Carbon Centric’s team answers your questions !
Biochar is a term describing the organic matter (timber) which have been carbonised but not burnt or degraded when used. Biochar has various uses; it is often used to improve soil and compost quality or reduce construction materials’ carbon footprint.
For now, EBC-certified biochar producers are the only ones allowed to sell biochar in Europe. When buying Carbon Centric’s biochar-certified EBC, you ensure that the product is of high quality and has been produced efficiently from sustainably sourced materials..
Biochar cannot be made at home because the specialised equipment is unavailable to the general public. Pyrolysis is a chemical reaction that must be controlled accurately to produce high-quality biochar. If temperature, carbonisation time and oxygen concentration are not mastered, the resulting product will be of very variable quality and may do more harm than good to the soil or construction material.
No, Carbon Centric only sells biochar from EBC-certified producers, which produce biochar thanks to a controlled, efficient and reliable process. This biochar is not only made from an environmentally friendly manufacturing method, but the timber used also comes from sustainably managed French forests. These forests provide habitats for wild animals but also ecosystem services for society.
Biochar is almost pure and totally stable carbon; it, therefore, does not contain nutrients in quantities large enough to be considered a fertiliser. Instead, biochar acts on the conditions of your soil, compost or growth media, allowing plants to develop better.
Biochar is extremely stable and will stay in soils for thousands of ears.
Biochar does not absorb CO2 but stores carbon in solid form. Trees absorb CO2 during their growth, and once these trees are pyrolysed, the carbon is then converted into a stable form which does not degrade.
Biochar produced at high temperatures can have an excessively high PH, but Carbon Centric’s biochar has a neutral pH thanks to its intermediary temperatures.
When correctly used, biochar can improve soil conditions, which can, in turn, increase yield.
Biochar can absorb water thanks to its very porous structure, and this water will be slowly released when the soil dries, hence increasing the water quantity available for plants.
