Biochar

Biochar is the carbonaceous residue from pyrolysis of organic materials.

Biochar is a carbon sequester with high persistency in soil, reduces soil acidity, has a unique ability for attracting and holding moisture and agrochemicals, even retaining difficult to hold nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous.
Our mission is to develop a biochar value chain to support novel agro-ecology systems and ensure a safe and sustainable use in soil.

The research group fosters the diffusion of biochar through:

• availability of an industrial analysis laboratory to perform proximity analysis and specific surface area
• research on biochar as a compost improver together with compost producers (ENOCHAR);
• dedicated plot with 5 years long biochar applications (see also LTEP-BIOCHAR)

The agricultural use of biochar in Italy is regulated through the Ministerial Decree 12 August 2015, concerning the amendment to the annexes to Legislative Decree No 75 of 29 April 2010, 'Reorganisation and review of guidelines in relation to fertilisers pursuant to Article 13 of Law No. 88 of 7 July 2009

For more information on the properties, functionalities and potentials of biochar, you can consult the materials of the UNEP Biochar for Sustainable Soils project and the animation video below.