Haywood County has been awarded a $1 million grant from North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality to convert woody debris from Hurricane Helene into biocharBiochar is a carbon-rich material created from biomass decomposition in low-oxygen conditions. It has important applications in environmental remediation, soil improvement, agriculture, carbon sequestration, energy storage, and sustainable materials, promoting efficiency and reducing waste in various contexts while addressing climate change challenges. More. The funding, channeled through the Southwestern North Carolina Resource Conservation and Development Council, aims to address several issues simultaneously. The project, chaired by Bill Yarborough of the Haywood County Soil and Water Conservation District, intends to turn downed trees and debris from Helene into a nutrient-rich material to replenish farm fields that were washed out by the storm. This process is seen as a way to remove debris, mitigate wildfire risks, and restore agricultural land.

​Helene left approximately 800,000 acres of public and private land with downed timber, creating a significant fire hazard. The $1 million grant is intended to get the project started and prove its concept. A Tigercat 6040 Carbonizer, a machine capable of producing biochar by heating wood to around 2,000 degrees, is already available for the work. The machine belongs to Canton Hardwood, and for the time being, debris will be transported to its Canton location.

​One of the challenges identified is that the woody material is often contracted for other uses, primarily mulch. This has led to problems, including the spontaneous combustion of large mulch piles, which occurred at a former mill landfill in Canton, with water runoff from the fire polluting the nearby Pigeon River. Biochar is presented as a solution, as it significantly reduces the volume of debris—three tons of wood are converted to approximately one ton of biochar. In his trials, Yarborough has seen the Tigercat process 30 tons of material in an hour.

The initial use of the biochar produced from this grant will be for Haywood’s flooded farm lands. The project’s origins predate Helene, with the idea stemming from the closure of the local mill. Yarborough sees this biochar initiative as a way to manage forest waste and get forestry practices back on track, serving both debris removal and broader forest management needs.

SOURCE: Biochar Gets Its Big Break in Haywood County