Latest news with #biochar
The Guardian
21 minutes ago
- Science
- The Guardian
Britain's forests need help to adapt to the changing climate
Your article paints a bleak picture of the challenges facing reforestation in the UK (In some UK woodlands, every young tree has died. What's going wrong? 10 July). The failure of natural regeneration – driven by drought, heat, disease and deer grazing – is not just a crisis for ancient woodlands, it's a stark warning for the future of all UK forestry. This ecological breakdown reveals a fundamental flaw in our current approach: we are too focused on the number of saplings in the ground and not enough on their long-term resilience. Whether through natural regeneration or new planting schemes, tree survival must be the priority. With mortality rates increasing by 90%, as the article highlights, it's clear that traditional methods are no longer fit for purpose in a changing climate. To build forests that can withstand future conditions, we must invest in resilience from the outset. Research into techniques that improve sapling survivability is essential to protecting ancient woodlands and establishing new ones. Innovative approaches – such as vertical farming to produce climate-adapted saplings and biochar-enhanced substrates to improve soil health – are already showing promise. These methods can yield stronger, faster-growing trees with significantly higher survival rates. Our ancient woodlands are among the UK's most treasured natural assets. If we are to protect and restore them – while ensuring they continue to absorb carbon and support biodiversity – we need a new approach to UK forestry, one with resilience and survivability at its CollierChief research and development officer, A Healthier Earth I was really interested to read that saplings weren't thriving in ancient forests. It is quite the opposite in my garden. I'm not much of a gardener, but every time I am moved to tidy up, most of my efforts go into pulling up, if I can, and cutting back if I can't, little ash, sycamore, oak, yew, lime, holly and even the occasional chestnut tree. This is both from flowerpots and flowerbeds. When I cut them back they seem to grow back even stronger. What is happening that a south London garden seems desperate to become a forest and ancient forests are giving up?Martin CooperBromley, London
News24
08-07-2025
- Business
- News24
Biochar boom? SA bets on super charcoal for green jobs
The country's coal jobs on the line. Biochar is seen as a green job creator. Scarce data on biochar poses a challenge. Sithandekile Nyathi confidently hoists herself into the compact loader, lowers the metal caging around the vehicle and drives towards large mounds of wood timber chips. The chips eventually go up a conveyer belt into a converter, where they are heated and turned into a type of 'biochar' called activated carbon, a charcoal that stores carbon and could help to cut planet-heating carbon dioxide emissions. 'I used to be a maid, I never thought I would work in an industry that also helps lives and helps the environment,' said Nyathi, a controller at the plant in Brakpan on the East Rand. It is owned by Adsorb, an SA manufacturer of activated carbon. Said Nyathi: SA is a coal-rich country but has been the poster child for international efforts to shift towards cleaner energy and industries. But funding challenges, high unemployment rate and a political divide have stalled these efforts, raising questions about how this transition should happen. Darryl Phipps, a chemical engineer and the manager of the Adsorb plant where Nyathi works, believed the plant was the first of its kind globally. This is because it uses self-sustaining energy – the heat in the converter – to turn wood chips directly into activated charcoal or steam-activated biochar, which allows for greater binding of organic molecules to its surface and has clean flue gas as its only byproduct. Statista / Kim Harrisberg Some proponents see the biochar sector as one answer to both job creation and carbon capture, but the young industry is struggling with a lack of SA data and funding support, experts say. Globally, the industry was valued $600 million (R10.6 billion) in 2023, up 97% from 2021, according to the International Biochar Initiative (IBI). Biochar and activated carbon have been praised by some researchers, farmers and industry experts for improving soil quality and water retention, absorbing toxins and capturing carbon. When used as a fertiliser, biochar improves water-holding capacity, which helps plants survive drought conditions, according to research published in the Frontiers journal. Initial studies into SA's agricultural sector have shown that biochar improved both maize yield and soil health, but researchers have called for further, long-term research, according to the University of Venda. The department of forestry, fisheries and the environment did not respond to requests for comment on the size and prospects for the country's biochar sector. But workers such as Nyathi are hopeful. 'If the company grows, I grow with the company,' she said. Carbon capture and job creation SA's high unemployment rates, funding cuts and size of the coal industry have slowed down the move towards clean energy and green jobs. Phipps said Adsorb's converter could be replicable in other parts of the country and the world. Adsorb uses wood chips from pallet repair centres that originally come from responsibly managed forests. When the wood is heated at 1 000°C, the gas generated first makes biochar and then activated charcoal. Activated charcoal has more adsorption capacity than biochar and can also be used as industrial pollutant removal, according to the academic journal Science of the Total Environment. The gas generated is then incinerated to create clean thermal energy and Adsorb is looking to recover this into electricity, said Phipps. Adsorb captured about 750 tons of CO₂ last year and supplies activated charcoal to fertiliser, animal feed and cosmetic industries and has eyes on water treatment, mine rehabilitation and cleaning mercury out of coal gas. 