Brilliant, Beneficial Biochar: Your Questions Answered

With its ability to improve soil health, lock away carbon, reduce emissions, and support sustainable waste management, biochar is earning a reputation as a byproduct with superpowers. Through carbonisation (advanced thermal treatment), biosolids and biomass are transformed into biochar, a stable, high-value product with lasting benefits.

Yet many people still wonder how it really delivers value for the environment, communities, and business. With over 10 years of experience in this emerging industry, Pyrocal has heard these questions time and again.

Our Biochar Product and Development Manager, Johann Lombard, shares answers to some of the most common ones.

Q1: What gives biochar its value?

JL: It depends on the source.

• Biosolids biochar is valued for its phosphorus, recycling nutrients back into agriculture.
• Biomass biochar is about carbon sequestration, locking carbon away and offsetting emissions.

Either way, biochar transforms waste into long-term environmental and financial value.

Q2: How does Pyrocal help clients use or sell their biochar?

JL: My role is to engage with end-users, develop new applications, and identify blending opportunities. This expands the market, creates fresh opportunities, and allows us to match supply with demand.

Q3: What are the main end-use markets for biochar?

JL: Biochar is versatile, with applications across many sectors:

• Biosolids biochar: heavy metal remediation, nutrient recovery, and resale to farmers.
• Biomass biochar: carbon credits and greenhouse gas offsets.
• Horticulture & agriculture: improves potting mixes, high-value crops, and intensive farms.
• Mine site rehabilitation: stabilises soils, retains nutrients, and binds heavy metals.
• Water management: nutshell or woodchip biochars filter stormwater, farm runoff, and help rehabilitate waterways.

Q4: Can biochar be used in broadacre agriculture?

JL: Large-scale farming like grain or cotton often requires volumes that aren’t cost-effective. But biochar can still be applied at seeding direct to furrow or planting holes. The advantage is permanence: once in the soil, biochar remains stable for hundreds of years, building up season after season and delivering cumulative benefits to soil health.

Q5: Why are trials important before investing in carbonisation systems?

JL: Trials help clients assess emissions, contaminant destruction, and biochar quality, including potential CORCs (carbon removal credits) generated per tonne of feedstock. This reduces risk before making major investments. At Pyrocal, we offer a suite of trial services, including mobile drying, biochar characterisation, lab analysis, yield testing, and emissions benchmarking.

Q6: How does carbonisation lock carbon away?

JL: During carbonisation, biomass or biosolids are heated in a low-oxygen environment. Instead of releasing CO₂, much of the carbon is locked into a stable, solid biochar. Once applied to soil or embedded in materials like cement or asphalt, that carbon is sequestered for hundreds, even thousands, of years. It’s a natural, proven way of turning waste into long-term climate action.

Closing thought

With its potential to boost soil health, sequester carbon, and unlock new revenue streams, biochar is one of the most exciting and accessible solutions in the sustainability space.

If you have questions we haven’t covered, want to explore how carbonisation and biochar can add value to your operations, or find out more about our Terix Biochar, we’d love to hear from you.