A boost for biochar The REFERTIL consortium has now entered the final phase of its project, which aims to streamline the transformation of organic by-products into agriculturally useful compost and biochar products at an economical, industrial scale Farming is essential to European prosperity and competitiveness, with approximately 40 per cent of land in the EU currently used for agriculture. However, extensive human activity linked with a growing population and rising industrialisation has disrupted the natural nitrogen and phosphorus cycles on which agriculture relies. As such, modern farming increasingly depends upon the heavy use of chemosynthetic fertilisers, which are non-renewable and energy-intensive. To make matters worse, these substances negatively impact the environment through the emission of greenhouse gases and unwanted contamination with toxic elements, such as cadmium and uranium. Moreover, modern-day industrial agriculture produces large amounts of organic waste and by-product streams…

REFERTIL International innovation Issue 178 : A renewable future http://www.internationalinnovation.com/a-boost-for-biochar/

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