Biochar is a charcoal-like substance produced from plant material such as food waste. Converting food waste into a useful product would mitigate environmental damage through reduced landfill inputs, reduced greenhouse gas production, and increased benefits to soils.

Food Waste Biochar Recycling Plant Production Process:

There are many different amendments that are frequently added to improve soils, each of these has both benefits and drawbacks when compared to biochar. Similar to biochar, compost can also be applied to soils and has the benefit of using biomass that might otherwise be landfilled. Furthermore, compost has the advantage of providing a balance of nutrients in a low-cost amendment that can be made in-home. However, unlike biochar, compost can take months to properly age, though space for production can be a limiting factor for both. Similar to compost, manure takes 4 to 6 months to age for effective soil application. If applied fresh, manure can cause a nitrogen overload that severely harms plants. Additionally, it can contain diseases if not handled properly.

Thermal stability is a quality that means the product does not decompose in open air after temperatures in the 400-450°C range. Found biochars with 9 different properties can be developed to target specific environmental applications by changing the production conditions.