1. Making Biochar Commercially Viable; Recent Experiences from around the World Stephen Joseph

2. The Context 1.Most trials carried out with high application rates (> 2 tonnes/ha) with fine dusty material 2.Most biochar expensive (>$300/tonne) 3.Most unprocessed biochar can be difficult to apply 4.Results in terms of yields have been variable 5.Except for a few countries markets not developed 6.Fertiliser companies no incentive to innovate

3. Change in Approach to Developing Engineered/Designer Biochars

4. Properties a Function of Feedstock and Final Pyrolysis Temperature; Minerals and Water/Acid Soluble Organic Compounds Important Chicken Litter Biochar (400C) Lots of Minerals (A) and pyrolysed seeds (B) Chicken Litter Biochar (550C) Minerals melted lowing porosity and surface area (C). Woody biochar in litter high surface area (D) A B C D

5. Harvey OR, Herbert BE, Kuo LJ, Louchouarn P. Generalized Two-Dimensional Perturbation Correlation Infrared Spectroscopy Reveals Mechanisms for the Development of Surface Charge and Recalcitrance in Plant-Derived Biochars. Environ. Sci. Technol., 46(19), 10641-10650 (2012). General Correlation Between CEC (which is dependent on pH of Soil) and Recalcitrance High Adsorption of heavy metals and ammonia Greatest resistance to disease using greenhouse waste Greatest adsorption of Nitrate and large organic molecules

6. Profitability and Many Plant Responses are Dependent on How Much Biochar is Added to the Soil; The Rmax Effect Rate t/ha Disease resistance/Sorption ability = D-R max ; Yield= G-R max Jaiswal et al 2015 Plant and Soil Biochar A Biochar BBiochar C Profitability

7. Commercially Viable Products and Applications 1.Biochar Mineral NPK Fertilisers 2.Biochar Mineral Compost Biofertilisers for High Value Crops 3.Biochar and Energy in Waste Management 4.Remediation of Contaminated and Degraded Land with High Value Crops 5.Feeding to Animals and into Biogas Digestors 6.Foliar Sprays and Liquid Fertilisers

8. Feeding Biochar and Molasses to Cows (.33kg/day) Adding Dung Beetles Increases Pasture Productivity by 25% Si P S K Ca Fe N Biochar Coated with nutrients and microbes Data from Doug Pow and Kathy Dawson Composition of Biochar after being excreted

9. Biochar Increased Pasture Productivity by 25%; Biochar was taken through the soil to a depth of 40cm and has increased pH, C and N content C= 5.7 N=.48 pH= 5.4C= 6.0 N=.47 pH= 6.2 Soil Properties No BCSoil Properties With BC C= 2.1 N=.13 pH= 5.0C= 3.6 N=.24 pH= 6.1 C=.67 N=.03 pH= 5.3C= 2.0 N=.11 pH= 5.8 Depth 0-5cm 25cm 40cm Analysis NSW DPI

10. Costs 1)Waste wood biochar from Silicon smelter purchased at $120/tonne and cost of biochar/molasses feed is 6 cents/day 2)Increased in labour to feed cows is 5 cents per day Benefits 1)No hay is required as biochar can provide the same function as a fibre substitue. Cost of hay per cow is $1.10/day this includes feed and labour to spread the hay 2)No chemical fertiliser is required for pasture and no worm drench was needed. 3)After the first year of feeding biochar available P in the worst paddock went from 34ppm to 86ppm! The level for 95% pasture productivity is 52ppm using the CSIRO calculator Benefits in Feeding Biochar to Cows and Adding Dung Beetles Over Three Years Analysis NSW DPI

11. Benefits in Feeding Biochar to Cows and Adding Dung Beetles No Drenching and Insecticide, No Purchase Hay and Fertilisers CP1= Buying hay CP2 = Growing hay. Contractor to harvest CP3 = Growing hay and harvesting oneself Increase of $12,250/yr.

12. Competing uses of China’s straw: the socio-economics of biochar vs. bioenergy 1.Is processing straw into biochar a profitable business venture when compared to processing straw into bio- energy? 1.How are China’s current bio-energy policies affecting the profitability of biochar production compared to bio-energy production? 1.If it is not profitable, should biochar production be subsidised on environmental (carbon mitigation) grounds?

