Environmental remediation
High Surface Area, Cation exchange capacity, & Porosity
Biochar has several physicochemical characteristics that contribute to its ability to immobilize heavy metals, PFAS/PFOS, road salts, petroleum, and other contaminants in soil. Its large surface area, negative surface charge, and irregular pore structure facilitate the adsorption of trace metals and other contaminants in agricultural soils and groundwater. Contaminants such as heavy metals exist as positively charged ions when dissolved in water. Through adsorption onto its large surface area, where the negatively charged surface of the biochar attracts positively charged metal ions and binds them through mechanisms like cation exchange, complexation, precipitation, and electrostatic interactions (effectively reducing the bioavailability of the metals in the soil), this process is often enhanced by biochar's ability to increase soil pH - further facilitating metal precipitation as oxides or hydroxides.
agricultural run-off & non-point source pollution
Agricultural runoff is the surface runoff from farmland from irrigation and rainfall. Agricultural runoff contains a complex mix of pollutants including nitrates, ammonium, phosphorus compounds, heavy metals, and persistent organic pollutants. Biochar can be deployed at feedlots, slurry ponds, in animal bedding and storm traps to minimize the impacts of farm based and urban runoff that can impact groundwater, wells and waterways.
