What is ‘the best’ biochar?
July 14, 2021 – 12:00 – 1:30 pm ET (US)
Carbon removal through biochar creation has reached a significant moment with demand beginning to outstrip supply in certain parts of the world. As production ramps up to meet demand, many different types of biochar will be produced from different feedstocks with various thermochemical conversion technologies under different processing conditions.
Many biochar properties – biological, chemical, physical, electrical, etc. – can be manipulated through these parameters to optimize biochar for an ever-increasing number of end-uses. Because biochar producers are often more focused on organics management or renewable energy generation, they may overlook the opportunity to generate designer biochar to fit different end uses.
On the other side of the equation, biochar users are often unaware of the variability inherent in biochar. They may not know the right questions to ask of biochar sellers, or the relevant properties to look for in biochar.
This webinar seeks to demystify some of the technical jargon that explains the differences between visibly similar biochars. It will also attempt to ‘de-mythify’ some of the bolder claims made about biochar. While economic drivers and value propositions are continually developing, “What is the best biochar?” for a specific end market is often demanded by savvy consumers.
Akio Enders has more than a decade of experience with biochar production and analysis at Cornell University. He will help explain the variability of biochar and what the IBI and EBC standards do and do not reveal about different types of biochar. We will also be joined by two commercial biochar producers that have learned through years of experience about the variability of biochar and how to market different types of biochar for different end uses.
COST: Free to IBI Members or $40 for non-members. Registration includes access to the slides and a recording of the webinar.
Akio Enders
Akio Enders has worked to support biochar research under Professor Johannes Lehmann at Cornell University for over a decade. During this time, Akio collaborated with countless students, post-doctoral associates, and scholars in multivarious biochar research ranging from greenhouse and field trials to pyrolysis stove studies to nanoscale investigation of biochar-mineral associations. Akio was first author of “Characterization of biochars to evaluate recalcitrance and agronomic performance”, as well as “Proximate analyses for characterising biochars” and “Total elemental analysis of metals and nutrients in biochars” in Biochar A Guide to Analytical Methods. Akio now strives to utilize his experience to enable widespread biochar production and application in real-world settings.
James MacPhail, Moderator
James is Managing Director of Sequest Ltd offering strategic planning and advice – on all aspects of biochar creation, usage and importantly application. He is also a Fellow and the Biochar Lead with The Climate Map and serves as a Commercial Advisor to Carbon Gold as well as the IBI. Using his qualifications from the Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester – James has developed a wealth of technical knowledge over the last decade about the use of carbon-rich soil amendments based on biochar. Taking waste stream biomass to create products, which offset carbon in an environmentally benign way, directly benefiting adherence to modern environmental, social and governance principles.
