Researchers at the University of Illinois have found a solution to tackle farm nutrient pollution that is economical for producers sustainably. Wei Zheng, principal research scientist for the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center explains they created a designer biochar pellet, a carbon-rich material, specific to capturing phosphorus in the soil.
“In Illinois and in the Midwest, we have a large agricultural field size, so we are using a lot of fertilizer. However, the issue is that a lot of extra nutrients will run off our leaching from the field to the surrounding watershed. So, we wanted to develop a new edge of the field technique. We wanted this use this designer biochar to capture run-off nutrients. After we capture nutrients, then this is a standard solvent, and we’re using it back in the agricultural field,” says Zheng. So we keep the nutrients in an agriculture loop, prevent their flowing into the surrounding water body preventing = harmful algae bloom and increasing water quality.”
According to the study, the cost to produce the biochar pellets is estimated at $413 per ton with the cost to remove the pellets around $359.
