Illinois Biochar Group (United States)

The Central Illinois Biochar group recently reorganized and is now known as the Illinois Biochar Group. The new coordinator is Nancy Holm, who is the Sponsored Research Coordinator at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. The new website for the group http://www.biochar.illinois.edu/ is currently under construction.

The Illinois Biochar Group encourages research in the production and use of biochar. For example, research and development is needed to establish standardized biochar production methods and to understand how to produce biochar suitable for agricultural use so that it is beneficial and does not have any adverse affects on crops or the environment. Further research is needed to assess the impact of biochar on soil ecology and processes.  We also hope to inform and educate others about biochar and it potential for applications in agriculture and site remediation and in carbon sequestration as well as about bio-oils which are produced in the pyrolysis process of making biochar.

ISTC recently hosted a Biochar Symposium on September 1, 2010, which was attended by a mix of approximately 60 scientists, engineers, businessmen, and agricultural specialists from throughout the Midwest. The presentations from that symposium can be viewed at www.istc.illinois.edu/research/biocharsymposium2010.cfm.

ISTC's biochar studies currently include: (1) production of biochar from a variety of waste biomass and testing its characteristics; (2) use of biochar as a soil amendment for sustainable agriculture; and (3) potential environmental implications associated with biochar use. For more information on ISTC's biochar research, or if you are interested in exploring biochar production at your facility or establishing collaboration on biochar research, please contact Dr. Wei Zheng (wzheng@istc.illinois.edu) or Dr. Kishore Rajagopalan (kishore@istc.illinois.edu).

Researchers at the University of Illinois - Chicago are beginning studies on the application of biochar in site remediation projects (contact -
Dr. Krishna Reddy at UIC).

Paul Wever (pwever@pwce.com) and Dr. Paul Anderson (psanders@ilstu.edu) of Chip Energy, Inc. continue their work on biochar production and pyrolysis furnaces.

If you would like to join the Illinois Biochar Group, please contact Nancy Holm by email at nholm@istc.illinois.edu or phone 217-244-3330.