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The article offers information on the combination of biochar and volcanic rock in a product called Regenr8, created by Aquagel, to enhance soil carbon content, mitigate climate change, and improve nutrient density in food. Topics include trials conducted during the 2023 winter cereal season, where Regenr8 was applied at different percentages in comparison to traditional fertilizers.

The sugar processing industry worldwide is moving towards sustainability as it pertains to various aspects of its production. Growing and processing sugarcane and sugar beet produces significant amounts of byproducts, including crop field residues, sugarcane bagasse, and sugar beet pulp. These byproducts are usually associated with handling costs and derive little to no industrial profit. Their reutilization could represent an opportunity to generate value-added materials and chemicals that could significantly enhance sustainability and profitability of the sugar beet and sugarcane industries. A study was conducted to investigate different pyrolysis and activation protocols to produce a series of biochars and activated biochars from either sugarcane bagasse or sugar beet pulp. Biochars were analyzed for various physico-chemical properties. Experiments were performed to test these biochars for their ability to remove color and conductivity ash from sugarcane and sugar beet syrup streams. Color compounds can either be generated during processing or naturally occurring and their distribution varies greatly between sugar beet and sugarcane. Color removal occurred largely within the first 2 minutes after biochar application and was affected by biochar feedstock, activation condition, residence time and biochar dosage. Biochars preferentially removed naturally occurring colorants (color measured at pH 9) than processing colorants. The highest color reduction was obtained for phosphoric acid activated biochar from sugar beet pulp, with up to 60% removal. The biochar surface area was positively correlated with color removal. Higher dosages of biochar are required to achieve the same color removal as those needed from commercial powdered activated carbons. Ultimately, feasibility studies taking into account adsorbent performance and cost will determine their applicability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the impact of biochar on soil physical properties. The researchers compared the physical properties of soil with and without biochar in two cultivated fields in Belgium. They found that the application of fresh biochar improved soil structure, but the impact of biochar age and concentration was limited. The study also revealed that the internal porosity of old biochar particles becomes inaccessible due to clogging by clay particles. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the effects of biochar on soils and highlight the need for further studies over intermediate time scales. [Extracted from the article]

The article presents an interview with Kobus Stoop, director of Cape Town-based Senfore Soil Conditioning who discusses biochar, the residue created by burning biomass. He shares his views on the improvement in soil fertility with the help of biochar, carbon credits to farmers for using biochar, and commercialisation of the product.

Improved soils, healthier crops and new income streams are among the potential benefits to emerge from ACIAR-supported biochar research in Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A project that aims to reduce the impact of crop residues in Vietnam and increase their value has helped both researchers and smallholder farmers to build skills in circular economy initiatives such as biochar production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information on feed additives which may be used to reduce enteric methane emissions in cattle. Topics discussed include the possible modification of metabolic pathways to ensure methane mitigation, the capability of halogenic compounds such as bromoform and chloroform to interfere with methanogenesis, and the outcomes observed following the supplementation of cattle with polyunsaturated fatty acids, probiotics, and biochar.

Sugarcane trash and bagasse represent potential untapped resources associated with harvesting and processing of sugarcane. These organic feedstocks can be thermo-chemically converted into biochars and brought back to the field as soil amendments to improve sugarcane yields, while enhancing soil health and water holding capacity. Biochars from sugarcane leaf residue and bagasse were applied at 0, 4 and 8%, with and without fertilizer. Sugarcane biomass and theoretical recoverable sucrose (TRS) content were compared across different treatments. Adding biochar to the soil consistently resulted in improvements in total TRS, stalk cane yield and sugar yields. Yield increases were more significant with bagasse than leaf residue biochar and more significant with 4% than 8% biochar addition. Best results found with 4% bagasse biochar addition and a TRS improvement of 22.3% and 31.6% from control, for fertilizer and no fertilizer additions, respectively. Benefits of biochar application to cane fields include increases in soil carbon, improvement to soil drainage and aeration, and addition of nutrients for the sugarcane crop. Economic benefits are expected for sugarcane growers and processors through the production of valuable biochar from sugarcane leaf residues and bagasse together with enhancing the sugarcane industry's footprint in renewable energy markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Country Lore Readers' Tips to Live By At ECO3 Farm, we've discovered a better way to crushbiochar. This method creates nicely crushed biochar for allof our planting beds. We load our garden biochar concoction -- woodstovecharcoal, coffee grounds, eggshells, burnt bones,and more -- into a cement mixer. [Extracted from the article]

Macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia, Maiden & Betche) orchard management in Hawaii can result in the loss of organic matter and soil degradation. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of macadamia husk mulch, husk mulch combined with biochar, husk mulch combined with effective microorganisms (EM), soil profiling, and wood chip mulch on yield, nut quality, root growth, and SPAD values during a 1-year study of mature macadamia orchards at two locations in Hawaii. A partial cost-benefit analysis was performed to compare the costs and yield benefits of each treatment. Soil profiling resulted in higher yields than any other treatment, at a mean of 86.6 kg wet-in-husk per tree. No treatments significantly affected nut quality or dry kernel weight. Nut quality was affected by harvesting time, with the earliest harvesting (Aug. 2017) period resulting in the highest recovery rate of number 1 grade kernels (33%). SPAD values increased with the husk mulch combined with EM (6.5%) treatment and soil profiling treatment (6.9%). Husk combined with EM caused an 87% increase in total root biomass during the study period due to increased proteoid root biomass. The soil profiling treatment had the second lowest estimated cost per hectare and had the highest estimated partial profit per hectare. Soil profiling is a destructive management practice and should be used judiciously until its long-term effects on orchard health are studied. The inoculation of EM or sugar signaling may have been responsible for the proliferation of proteoid roots with the husk mulch and EM treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the importance of selecting a charcoal source with a pore structure open enough to bind toxins for the application of charcoal knowledge to livestock animals to improve their gut health along with the definition and properties of charcoal. Topics include how charcoal, biochar and activated carbon can all be grouped under the pyrogenic carbonaceous materials (PCMs); the benefits of vegetable charcoal product Carbovet from Pancosma in animal feed; and properties of PCMs.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Super Dirt" by Richard Coniff in the September 2013 issue.

The article discusses the benefits of adding biochar to soils beside highways in reducing runoff in Delaware, conducted by researchers at the University of Delaware.

The article talks about biochar, which is charcoal produced from plant matter and stored in the soil as a means of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It is mentioned that biochar could reduce U.S. net greenhouse gas emissions by ten to 15 per cent. The article also discusses biochar applications have generated a great deal of interest as a strategy for mitigating climate change by sequestering carbon in soils, and enhancing global food security by increasing crop yields.

The article presents a research study published in the October 2015 issue of the journal "HortScience" which states that biochar, which is a charcoal-like material produced by heating biomass in the absence of oxygen, can close the loop for hydroponic tomatoes.

The article presents step-by-step instructions for the biochar solution.

The article discusses the use of iron impregnated biochar for treating arsenic contaminated water in a study by University of Florida's researchers. Topics include the treatment of ground hickory chip by pyrolysis and mixed it with ferrous nitrate and water to form iron impregnated biochar, the views of Bin Gao, professor at the university on the same and the potential applications of biochar such as removing carbon dioxide from flume gases and phosphate from wastewater.

The article focuses on biochar as a soil enhancer to help restore tired, compromised farmland while taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Topics discussed include the association of biochar with fertile soils and biochar's presence in soils worldwide as a result of vegetation fires and historic soil management practices, biochar's use for cleaning up polluted land and biochar as a potent storage mechanism for carbon dioxide that would otherwise contribute to climate change.

The article reports on the study released by Australian environmental organization Climate Institute in April 2014 which shows the role of plants in avoiding global warming. The report examines technologies that remove heat-trapping carbon pollution from the atmosphere are central to avoid dangerous climate change. Climate Institute chief executive John Connor states that the report examines several carbon removal options including afforestation, bio-char and bio-carbon capture and storage.

In this article, the author discusses the importance of localised production of biochar in rebuilding healthy productive soils and reducing the climate impact of farming. He mentions that climate change and soil degradation are major threats to the future health of the Earth and its food supplies. He cites references of people in the Amazon region who smolder their organic waste to make a nutrient rich form of charcoal known as biochar.

The article focuses on the relationship between biochar and pickel. Topics discussed include organic carbon content in biochar and a nutrient densifier in organic gardening, charcoal cooking and gastric benefits of charcoal, taste receptors that favors foods cooked in glowing embers, sliced meat and vegetables with charcoal hibachi in Thailand and Korea and presents a recipe for biochar shiitake pickles. INSET: Biochar Shiitake Pickles.

The article discusses the re-use and management of olive oil production waste. Topics covered include the 4th International Industrial and Hazardous Waste Management Conference that was held in Crete, Greece, in September 2014. Also mentioned are the enhancement of biodegradation, resource recovery, and the use of bio-char derived from coffee grounds to absorb zinc from water.

The article reports on the study of the researchers from the Pacific Institute of British Columbia (BC), which reveals that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can be reduced by a charcol-like substance, BC Biochar, which is created by burning biomass in a high-temperature kiln.