Large-Scale Biochar Projects From farms to forests, healthy soil is the foundation on which healthy ecosystems are built. Biochar has shown tremendous benefits for soil health, improving everything from water retention and carbon sequestration, to pest suppression and nutrient availability for plants. Interested in learning about the application of biochar for large projects? Below, we discuss several large-scale applications and how biochar can help. Biochar: A Quick Overview Created by burning wood waste through an oxygen-free process called pyrolysis, biochar is an all-natural product that stores carbon and provides an excellent substrate for overall soil health. Biochar from our team at Wakefield BioChar is made from virgin wood waste, shown to be among the most effective biochar ingredients for plant growth. Whether you’re utilizing our biochar products to condition your soil or partnering with our team for effective waste management of your bio-waste, using our biochar for large projects is a sustainable, highly effective choice that can pay dividends into the future. Biochar for Agricultural Projects From crop yield to sustained soil health, biochar provides a tremendous wealth of benefits for large-scale agricultural projects. To show biochar’s effectiveness as a supplement to a widely used farming solution—inorganic fertilizer—our team conducted comprehensive tests showing that the use of biochar in combination with inorganic fertilizer nearly doubled the crop yield versus the use of inorganic fertilizer alone. Biochar’s benefits don’t stop there. Here are several additional benefits biochar can bring to any agricultural project: Restoring degraded soil Boosting nutrient uptake Increasing water absorption Encouraging stronger root systems Enhancing seed germination Decreasing pollutants and pests Improving aeration Beyond its long list of benefits, biochar has one overarching advantage that makes it a smart choice for any farmer: it lasts. The pyrolysis process through which it’s created gives biochar remarkably resilient qualities. It takes hundreds of years to release carbon and break down, meaning it will continue to provide the benefits listed above without the need for renewal. Along this timeframe, biochar will continue to contribute to overall soil health and help to ensure that topsoil stays healthy, even with intensive farming. Waste Management Projects For many mills and large manufacturers, the environmentally responsible and economically beneficial reuse of waste materials has become an increasingly high priority. At Wakefield, we help manufacturers deal with their wood waste by providing responsible, cost-saving solutions that scale for operations large and small. Our team offers three core services to deliver comprehensive waste management solutions to mills and other manufacturers. First, our professionals are equipped to get “inside the gate” and manage all forms of wood waste with easy-to-implement off-take systems. Next, our biochar creation process provides a win-win through our Zero Landfill Program, which converts a wide range of wood waste into biochar—reducing the volume of material by nearly 20x to make removal economical. Beyond that, our on-site pyrolysis process will return RNG’s or steam back to the mill or manufacturing plant for energy. Finally, as the third core service, our team proudly offers Mill Land & Road Maintenance to leave every site better than when we found it. Renewable Energy Production With biochar as a soil conditioner, agricultural sites will experience higher yields at lower energy expenses, leading to a number of benefits for both producers and consumers. In some cases, waste from these yields can be turned into compost or biochar itself, creating a closed or partially closed system that leads to sustained, low-cost yields year-after-year. Similarly, partnering with our team at Wakefield to use waste in the biochar creation process can lead to renewable energy production through surplus RNG and steam, which can be put back into the manufacturing facility, reducing dependence on other energy sources, such as fossil fuels. Converting on-site waste into biochar can also help reduce dependence on landfills, thus reducing operating costs while increasing energy yields from waste. Forest Management An important practice that balances the needs of natural ecosystems with the needs of humanity, forest management is yet another large-scale undertaking that can be benefitted by biochar. For new forest growth projects, our biochar serves as an excellent, natural solution for safe and effective new growth. Wakefield Biochar products are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which ensure that they are sourced from “responsibly managed forests that provide environmental, social and economic benefits.” Carbon Sequestration Projects One of the biggest benefits of biochar is its ability to sequester carbon. The surplus of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been studied for its direct impact on climate change and air quality—thus, reducing carbon emissions has become a goal for countries and organizations worldwide. Currently, biochar is one of the most carbon-safe solutions for dealing with wood waste. Thanks to an oxygen-free heating system, the pyrolysis process used to create biochar results in very little carbon dioxide—all while charring wood to such an extent that it becomes a fixed-carbon material that decomposes much slower (and into less greenhouse gas) than untreated wood. As biochar leads to better soil health and increased plant growth, it contributes to extra carbon intake out of the atmosphere through the plants it nurtures. Whether you’re using biochar for turf or biochar for forestry, our comprehensive, rigorous tests show some simple, encouraging math. For every 1 pound of biochar used, about 2 pounds of carbon dioxide are removed from the atmosphere. When all of the benefits are taken into account, biochar is better than carbon-neutral—it’s carbon negative. Need Biochar for Large Projects? Buy Biochar in Bulk We make it easy to buy biochar in bulk for your next project! Have questions? Interested in learning more about the applications of biochar for large-scale projects? Contact our team at Wakefield to learn more about our industry-leading, OMRI-listed biochar.