What comes to mind when we think ‘charcoal’?

Cutting down of trees…

Destruction…

Illegal trade…

Poverty…

Dirty fuel…

But what if I told you that there’s another side of charcoal that is both good for the environment and potentially great for our pockets?

Charcoal is produced by burning wood under limited oxygen.

In our nation, Kenya, charcoal producers cut down dried up trees into pieces, light them up then smother the open flames with soil to allow burning but under less oxygen.

That way, a light weight black mass is produced.

But what if we were to substitute trees with..

Maize cobs or…

Coconut shells or…

Rice husks or…

Sugarcane waste…

BIOCHAR

Biochar is charcoal produced from agricultural waste burned the same way wood is burned to produce charcoal.

It has several uses such as in water filtration or as a soil amendment.

But biochar has vast untapped potential on the energy front.

BRIQUETTES

These charcoal-like fuel products are mostly made from biochar derived from coconut shells, maize cobs or other wastes.

A key reason why briquettes are the growing in popularity is because they deflect interest from charcoal to agrowaste as a fuel source.

Another reason is that they burn with less smoke making cooking more comfortable.

Small wonder that a number of start ups have dug into this space.

But there are other possibly high value applications of biochar ready to be unleashed.

LITHIUM ION BATTERIES

Ever opened up the battery that powers your phone or laptop?

Part of it is composed of carbon which is what biochar is made of.

Cell phone batteries are made up of a more refined form of carbon called graphite.

But research shows that biochar could also be useful in their manufacture. 

All that would be needed is knowledge of the functioning of batteries and optimization of their performance with biochar as one of the electrodes.

Who knows how much value such a business could bring.

But the battery front isn’t the only possibility available.

ENERGY FROM WASTEWATER

Microorganisms are the reason we fear wastewater yet are still the ones that makes it fit for quick generation of energy.

How?

Well they use the waste to generate energy through metabolism (biological breakdown)

And as they do that, they generate current.

This current could be tapped using biochar electrodes and used to power devices.

This technology is known as microbial fuel cells which could help generate energy while treating wastewater at the same time.

IN CONCLUSION

Biochar avails to us possibilities in the energy sector.

But more R&D needs to be done before commercialising such possibilities.

This is an opportunity for any innovative entrepreneur.