Frequently asked questions
How is biochar produced?
Biochar is produced through pyrolysis — the thermal decomposition of organic material in the absence (or near-absence) of oxygen. Here is the basic process:
Feedstock collection: Local biomass waste such as wood chips, crop residues, or green organic waste is gathered.
Heating: The biomass is heated to high temperatures (typically 500–700 °C) in a pyrolysis reactor.
Stabilisation: Without oxygen, combustion cannot occur; instead the organic carbon rearranges into a highly stable aromatic structure.
By-products: The process also yields bio-oil and syngas, which can be captured as renewable energy, improving the overall energy balance.
Better Carbon sources feedstocks locally, reducing transport emissions and supporting circular waste management.
What other applications exist for biochar?
Beyond agriculture and construction, biochar knows a growing range of industrial uses:
Water filtration: Its porous structure adsorbs heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, and other contaminants from water streams.
Animal feed additive: Small amounts can improve gut health in livestock and reduce methane emissions from cattle.
Composting accelerator: Biochar mixed with compost speeds up decomposition and reduces nitrogen losses.
Asphalt and road materials: Research is exploring biochar as an additive to improve asphalt performance and durability.
Battery anodes: Bio-derived carbon materials show promise in next-generation energy storage.
Is biochar the same as charcoal or activated carbon?
They are related but different. All three are produced from biomass through heat, but their purposes and properties differ:
Charcoal (e.g. barbecue charcoal) is optimised for combustion — burning it releases all the stored carbon back into the atmosphere.
Activated carbon undergoes additional activation (steam or chemical) to maximise surface area, primarily for filtration and purification applications.
Biochar is specifically produced and applied to soils or materials to sequester carbon long-term, with the additional benefit of improving soil health and enabling other industrial uses. It is not burned.
What does Better Carbon do and how does biochar contribute to CDR?
We are a Netherlands-based climate tech company that produces high-value biochar from local biomass waste and transforms it into carbon-negative materials for agriculture and industry. Our approach goes beyond simply selling biochar as a carbon credit instrument. By turning biochar into genuinely useful products — for soil health, concrete, and other industrial uses — we ensure that every atom of carbon actively reduces new emissions while simultaneously being stored away permanently. Our mission is to make carbon removal a driver of decarbonisation, not merely a supplementary offset.
Plants naturally absorb CO₂ from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. When plant material decomposes or burns, that CO₂ is re-released. Biochar interrupts this cycle: by converting biomass into a stable carbon form through pyrolysis, the carbon that the plant absorbed from the atmosphere is locked away for centuries rather than returning to the air. This makes biochar a genuine carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technology, recognised alongside direct air capture and enhanced weathering in climate science frameworks.
Standard carbon offsets often involve avoided or reduced emissions rather than actively removing historic CO₂ emissions already in the atmosphere. Better Carbon's approach is different in two key ways:
Active removal: Biochar production physically extracts carbon from the biogenic cycle and stores it durably — this is a genuine removal, not an avoidance claim.
Double impact: By converting biochar into useful materials (soil amendments, concrete additives, industrial products), Better Carbon ensures the carbon also displaces emissions in the supply chains it enters — creating a compounding climate benefit on the route to permanent storage.
What are the main benefits of applying biochar in agriculture?
Biochar's highly porous structure makes it a powerful soil amendment with multiple benefits:
Water retention: Its sponge-like pores hold moisture, reducing irrigation needs — particularly valuable in dry climates.
Nutrient retention: Biochar reduces leaching of nitrogen and other nutrients, making fertilisers more efficient and reducing runoff pollution.
Soil microbial activity: The porous structure provides habitat for beneficial soil microorganisms, improving soil biology and fertility.
pH buffering: It can help neutralise acidic soils, reducing the need for lime applications.
Carbon sequestration in the field: Every tonne of biochar applied to farmland locks in approximately 2.5 to 3 tonnes of CO₂-equivalent carbon.
