The BIO4Africa project has developed, adapted and tested small-scale, low-cost and robust pyrolysis technologies for biochar production. The biochar is produced from dry feedstock, such as cocoa, peanut and cashew shells, groundnut and rice husks and cassava peelings. Target applications include use as a household fuel and in soil amendment, water and gas filtration and anaerobic digestion for biogas production.

Brazilian kiln pyrolysis technology was selected for installation in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Senegal. The biochar produced is primarily used to improve soil fertility by amendment. In Côte d’Ivoire, INP-HB has also constructed traditional pyrolysis furnaces to produce experimental quantities of biochar for a solar-powered water filtration tower.

Lab trials at CIRAD, IHE Delft and UASZ have focused on optimising biochar as an adsorbent of lead and cadmium in water and hydrogen sulphide in biogas.

A number of BIO4Africa studies on biochar have been published in international journals. Find them on our research publications page.