CO-BURN is your source for information surrounding biochar topics in Colorado, including biochar production and usage. This page exists to provide helpful, current information to landowners and professionals working in forestry, agriculture, agronomy, horticulture, biofuels, carbon management, environmental health, and other fields.
Quick biochar facts:
- Biochar has demonstrated value for a variety of applications – such as utilizing wood wastes from overcrowded or pest-infested forests, storing carbon in soils, mine remediation, and for use in crop and animal agriculture – but continued research is necessary to better inform management decisions.
- A commercial biochar market is developing in the U.S. However, it is largely confined to laboratories, experimental field sites, mine reclamation, and specialty crops.
- Biochar production can be profitable on a case-by-case basis, but success is often dependent on feedstock costs, carbon credit markets, policy incentives, and demand for biochar in industrial or agricultural applications.
Looking for more information about biochar?
View our updated Biochar in Colorado fact sheet.
Additional Biochar Resources
General Information
- Biochar Guidelines for Agricultural Applications
- Beyond Application: Learning More About Biochar
- Biochar Basics: An A-to-Z Guide to Biochar Production, Use, and Benefits
- Biochar Removes Carbon
- Frequently Asked Questions About BioChar Applied to Soil
- NRCS Biochar Funding for US Producers
- NRCS Conservation Practice Standard – Soil Carbon Amendment, Code 336 (Ac)
Biochar and Livestock
Biochar and Forests
- Beyond the basics: A perspective on barriers and opportunities for scaling up biochar production from forest slash
- Can biochar link forest restoration with commercial agriculture?
- Hazardous Fuels Reduction Using Flame Cap Biochar Kilns
Biochar Policy
- 2017 Senate Joint Resolution 17-002
- Biochar Research Act of 2023
- Study Biochar in Plugging of Oil and Gas Wells
- Recommendations to Scale Up Biochar Research and Commercialization
Colorado Biochar in the News
- “Biochar could be instrumental to a healthier Grand Valley per Citizens for Clean Air,” The Daily Sentinel (1/9/23)
- “How These Scrap Wood Startups Could Help Colorado Fight Wildfires,” CPR News (1/29/2021)
- “CSU researchers launch $1.9 million project for water treatment and reuse using biochar,” CSU Source (12/28/2021)
- “Outside the box and inside the burner: Biochar as a climate-forward solution,” USDA Forest Service (11/18/2022)
- “City secures $100,000 grant for bioenergy-biochar work,” City of Boulder (6/8/2021)
- “Biochar Sequesters Carbon, Revives Ecosystems, and Has Potential Benefits in Dozens of Industries,” Saoradh Enterprise Partners
- “Loan Program Helps Reduce Wildfire Severity While Improving Profits for Wood Products Businesses,” Colorado State Forest Service (8/30/2022)
Need help? Contact us.
Derek Lowstuter
Agriculture & Food Systems Specialist
Colorado State University Office of Engagement & Extension
Derek.Lowstuter@colostate.edu
Tim Reader
Wood Utilization & Marketing Program Specialist
Colorado State Forest Service
Tim.Reader@colostate.edu
