Warm Heart Biochar Research produces revolutionary, low-cost biochar and fertilizer technology for disadvantaged farmers. Warm Heart puts biochar to the test not just in controlled lab settings but in the real world of farmers’ fields, and here’s what they have to say about it.
Biochar Research: Can It Help to the Stop Global Warming?
For every tonne of biochar generated, three tonnes of CO2 are removed from the atmosphere; carbon is permanently sequestered when applied to fields as a soil amendment.
More than CO2 is removed from the atmosphere when crop leftovers are “pyrolyzed” into biochar instead of being burned openly.
Field burning produces 330,000 gigatons* worldwide (these statistics are based on the most recent data available). See below for an update) of black carbon yearly – the second-largest contributor to global warming – as well as massive amounts of methane and NOx, greenhouse gases that cause 25 and 298 times more warmth than CO2.
What role does biochar play in the fight against smoke? (You won’t notice any smoke!) Warm Heart’s influence has inspired interest in biochar to clear the air, regenerate the soil, and provide smokeless cooking charcoal in Malawi, as seen in this video.
Biochar Research: Decontamination of Soil and Water.
The high pH of biochar stimulates microbial colonies that can break down many poisons. In contrast, the surface chemistry of biochar adsorbs others to the biochar itself, effectively locking them up. They are no longer bioavailable and cannot hurt people once locked up.
Biochar can prevent pollutants from entering the food chain or water as a soil amendment. It can also be used as a simple and inexpensive water filter media by households.
Economic Stimulus and Job Creation
Gracious Heart expects to see a strong market emerge as biochar demonstrates its worth. We hope to see increased government and business involvement once it is evident that creating and using biochar has many benefits.
Biochar production offers governments a viable answer to the costly and ongoing public health issues generated by field burning.
Making and brokering basic biochar, manufacturing biochar-making machines, producing biochar soil amendments, and inventing new technologies that embody this technology (for example, in-field run-off water filters) offer great business opportunities and create jobs in rural areas that are currently job-poor.
The Biochar Benefits Research Project has an R+D facility and lab on the Warm Heart leading site. It has an Experimental Farm where biochar fertilizers are tested and a Demonstration Farm where technology, goods, and training materials are showcased.
Warm Heart works with the Phrao District’s Chief Agricultural Officer and Chief Social Development Officer, and the Chief Executives of three sub-districts on a local level.
Biochar promotes soil porosity and water retention, elevates pH, fosters soil life, and improves soil fertility when applied to fields. It also safeguards crops against disease, fungus, and insects. According to field experiments conducted by Warm Heart, biochar soil supplements beat synthetic fertilizers by more than 10% in rice paddies and significantly bigger margins in steep cornfields with extremely deteriorated soils.
Public Health Improvements
Biochar’s manufacture and use have significant public health implications. The problem of urban air particulate pollution receives a lot of attention. Still, little attention is paid to the often excessive levels of PM 10 and PM 2.5 air pollution found in rural areas, which often exceed metropolitan levels. These particles are primarily caused by field burning. The majority of them may be avoided by using a large amount of biochar.
Using pesticides or farming contaminated land exposes poor farmers and agricultural laborers to agro- and industrial chemical toxicity.
This release is articulated by Prittle Prattle News in the form of an authored article.
