Biochar: A Solution for Global Warming

Pure carbon char (biochar) is the output from Simeken PRO™ System that can be profitably sold, burned for energy, or further refined into products such as carbon which can be used as a soil amendment.

When used as a soil additive, biochar can increase the rate of plant growth. It can help achieve higher yields due to the presence of oligo elements. It is also safer than manure or sewage, and reduces the risk of water table contamination. Biochar can also filter shallow soil water to remove any contaminants. Abandoned mine ponds are environmental hazards. Biochar can further help in the removal of heavy metals and acids from these locations.

When it comes to the mitigation of global warming, biochar can aid us with carbon sequestration. In simple words, the carbon that becomes locked into the carbon char output from the Simeken PRO™ System reduces the amount of free carbon in the world, and thereby also reduces the amount of global warming.

Biochar’s Uses Within the Industry: There’s Still Hope

The Simeken PRO™ System generates pure carbon char known as biochar which can be profitably used in the oil and gas industry, for land reclamation, in abandoned mines and many more.

Learn more about the environmental and economic benefits of biochar below:

The oil and gas industry

As the EPA has recently proposed standards to mitigate emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and air toxics from oil and natural gas wells, biochar can be applied to the soil in oil and gas production areas in order to decontaminate the well cuttings. When this is done, hydrocarbons and the VOCs are captured and sequestered in the biochar. Before they are off-gassed into the atmosphere, they are broken down to nontoxic levels.

Biochar can remove pollutants and can be used to purify producer water from wells, allowing for the discharge of clean water.

Land remediation and reclamation

Biochar can prevent contaminants present in the soil of abandoned mines from leaching into local water supplies by sequestering the heavy metals and acids. This can help in quick reclamation of mines at a lesser cost. The leached soil can now support plant growth due to the improved soil fertility, increased infiltration and reduced erosion.

Cleaning up landfills

The carbon in biochar has adsorptive properties which can be used for composts, manures and landfills. It can hold and adsorb gasses, odors, organic nutrients and environmental contaminants.

Stores carbon dioxide in the ground

Biochar reduces the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere by trapping carbon in a chemical (pyrolysis) process.

The Simeken PRO™ System stores 15-25 tons of CO2 permanently (thousands of years) for every fifty tons of dry biomass (wood, agricultural waste, etc.) it processes.

The urgent need to mitigate the degradation of our environment can’t be stressed enough. Organizations across the world have begun endorsing the benefits of biochar. We’ve mentioned a few notable ones below for your reference:

International Biochar Initiative
California Biochar Association
Sonoma Biochar Initiative
Alberta Biochar Initiative

Impressed by the benefits of biochar and our PRO™ System?