'Processing centres could be established in areas where there were previously mines or coal plants. This could involve communities generating biomass and supplying it to these processing centres. If enough plants are rolled out it could eventually create jobs in the tens of thousands. Darryl Phipps Data and funding needs Despite the enthusiasm, experts said data on biochar is scarce and estimates on the size of the market in SA vary widely, potentially due to different classifications of what constitutes biochar. Romain Pirard, an environmental economist from the School for Climate Studies at Stellenbosch University, said to his knowledge there is 'no centralisation of information or any sort of policy specific to biochar'. Finding willing customers is also a challenge for the promotion of biochar, said Phipps. Farmers are extremely cost-sensitive and if there's anything that increases the cost, it damages the sales potential. Darryl Phipps Pirard said subsidies to incentivise farmers 'to use biochar in place of chemical fertilisers' – and using invasive, alien trees as a form of biomass – could help biochar 'take off'. The department of environmental affairs said in a 2015 report that 'consideration could be given by government to subsidising' small biochar businesses. The department did not immediately respond to the Thomson Reuters Foundation's request for a comment. Despite showing potential as a green job creator, attempts to create a biochar association to centralise data and information on initiatives have not led anywhere and the feasibility of the sector 'remains to be demonstrated', Pirard said. But Phipps is adamant they are on to something big – if more funding is made available. 'From my children's perspective, I want to leave behind a legacy, something positive that gave back rather than just extracted wealth from the world,' he said. – Thomson Reuters Foundation
News24
08-07-2025
- Automotive
- News24
Biochar boom? South Africa bets on super charcoal for green jobs
Sithandekile Nyathi confidently hoists herself into the compact loader, lowers the metal caging around the vehicle, and drives towards large mounds of wood timber chips. The chips eventually go up a conveyer belt into a converter, where they are heated and turned into a type of 'biochar' called activated carbon - a charcoal that stores carbon and could help to cut planet-heating carbon dioxide emissions. "I used to be a maid, I never thought I would work in an industry that also helps lives and helps the environment," said Nyathi, a controller at the plant in Brakpan owned by Adsorb, a South African manufacturer of activated carbon. South Africa is a coal-rich country but has been the poster child for international efforts to shift towards cleaner energy and industries. But funding challenges, high unemployment rates and political divides have stalled these efforts, raising questions about how this transition should happen. Darryl Phipps, a chemical engineer, and the manager of the Adsorb plant where Nyathi works, said he thinks the plant in the town of Brakpan, east of Johannesburg, is the first of its kind globally. This is because it uses self-sustaining energy - the heat in the converter - to turn wood chips directly into activated charcoal or steam-activated biochar, which allows for greater binding of organic molecules to its surface and has clean flue gas as its only byproduct. Some proponents see the biochar sector as one answer to both job creation and carbon capture, but the young industry is struggling with a lack of South African data and funding support, experts say. READ | Researcher finds a way for fruit peels to power camera flashes, jumpstart cables Globally, the industry was valued US$600 million in 2023, up 97% from 2021, according to the International Biochar Initiative (IBI). Biochar and activated carbon have been praised by some researchers, farmers and industry experts for improving soil quality and water retention, absorbing toxins and capturing carbon. When used as a fertiliser, biochar improves water-holding capacity which helps plants survive drought conditions, according to research publisher Frontiers. Initial studies into South Africa's agricultural sector have showed that biochar improved both maize yield and soil health, but researchers called for further, long-term research, according to the University of Venda. The South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) did not respond to requests for comment on the size and prospects for the country's biochar sector. But workers like Nyathi are hopeful. "If the company grows, I grow with the company," she said. Carbon capture and job creation South Africa's high unemployment rates, funding cuts and size of the coal industry have slowed down the move towards clean energy and green jobs. Phipps said Adsorb's converter could be replicable in other parts of South Africa and the world. Adsorb uses wood chips from pallet repair centres that originally come from responsibly managed forests. When the wood is heated at one thousand degrees Celsius, the gas generated first makes biochar and then activated charcoal. Activated charcoal has more absorption capacity than biochar and can also be used as an industrial pollutant removal, according to academic journal Science of The Total Environment. The gas generated is then incinerated to create clean thermal energy and Adsorb is looking to recover this into electricity, said Phipps. Adsorb captured approximately 750 tonnes of CO2 in 2024 and supplies activated charcoal to fertiliser, animal feed and cosmetic industries, and has eyes on water treatment, mine rehabilitation and cleaning mercury out of coal gas. "Processing centres could be established in areas where there were previously mines or coal plants," said Phipps. "This could involve communities generating biomass and supplying it to these processing centres. If enough plants are rolled out it could eventually create jobs in the tens of thousands," he estimated. READ | Hive hydrogen seeks proposals to develop multibillion-rand SA plant Data and funding needs Despite the enthusiasm, experts said data on biochar is scarce and estimates on the size of the market in South Africa vary widely, potentially due to different classifications of what constitutes biochar. Romain Pirard, an environmental economist from the School for Climate Studies at Stellenbosch University, said to his knowledge there is "no centralisation of information or any sort of policy specific to biochar". Finding willing customers is also a challenge for the promotion of biochar, said Phipps. "Farmers are extremely cost-sensitive, and if there's anything that increases the cost, it damages the sales potential," he said. Pirard said subsidies to incentivise farmers "to use biochar in place of chemical fertilisers" - and using invasive, alien trees as a form of biomass - could help biochar "take off". The Department of Environmental Affairs, the predecessor to the DFFE, said in a 2015 report that "consideration could be given by government to subsidising" small biochar businesses. The DFFE did not immediately respond to the Thomson Reuters Foundation's request for a comment. Despite showing potential as a green job creator, attempts to create a biochar association to centralise data and information on initiatives have not led anywhere, and the feasibility of the sector "remains to be demonstrated", Pirard said. But Phipps is adamant they are on to something big - if more finance arrives. "From my children's perspective, I want to leave behind a legacy, something positive that gave back rather than just extracted wealth from the world," he said.