13. Policy and Market Setting 1.Many areas have banned the burning or dumping of residues. $28 Mg -1 straw paid to businesses that use straw for livestock rearing, paper production or bioenergy generation 1.Financial incentives offered are structured as a feed-in-tariff ($0.12 kWh -1 produced from agricultural and waste forestry biomass), subsidised loans, tax breaks and/or grants (Zhang et al., 2014) 2.Briquette technology cheap and simple to use and briquettes sell for for similar price to coal 1.Low carbon rice husk biochar can be purchased from Bioenergy Plants for approximately $100/tonne. High quality biochar sells for between $300 and $500/tonne. 2.Meta –analysis shows yield increases 10% are seen at biochar application rates of greater than 10 tonnes/ha (base line case) Clare et al 2014 Carbon Management

14. Cost Benefit Analysis from Producers Perspective: Pyrolysis is Unprofitable with Biochar Price of $100/tonne with Subsidies Government subsidies are very influential to profitability as is the crop yield and price of the biochar. Break even is approximately $120/tonne with subsidy and $210/tonne with subsidy $300 /tonne biochar$100/tonne biochar

15. Compound Biochar NPK Clay Fertiliser 20% Wheat Straw Biochar (90kg/ha), 5% Bentonite Clay and 75%NPK Granule Applied at 450kg/ha Demonstration Field Plot in Anh Hui. Farmer reported 18% and a reduction in disease

16. Experimental Results Field Trials; Rice Yield Increase 39% Joseph et al 2013; Carbon Management Yield Chemical Fertiliser 8.2 +/-.75 t/ha BioChar NPK Fertiliser 11.4 +/- 1.12t/ha N Uptake Grain Chemical Fertiliser124.7 +/- 11.4kg/ha BioChar NPK Fertiliser 153.6 =/- 15.0 kg/ha Joseph et al 2013 Shifting Paradigms Carbon Management

18. Financial Analysis for Farmer with.45ha Land Based on Field Trial for One Season With Rice Assuming 1/5 Lower Pesticide Use and Reduction of Urea from 126kg/ha to 111kg/ha. Rice Yield Increased from 8.2t/h to 11.4t/ha Costs for Farmer Fertiliser NPK + urea$$131.1 Biochar NPK +urea$ $128.4 Seed$$45.0 Pesticide$$121.5$97.2 Mechanical Harvesting$$100 Total Cost $397.6$370.6 Revenue Sale of Rice$$1,365.3$1,898.1 Income-Costs$ $967.7$1,527.5 % Increase in income% 58%

19. Economics Can Change When Biochar Applied at 100kg/ha with NPK but Depends on the Type of Biochar Yield (Tonnes/ha) D AB CCFMS-BCFPH-BCFHW-BCFWS-BCF Chemical compound fertilizer (CCF), maize straw (MS-BCF), peanut husk (PH- BCF), household waste (HW-BCF) and wheat straw (MW-BCF)) applied at 500kg/ha to rice paddy (Joseph et al 2013)

20. Biochar Produced with Mixed Feedstock, Minerals and Acid Activation + NPK Potato farmers wish to decrease their input of fertilisers, increase yields and also decrease loss through disease A new biochar with high mineral content was developed to enhance the efficiency of NPK fertiliser for growing seed potatoes Standard Fertilisation 7N;14P;14K at 778kg/ha Replaced fertiliser with 5%, 10%,20% and 40% enhanced biochar

21. Biochar Energy Systems (BES) Pty Ltd Low Cost Open Source Transportable Trough Pyrolyser

22. Method of Making the Biochar 1.Make ash by taking the biochar from the pyrolyser at 350C, wet and add finely ground basalt and micro nutrients 2.mix and make into a fine slurry 3.then add clay 4.and then coat straw and chicken litter and allow to dry slowly 5.pyrolyse at 425°C-450°C 6.adjust pH to 7.5 with 50% solution of Phosphoric acid 7.Mix NPK and biochar and allow to stand in bag for 2 weeks.

23. Results of Trials with Enhanced Biochar; 20 tonne/ha Improvement

24. Improvement in Saleable Seed Potatoes of 10% with 10% Biochar Replacement

25. Results of Trials; Economics Farmer is only paid for the potato seedlings that are in the correct size range 120-150mm. The amount is given in the previous graph The amount earnt per hectare if 10% of biochar and 90% NPK is used is $23,100 The amount earnt per hecatare if 100% NPK is used is $14,000 By replacing approximately 80kg of NPK with an enhanced biochar the profit could be as high as $9100/hectare

26. Conservation Farming in Wheat Fields in South Australia 1.Injection of poultry litter biochar with diamonnium phosphate (DAP) underneath seeds in bands using a direct drilling seeder. 2.No Till Farming in calcareous soil with pH approximately 8. 3.Three replicates plots 1.5m by 13.5m 4.Various ratios of poultry litter biochar and DAP 1.Third year of testing on different sites. Same Trend as this test

27. Effect of banding Poultry Litter Biochar and DAP on Wheat Yield D D D CD BCAB A A Yield (t/ha) TreatmentT1T2T3T4T5T6T7T8T9 DAP kg/ha-50 100 -- PL Biochar kg/ha--35100-3510035100 Mean Yield T/ha2.5172.6122.8992.8762.9433.1323.1242.6542.555 3 replicates and random block design

28. Farmer with 500 hectares of Marginal Wheat Producing Fields Adds 35kg/ha of BC ($400/tonne) and 50kg/ha of DAP ($640/tonne) makes $50,000 more than apply 50kg/ha DAP

