Aquagreen
To give input to EU legislation to ensure that our new technology is taken into account.
ID: 732006840954-31
Lobbying Activity
Response to Soil Health Law – protecting, sustainably managing and restoring EU soils
17 Feb 2022
Biochar use for soil improvement and soil remediation is widely documented in literature.
Biochar stores atmospheric CO2 in the soil, it reduces leaching of nutrients, improves soil's water holding capacity and porosity, acts as a space enhancing soil microbiome growth. Biochar can be used for soil remediation adsorbing organic pollutants. A recent meta-review demonstrates that biochar has a wide range of agronomic benefits(1). "In 26 meta-analyses published since 2016, encompassing more than 1500 scientific publications, the application of biochar delivered mean positive effects for all investigated parameters regarding performance and environmental
impact of land cultivation. No negative agronomic or environmental effects were consistently demonstrated for any of the parameters evaluated"
Literature(2) also shows that biosolids biochar pyrolysed at 600 °C or higher containing heavy metals do not leach the heavy metals, so biochar regulation for soil use should take this into account and define limit values for use of biochar in soil based on risk of heavy metal release instead of concentrations of heavy metals in biochar.
It is my hope that framework conditions that support widespread use of biochar from both plants and e.g. biosolids will be considered and implemented in the future soil legislation.
(1) Biochar in agriculture – A systematic review of 26 global meta-analyses, Hans-Peter Schmidt et al, GCB Bioenergy 2021; 13:1708-1730, DOI: 10.1111/gcbb.12889
(2) Slow pyrolysis enhances the recovery and reuse of phosphorus and
reduces metal leaching from biosolids, D.A. Roberts et al, Waste Management 64 (2017) 133-139
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