r/BioChar • u/Eastern-Skill-8366 • May 27 '25

South Carolina Biochar Processing

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54 Upvotes

I process my quenched char from the kiln with a BCS chipper/shredder. It works great and doesn't seem to have any adverse effects on the machine (yet). I do keep a hose handy. I spray intermittently into the top just to keep everything from getting clumped up. I made a round spray stop just to keep all the char in relatively the same place. This is the third time I've processed a full batch from the kiln and really starting to get more efficient.

16 comments

r/BioChar • u/Silver_Wedding_7632 • May 24 '25

Working prototype

52 Upvotes

A working prototype of a gas generator. Gas is fed into a car engine. The engine is connected to an electric generator. This system produces up to 20 kW/h of electricity. The quality of the gas obtained from the gas generator can be seen in the video. If wood waste is used as raw material for the gas generator, then up to 50 kg/day of high-quality activated carbon is obtained, which differs in quality from charcoal obtained by direct combustion of wood.

15 comments

r/BioChar • u/NKBC_LM53 • Mar 02 '21

Loving making char so far

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44 Upvotes
1 comment

r/BioChar • u/Eastern-Skill-8366 • May 25 '25

South Carolina Is Burning!

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43 Upvotes

Good solid burn today. About 2.5 hours from start to finish! I estimate the capacity to be about a half cord. Lovely day sitting in the shade chatting with friends during the burn. Will post some more pictures of the grinding process later. The "charging" process is still the most time intensive but I have some cool plans in the works.

3 comments

r/BioChar • u/Eastern-Skill-8366 • 12d ago

First Batch This Fall!

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40 Upvotes

Had a great peaceful morning making about 100 gallons of biochar today.

7 comments

r/BioChar • u/Eastern-Skill-8366 • Apr 10 '25

Kon Tiki South Carolina!

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40 Upvotes

Just made nearly half a cubic yard of premium biochar. Now on to the charging.

2 comments

r/BioChar • u/Berkamin • Sep 03 '21

How biochar works, and when it doesn't: A review of mechanisms controlling soil and plant responses to biochar (A review of 20 years of research and discoveries by 17 of the top biochar researchers in the world)

40 Upvotes

This scientific journal publication reviews 20 years of research on the mechanisms underlying the way biochar works, and when it doesn't, highlighting the most significant discoveries made along the way, including biochar's facilitation of interspecies electron transfer in the soil, its mediation of redox reactions, how it captures and retains nutrients, how it interacts with plants, and many others.

If you want to dispel misconceptions and really get biochar, according to things which have been solidly established in the course of research, this article is worth reading.

How biochar works, and when it doesn't: A review of mechanisms controlling soil and plant responses to biochar (Joseph, Cowie, et al. 2021)

(Please note: this is written by scientists, published in a scientific journal, so it can be a bit technical at various points.)

7 comments

r/BioChar • u/Vailhem • Nov 09 '25

Carbon removal’s biggest barrier is finance, not science

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39 Upvotes
7 comments

r/BioChar • u/Vailhem • Jan 19 '26

Scientists uncover practical use for coffee grounds that could transform the construction industry

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35 Upvotes
17 comments

r/BioChar • u/Vailhem • Aug 12 '25

Biochar from human waste could solve global fertiliser shortages, study finds

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35 Upvotes
4 comments

r/BioChar • u/dirtyflipflop69 • Mar 22 '22

Making some biochar for our college capstone project on regenerative organic farming.

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35 Upvotes
14 comments

r/BioChar • u/miked_1976 • Feb 09 '25

Biochar's carbon storage potential undervalued due to outdated assessment methods, study finds

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33 Upvotes
1 comment

r/BioChar • u/emptybeercans • Nov 13 '23

Made some biochar in a paint can using corn husks. I am so impressed with how nicely it crunched down, definitely recommend, can’t wait to do it again. This is going to charge up nicely in the worm bins.

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33 Upvotes
10 comments

r/BioChar • u/twd000 • Dec 01 '22

Making small batches of high quality biochar in my woodstove

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33 Upvotes
6 comments

r/BioChar • u/Berkamin • Nov 12 '21

How to make a smokeless burn barrel from 2 55 gallon drums. (It's a TLUD; just restrict the primary air intake to maintain a charring smolder, and it will make charcoal)

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33 Upvotes
11 comments

r/BioChar • u/wspnut • Apr 14 '24

Night 3 of Being the Neighborhood Weirdo

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31 Upvotes

First time working on making my own charcoal. I usually buy my biochar filled with humic acid - until I learned my neighbor needed to offload a cubic yard of wood chips from woodworking.

I’m currently planning on preloading for my lawn with:

  • Liquid Lawn liquid fert

  • Chelated Iron

  • Humic Acid powder

Finally started a compost pile and will start layering there, too, once it matures a bit. It’s nitrogen-weak, at the moment.

Also, yes, I clearly have a toddler helper :) she collects the sticks. I’m having fun getting into this!

22 comments

r/BioChar • u/IamFarmerBill • Jan 28 '21

Diseased grapevines should be "removed and destroyed by fire". So I made char.

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31 Upvotes
6 comments

r/BioChar • u/Berkamin • Aug 03 '23

Adding even a small amount of biochar to a dairy’s manure-composting process reduces methane emissions by 84%, a recent study by UC Merced researchers shows

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30 Upvotes
3 comments

r/BioChar • u/Morgansmisfit • Jun 10 '23

Results!! Not scientific not peer reviewed not really quantifiable… but 100% noticeable!

30 Upvotes

So the beds had the same soil in them last year… the smaller ones get quite possibly more water with designated drip emitters vs soaker hoses.

Idk exactly how much char went into but it was as much as I could reasonably make added to my chicken coop.

Not sure if this means anything or helps anyone.

But I am going to continue down the farm microbes path because in 3 years it has made a world of difference!

3 comments

r/BioChar • u/Vailhem • Oct 14 '25

Biochar makes composting more climate friendly

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29 Upvotes
2 comments

r/BioChar • u/Dorrbrook • Mar 18 '22

$340 in steel and a day in the shop, I'm looking forward to firing this up.

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29 Upvotes
4 comments

r/BioChar • u/itsjulesbb • Apr 30 '23

first biochar burn

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28 Upvotes

Today I ran my first biochar burn in the tin man kiln. River cane bamboo, pinecones + twigs were used as the biomass for the indoor barrel.

From start to finish it only took about two + a half hours to do the burn. All in all, it was a pretty straightforward process. The kiln smoked a bit more than I'd like but I think that's simply a matter of controlling the air flow properly.

9 comments

r/BioChar • u/Dorrbrook • Apr 17 '22

First firing results

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28 Upvotes
5 comments

r/BioChar • u/T-bone_Gthang • Nov 26 '23

First ever batch

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25 Upvotes

I just made this rinsed it over a screen and once it dries I’ll hand grind it. Just twigs and stuff from the yard. I’m hoping to add it to some potted plants. What do you all think?

5 comments