The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research says it has awarded Rich Earth Institute a $330,256 Seeding Solutions grant to develop biochar from wastewater material. Manufacturers could use this biochar — charcoal created from organic matter — to create safe and renewable fertilizers, according to a news release.
Cornell University, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, the Rich Earth Institute and the University of Michigan provided matching funds for a total $660,517 investment, FFAR said.
“The research will examine this biochar-based fertilizer’s ability to improve soil health, increase carbon sequestration and restore damaged soil,” LaKisha Odom, FFAR scientific program director, said in the release. “Ultimately, if successful, wastewater-derived fertilizer can reduce fertilizer runoff and reduce costs for growers.”
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FFAR said wastewater biosolids, produced during the wastewater tratment process, are rich in organic matter and nutrients that can be used as fertilizer. These biosolids often contain micropollutants including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as forever chemicals, from industrial processes, personal care products and many other sources, according to the release. As a result, wastewater biosolids are often sent to landfills, where they produce greenhouse gas emissions, the foundation said.
Biochar can reduce the amount of micropollutants by transforming the biosolids into biochar, which can also be used as fertilizer, but the current production process causes a loss of nutritional value, the release said.
FFAR said researchers led by Abraham Noe-Hays, Rich Earth Institute research director, will study various techniques to optimize the wastewater biochar production process to reduce the amount of micropollutants in the biochar while retaining nutrients. Additionally, the research team will evaluate biochar’s ability to filte contaminants out of other nutrient-rich liquid waste streams by binding nutrients to produce even richer nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers, according to the release.
In the announcement, FFAR said Rich Earth Institute will engage with farmers, policymakers and other key stakeholders to identify core concerns, needs and recommendations relating to wastewater-derived fertilizer, after which the institute will co-create strategies to address these perspectives through education, policy and technical development.
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