Welcome to the UKBRC
Biochar is a specially designed charcoal which offers a bright future for organic resource management, soil improvement and energy production.
It contains a high proportion of extremely stable carbon, and so sustainable production of biochar can be a significant, viable Negative Emissions Technology for mitigating man-made climate change.
The UK Biochar Research Centre (UKBRC) is the UK's cutting edge, multidisciplinary biochar research institute. The UKBRC is part of the School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, in conjunction with Newcastle University and Rothamsted Research.
Biochar research is ongoing at the UKBRC, along with engagement with relevant Governmental bodies.
Click here to access the report prepared by UKBRC and commissioned by the United Kingdom Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC): "An Assessment of the Benefits and Issues Associated with the Application of Biochar to Soil" (edited by Simon Shackley and Saran Sohi, published June 2010).
The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has issued an Interim Regulatory Position Statement on biochar - the first regulatory agency in the UK to develop a formal position on biochar regulation.
Latest News & Developments
New project to feed biochar to pigs
Biochar will be fed to pigs to observe effects on weight and growth, in an innovative and exciting new research project.
The UKBRC, along with farmer Pete Ritchie at Whitmuir organic farm, have been awarded funding by the Soil Association as part of the Duchy Originals Future Farming Programme. Groups of young pigs will be fed with a biochar supplement to their standard feed, and their weight assessed against others not fed biochar.
Emerging evidence suggests that adding biochar to livestock feed can have positive benefits on animal growth, health and development, and even reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
For more information, visit the Soil Association website
02 May 2013
Sustainable Growing Media Options - Alternatives to Peat
Dr Saran Sohi of the UKBRC will be speaking at an ESKTN/INcrop workshop on 10 May, at Rothamstead Research, Harpenden.
The aim of this workshop is to review sustainable alternatives to peat including biochar, for use in sustainable growing media.
For more details, and to beek a space, visit:
https://connect.innovateuk.org/web/11410543
10 April 2013
1st FOREBIOM Biochar Workshop on 4th and 5th of April in Vienna.
FOREBIOM is a holistic scientific project aiming at international cooperation in the field of Green Technology. Register now for the 1st workshop to be held in Vienna in April 2013, back-to-back with EGU2013.
http://www.oeaw.ac.at/forebiom/index.html
20 March 2013
Journal special issue on biochar-related reserach
A "special issue" of the academic journal GCB Bioenergy has just been published. This is the highest impact journal to devote a whole issue to biochar-related research. It includes 14 articles, brought togther in an Introduction by Guest Editor from UKBRC, Dr Saran Sohi. Authors from UKBRC lead three other papers, including defining key elements of the Edinburgh toolkit.
24 February 2013
Biochar for Carbon Capture launched
Biochar For Carbon Capture, a new UK-Canadian network sponsored by the Leverhulme Trust, was officially launched at the Royal Society of Edinburgh in January 2013. The UKBRC is a partner in the Biochar For Carbon Capture project, which will see leading UK and Canadian institutions working together to formalise the value of biochar as a Negative Emission Technology by optimising biochar production methods and applications.
28 January 2013
Other Recent Content & Updates
Recent Publications
Biochar in growing media: A sustainability and feasibility assessment
Authors: Saran Sohi, John Gaunt, John Atwood
Read more..
Published: May 24 2013
Evaluating the impacts of biochar on the fate and dynamics of dairy manure in agricultural soil
Authors: Teri Angst
Published in PhD thesis, University of Edinburgh
Read more..
Published: May 24 2013
Biochar diminishes nitrous oxide and nitrate leaching from diverse nutrient sources
Authors: Teri Angst, Colin Patterson, Dave Reay, Peter Anderson, Tanya Peshkur, Saran Sohi
Published in Journal of Environmental Quality doi:10.2134/jeq2012.0341
Read more..
Published: April 1 2013