Biochar: An Ancient Method to Meet Today’s Farming Challenges

Tulare, CA – Following the success of the PYREG symposium last summer, PYREG is back in Tulare to demonstrate the benefits of carbonization and biochar to California growers at World Ag Expo® booth 3017 in the Corteva Agriscience Center.

We know of the common challenges California Growers are facing and we will show a solution to these challenges by presenting an ancient method used in an industrial way. Our goals are:
• Educating California Growers on the benefits of biochar, in regenerative agriculture, to improve soil health, crop yields, and quality, while reducing water and fertilizer consumption.
• Demonstrating how California Growers can upcycle their biomass residues (green waste, woody biomass, winery pomace, etc.) into a valuable product (biochar).
• Delivering clean, renewable energy to California Growers, directly at their farms, thereby reducing energy costs and improving their profitability.
• Explaining how California Growers can reduce their CO2 footprint and earn additional revenue, through the application of CO2 Removal Certificates (CORCS).

“FROM WASTE TO VALUE – We want to inform growers, based on facts and figures as well as practical reports, about how biochar is produced and what benefits the material has in the soil,” says PYREG CEO Jörg zu Dohna.

Biochar is produced by the carbonization of biogenic residues, e.g., from agriculture. Introduced into the soil, it acts like a sponge in which nutrients and water accumulate. Both are then gradually released over an extended period of time. As a result, it supports regenerative agricultural practices – reducing damage during dry periods (droughts), enabling higher crop yields, and improved crop quality.

This practice was already used in the Amazon region thousands of years ago. Terra Preta means “black earth” in Portuguese and refers to deep black soil. It was created by centuries of cultivation. The Indians collected charcoal residues, food waste, and pottery shards, composted or fermented everything, and spread the dark mix on their fields. Over time, the lean jungle soil developed into fertile soil. Based on this example, renowned experts will report on how this method is used today in a modern and sustainable way.

In addition to producing biochar, PYREG’s proven scalable and sustainable carbonization systems simultaneously generate renewable energy that can be used locally. Biochar, used as a soil conditioner, creates a natural, safe, and long-term carbon sink. The amount of CO2 sequestered by these modular, EBC-certified carbonization systems can be certified and traded. In this way, sustainable interests can be combined with economic interests.

“After examining the key common challenges facing California’s agricultural industry, we would like to present carbonization as an economically viable and sustainable solution for the common challenges facing California growers – a technology which is already in operation at 50 system installations worldwide”, says U.S. Managing Director and PYREG CSO, Robert Kovach.

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PYREG GmbH is a German NetZero Tech company and a pioneer in the field of CO2 removal (CDR) through sustainable solutions in waste disposal management. The machine manufacturer – using a patented carbonization technology – was founded in 2009 as a university spin-off.
With its modular high-tech machines, the company offers a proven, scalable, and cost-effective solution for safely and permanently binding environmentally harmful CO2 in the form of beneficial biochar. The targets of the Paris Agreement can only be achieved by implementing such negative emissions technologies.
PYREG is a world market leader in carbonizing organic waste (biomass, sewage sludge, etc.) into EBC-certified biochar – a process that simultaneously produces clean, renewable energy. Used as a soil conditioner or in other permanent material applications, biochar creates a natural, safe, and long-term carbon sink. The amount of CO2 bound by PYREG’s plants can be certified and traded. By the end of 2022, all PYREG plants commissioned worldwide sequestered over 30,000 tons of CO2 per year.
PYREG has also announced its plans for further expansion in the USA. In April 2022, the company founded its US subsidiary – establishing both sales and technical service support for this growing market segment. Learn more at https://pyreg.com/.