Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

The Alberta Biochar Initiative (ABI) was established on December 15, 2011 to develop and demonstrate technologies that will enable the large scale commercial deployment of biochar products and applications for the benefit of Albertans. Significant progress has been made including CFIA approval for Air Terra supplied biochar as a soil supplement, and the development of value added products including activated carbons from biochar. Biochar has particular benefits including the improvement of marginal soils, the reclamation of soils damaged by human activity, and its affinity to adsorb toxic organic extractive compounds from oil sands tailings water and the potential to capture mercury from coal fired power generating stations. It also sequesters carbon when applied to the soil. Alberta Innovates - Technology Futures (AITF) has been at the forefront of biochar research efforts and continues to lead the research and networking activities of the ABI after the successful conclusion of the WD funded project in J