29. Conclusions; Biochar in Conservation Farming 1.Banding small amounts of high mineral ash biochar with chemical fertilisers the most profitable strategy for farmers with large amount of marginal land 2.Optimal ratio of biochar/DAP for different soils and different biochar types 3.Experience indicates that the high mineral ash biochars leads to greatest increase in yields for a constant chemical fertiliser input 4.Need to develop enhanced biochars that can boost yield well above 20% to really induce farmers to change their agronomic practice

30. Biochar For Waste Management; Where a Gate Fee and Electricity Subsidies Makes It Feasible Feasibility of building a commercial demonstration plant capable of processing 30,000tyr -1 of dry organic waste in Adelaide Australia. The feedstocks could include green waste, wood waste, food waste and other organic waste material. The Waste Management company receives around 75% of Adelaide’s kerbside green organics as well as receiving some clean timber, clean green, food and biosolid waste. Gate fees and the cost of processing each waste vary considerably for different feedstocks The market potential around Adelaide to be approximately 20,000 Mg y -1 and the expected price for biochar of $US130 Mg -1 and $US70/MWhr.

31. Biochar For Waste Management; Where Scale, a Gate Fee and Electricity Subsidies Makes It Feasible for a Very Large Plant Company Offerabc Capacity tph547 Bio-Char (t)44,413115,81399,422 Electricity (MWhr)396,932368,960792,134 Oil (t)000 Pyrolysis Equip Capex ($000AUD) $20,816$18,662$24,246 Total CapEx Total Operating Costs (Excluding interest and Income tax expense) $102,017$93,232$126,178 EBITDA$34,264$35,707$98,733 Net Cash Proceeds after interest and tax $35,618$36,337$91,744 IRR3.66%4.86%12.41%

32. Adding Small Quantities of Biochar to Pig Feed; Experiment from Nanjing Agricultural University Increase of $12,250/yr.

33. Tools For Development of Formulations Collect/Utilise local knowledge from Innovative farmers Use existing guidelines for the supply of nutrients for different applications Established methods for determining soil constraints and measuring nutrient uptake efficiency If possible understand the effects of different BC application rates to plant disease response

34. Tools For Development of Formulations Determine what pyrolysis conditions, additives or surface treatments are required to improve specific characteristics of biochar (e.g. Mg helps adsorb P; Fe and Mn compounds assist in heavy metal uptake). Determine specific nutrient requirements for animals and then enhance biochar with these Need to use this information to develop cost effective formulations

35. Project definition -Crop; -expected yield (t/ha) - cultivation area (ha) - total expected output (t ) Project definition -Crop; -expected yield (t/ha) - cultivation area (ha) - total expected output (t ) Crop Element Requirement - requirement db (kg/t) from db - total element requirement (kg) Crop Element Requirement - requirement db (kg/t) from db - total element requirement (kg) Crop database - Crop Element Requirement (kg/t) - Desired pH and Eh for Optimal Growth and improvement in beneficial micro-organisms - Crop database - Crop Element Requirement (kg/t) - Desired pH and Eh for Optimal Growth and improvement in beneficial micro-organisms - Soil specification - Soil Elements (kg/ha) from db - Available soil elements (kg/ha) - Nutrient Uptake Efficiency (%) - Total element available (kg) Soil specification - Soil Elements (kg/ha) from db - Available soil elements (kg/ha) - Nutrient Uptake Efficiency (%) - Total element available (kg) Soil database (external) - Soil Type and basic properties - Soil Elements (kg/ha) - Soil physical and chemical constraints. Soil database (external) - Soil Type and basic properties - Soil Elements (kg/ha) - Soil physical and chemical constraints. Fertilizer composition - biochar composition (t) - Material selection (t) - total elements added (kg) Fertilizer composition - biochar composition (t) - Material selection (t) - total elements added (kg) Material database - Material Element contents (kg/t) - pH EC, Eh, Available NPK, DOC, CEC Material database - Material Element contents (kg/t) - pH EC, Eh, Available NPK, DOC, CEC Bussiness scenario - Total costs - Total quantities -Total Income -Total Profit Bussiness scenario - Total costs - Total quantities -Total Income -Total Profit Bio-char composition - local available biomass (t) - material / labour costs - other (t) - Total elements added (kg) Bio-char composition - local available biomass (t) - material / labour costs - other (t) - Total elements added (kg) Bussiness scenarios - Income, costs, profit - materials used Bussiness scenarios - Income, costs, profit - materials used Proposed Methodology for Developing Cost Effective Biochar Formulations

36. Key Questions How do we persuade entrepreneurs/venture capitalists/governments to fund a new biochar based fertiliser industry? How do we build multidisciplinary teams to develop new cost effective products and more cost effective pyrolysis systems? How do we empower farmers to innovate with biochar as they can provide a faster path for product development? Shifting paradigms in research so that fit for purpose biochars are applied at rates that will provide a more profitable and sustainable income to farmers?