Yes - our biochar produced in the Netherlands is available on Bol.com
Can I try and use the biochar you produce?
Which greenhouse gases are released during production?
The primary emission is CO₂. Trace levels of NOx are also produced but are managed through a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system. Of the carbon contained in the biomass feedstock, approximately 40–45% is released as CO₂ during the process, while the remaining 55–60% is permanently sequestered in the biochar for an estimated 1,000+ years.
What residual or waste products are generated during production?
None. All syngas produced during pyrolysis is fed back into the system to sustain the reaction, resulting in zero waste outputs.
How much water is used during production?
No water is consumed in the production process itself. Water is only introduced at the final stage for pre-wetting and storage, bringing the material to a moisture content of 20–30%, which is carried through to the end user. Cooling water operates within a closed recirculating system, resulting in minimal losses.
What types of contaminants can biochar remove?
Quite a few actually. Biochar is quietly emerging as one of the most versatile tools we have for soil remediation — and it doesn't always need activation to get the job done. Turns out biochar is nature's multi-purpose contaminant filter. Think of it as a natural alternative to Activated Carbon. Across water, soil, and air applications, biochar adsorbs and mitigates a remarkable range of contaminants:
Water Treatment — Its highly porous structure makes biochar an effective filter for heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, and other waterborne pollutants. And for specialized applications? Steam or acid activation takes its performance even further.
Agricultural Runoff — Applied to farmland, biochar binds nitrogen and nutrients at the source, dramatically reducing the leaching and runoff that degrades our waterways and deltas.
Persistent Pollutants (forever chemicals) — Heavy metals, PAHs, PFAS, pesticides, and hydrocarbons are all within biochar's scope — making it relevant to some of today's most pressing environmental challenges.
Odour Control — Mixed into compost, biochar suppresses ammonia and hydrogen sulphide (H₂S) emissions, tackling one of the most overlooked dimensions of pollution.
The versatility here is what makes biochar so compelling. One material, multiple pollution pathways addressed — and with a carbon-sequestering production process to boot.
How can biochar be used in concrete and construction?
Biochar can be used as a concrete additive to help manufacture carbon-negative materials for the construction industry. By incorporating biochar into concrete and other industrial products, it serves a dual purpose: it permanently stores captured carbon while actively displacing emissions within the construction supply chain.
Within the broader construction and infrastructure sector, biochar is also being explored as an additive for asphalt and road materials to enhance their overall performance and durability.
How much energy is required during production?
The process is largely self-sustaining. The biomass itself serves as the primary energy source. The only external energy input is approximately 20–30 litres of HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) used during system startup. Once initiated, the system runs on energy generated by the pyrolysis reaction for up to 7,200 hours. Excess heat is recovered to dry incoming feedstock, and any remaining surplus is converted to electricity to power the machinery and auxiliary equipment.
What are the benefits of adding biochar to animal feed?
Adding small amounts of biochar to animal feed provides two primary benefits:
Improving gut health in livestock.
Reducing methane emissions from cattle.
How can biochar contribute to composting?
Biochar offers several well-documented benefits when incorporated into composting:
Faster composting — Reduces overall composting time by 20–50%
Extended thermophilic phase — Sustains temperatures above 55°C for more effective pathogen reduction and sanitisation
Reduced greenhouse gas emissions — Lowers N₂O emissions by 26–57% and CH₄ emissions by 80–90%
Lower nutrient loss — Reduces ammonia volatilisation by 50–64%, retaining more nutrients in the finished compost
Odour control — Helps suppress ammonia and hydrogen sulphide (H₂S) odoursUnfortunately, we don't currently offer [specific service inquiry]. However, we do offer [alternative service] which might be helpful.
Contact
Better Carbon B.V.
Schengestraat 35
4461 EW Goes
Netherlands
KVK / CoC: 98111493
Address
© 2026 Better Carbon BV
Robin: +31 6315 38878
Abhinand: +31 6877 23769
Wouter: +31 6147 59928