or biochar-lime plaster can be directly used as a compost supplement, thus naturally continuing the carbon cycle.

Water Filtration

Biochar effectively removes multiple organic, inorganic and microbial contaminants and is a natural water treatment element and sustainable technology.

Simply drop the charcoal into your water, we recommend one stick per litre, then leave for 1 hour and enjoy your filtered water. Each charcoal will last for 6 months as a water filter, and they are then recyclable for other uses around the home e.g. if you break it up and put it in your house plants, it will add nutrients to the soil that will help the plant to grow. The Charcoal Stick 4-pack is exactly what it says on the box – a pack of four Binchotan charcoal sticks. Combined, the 4-pack gives you 2 years’ worth of filtration! Each filter is individually vacuum-packed in recyclable plastic for immediate use. Kishu Charcoal left in a pitcher of water removes; lead, mercury and cadmium. The stick will also remove chlorine and other chemicals from water and release natural minerals back into the water. Because the sticks are natural product and each branch is different it is hard to give exact toxic adsorption percentages.

According to Natural News* Brita filters remove 14% of lead, 75% of mercury, 6% of cadmium, 33% of aluminum and 12% of arsenic.

There is no plastic to discard or recycle after your stick is toxin saturated in four to six months (the percentage of recycled plastic filters is very small). Simply throw your charcoal stick in the garden or use in the fridge as an odor eliminator after four months. Some boil the stick once a month for ten minutes and this, they say, keeps the stick active for 6 months.

Organic Biochar 5kg

£14.99

Organic Biochar 15kg

£34.99

Organic Biochar Bulk Bag

£499.00

Carbon Offset Voucher

£99.50