National Post
10-06-2025
- Science
- National Post
University Trial Confirms Persist® PAF Enhances Plant-Beneficial Microbes
Article content VGrid partnered with Wageningen University and Research, a global leader in controlled-environment agriculture, to conduct this hydroponics tomato cultivation trial. Article content CAMARILLO, Calif. — A recent university study found that Persist® PAF, a liquid enhancer for plants and soil, boosts the growth of beneficial microbes in biochar—leading to lasting improvements in the root zone of hydroponic tomato plants. Article content The study, conducted in the Netherlands, compared pistachio shell biochar—produced by VGrid's Bioserver® units—with standard coir slabs, untreated biochar, acetic acid-treated biochar, and biochar pre-treated with PAF. Researchers evaluated microbial activity in both the growing medium and tomato rhizosphere over a 23-week cultivation period using advanced qPCR and DNA metabarcoding methods. Article content In the trial, PAF-treated biochar showed significantly higher levels of beneficial bacteria—especially those involved in nutrient cycling and plant resilience—compared to untreated or acid-only treatments. The result is a more biologically active root zone that supports better plant growth and productivity. Article content Key Findings: Article content compared to all other substrates, including coir, untreated biochar, and biochar treated with acetic acid. Article content The bacterial phyla Nitrospirae and Firmicutes Article content , which are known to promote nutrient cycling and plant resilience, were substantially more abundant in the PAF-treated biochar. Article content PAF had a lasting impact on the microbiome of the biochar substrate and the tomato rhizosphere Article content , resulting in a more diverse and beneficial bacterial community throughout the cultivation period. Article content These findings highlight the potential of PAF to enhance crop and soil productivity, reduce reliance on synthetic inputs, and advance sustainable, organic, and regenerative agriculture. Article content Jeff Norton, Vice President of Business Development with VGrid, commented, 'We're excited with these results. They further confirm what we've seen in previous trials and the field—PAF improves plant vigor and drives positive change to the microbiome. The PAF-treated biochar also significantly outperformed acetic acid-treated biochar, showing that PAF's benefits aren't just about lowering pH—its unique chemistry is driving the results.' Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content
BBC News
05-06-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Chippenham road was resurfaced while 'meeting net zero' standards
A street dubbed the "worst road" in a town has become one of the first in the UK to be resurfaced while meeting net zero standards, according to a Road in Chippenham was resurfaced in October, after residents' vehicles suffered damage and discomfort by cracks and it has come to light that the work was part of a trial between Wiltshire Council contractors and academics to product a "net zero" road biochar, a waste product from the biomass industry, Wiltshire Council said the process had increased the cost of the project by 5%. According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), the process included superheating straw waste, used to power boilers to heat industrial greenhouse, in a vacuum, locking in carbon rather than releasing it into the makes up about 7% of the road surface material. The contractors also used UK-produced steel slag, a by-product of the steel industry, rather than virgin top of the new road surface material was Milepave, which is produced at lower mixing temperatures than traditional Tarmac, requiring less energy and bitumen, and which is derived from crude oil, according to scheme used 871 tonnes of Milepave across 8,216 sq m (about two acres) of road surface, cutting carbon by 40%, equivalent to the carbon emissions of 10,000 litres of diesel, the LDRS road was later sealed with a special asphalt grout that stops water getting into the road surface – making cracks and potholes far less at Aston University in Birmingham are are trialling the new road surface.
