Welcome to the UKBRC
Biochar is a carbon-rich solid product of thermal stabilisation of organic matter that is safe and potentially beneficial when stored in soil. A large fraction of the carbon in biochar resists degradation and can sequester carbon in soils for hundreds to thousands of years, providing a potentially powerful tool for mitigating anthropogenic climate change.
The Mission of UKBRC is to undertake leading edge multi- and interdisciplinary research on the role of biochar as a carbon storage and sustainable energy technology, and to provide an understanding of the agronomic, environmental and socio-economic impacts of biochar.
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 2nd annual UK Biochar Conference (convened and funded by UKBRC) was held at Rothamsted Research 28th-29th April 2010. Proceedings and presentations from the meeting can be found in the conferences and meetings section of this website.
Latest News & Developments
Prof Stuart Haszeldine has been awarded an OBE for services to Climate Change Technologies
Our very own Prof. Stuart Haszeldine has been named in the New Year Honours List - awarded an OBE for services to Climate Change Technologies. More can be found HERE.
04 January 2012
Biochar Risk Assessment Framework project launched!
UKBRC has launched the Biochar Risk Assessment Framework (BRAF), generously supported by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation. BRAF is a collaboration with the Environment Agency (EA), the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the National Farmers Union (NFU), and a wide group of UK scientists and academics.
The purpose of BRAF is to identify and analyse the potential risks of biochar production from different types of biomass feedstocks (bioenergy crops, agroforestry residues, biodegradable waste, etc.) and its deployment in farming. In addition to developing new risk assessment methodologies for biochar, BRAF will also recommend strategies for risk reduction in order to comply with UK and EU regulations.
The objective is to generate a knowledge-based framework that works as a prelude to the development of a Publicly-Available Standard (PAS) and/or a Quality Protocol (similar to PAS 100 or 110 and the Compost Quality Protocol) that can subsequently be used by public or private companies interested in producing and deploying biochar in a safe and effective way.
We believe that this project will be of great interest to the waste management, agriculture, and bioenergy sectors and will help in the development of a sustainable biochar industry.
If you are interested in knowing more and/or in participating, please let Rodrigo Ibarrola (rodrigo.ibarrola@ed.ac.uk) know, or visit the project's blog available at:
http://biocharbraf.wordpress.com/
Your input is highly appreciated.
17 February 2012
Calling All Gardeners: The Big Biochar Experiment Needs You!
BBE is the first large-scale experiment on the use of biochar in 
British allotments and gardens. It aims to gather quantitative data on above- and below-ground productivity, and qualitative data on plant and soil health of widely used fruit and vegetable varieties in Britain. Combined with existing information on weather and soil quality, this data will be used to assess the effects of biochar on the productivity of soils across Britain.
BBE needs hundreds of gardeners and allotment owners around the UK to sign up to the experiment, set up their experimental plots, and send in their data before November 2012. All participants receive a FREE bag of biochar to set up their plots, and the satisfaction of contributing to the UK's biggest ever participatory biochar experiment!
For more information, please visit: www.bigbiocharexperiment.co.uk
13 December 2011
NEW PAPER: Pyrolysis biochar systems for recovering biodegradable materials: A life cycle carbon assessment
Ibarrola, R., Shackley, S., Hammond, J. et al. (2011), Waste Management
01 December 2011
NEW PAPER: 'Sustainable gasification-biochar systems? A case-study of rice husk gasification in Cambodia'
Shackley, S., Carter, S., Knowles, T., Middelink, E., Haefele, S. and Haszeldine, S. (2011), 'Sustainable gasification-biochar systems? A case-study of rice husk gasification in Cambodia', Energy Policy
29 November 2011
Other Recent Content & Updates
Recent Publication
Sustainable gasification-biochar systems? A case-study of rice-husk gasification in Cambodia, Part I: context, chemical properties, environmental and health and safety issues
Authors: Shackely, S., Carter, S., Knowles, T., Middelink, E., Haefele, S., Sohi, S., Cross, A., Haszeldine, S.
Published in Energy Policy
Read more..
Published: January 26 2012