Biochar, made from water caltrop shells, transforms debris into highly usable materials. It has multiple effects and benefits, such as purifying air, cleaning water, improving the nutrients of soil, etc… For air purification, biochar effectively absorbs the odor, adjusts the moisture, and purifies air, which turns it into a natural air purifier. Moreover, water purification help hydroponics, balance water quality, and filter the polluted water, which increases the percentage of water resources effectively. Last but not least, biochar can effectively moisturize carbon, preserve water and manure, and maintain the soil to have nutrients to foster agriculture into a sustainable culture. Biochar not only solves pollution problems but also positively impacts the ecosystems and production processes.
Before water caltrop shells turn to biochar, discarded water caltrop shells may pile up and be abandoned in a place. The only way to solve this problem was to burn it. However, this would directly pollute the environment. As innovation of biochar appears, it can benefit the environment. Through further processing, biochar can also turn into actual products, such as face masks or deodorant bags, expanding its range of uses. As a sustainable and recyclable resource, biochar demonstrates how waste can be transformed into valuable products, combining environmental protection with practical benefits.
After drying, the shells are carefully put into a biochar manufacturing machine and evenly dispersed to provide consistent heat exposure and transformation during the burning process. The biochar production machine has a circular metal design which makes it efficient. It has an upright chimney for venting gasses during burning and several air inlets strategically placed at various heights. These air inlets, placed at the bottom and middle of the machine, allow for exact adjustment of oxygen flow, which is crucial in managing the burning environment. A combustion chamber and reaction area inside the machine are designed to efficiently convert shells into biochar using the Top-Lit Updraft technique. This allows controlled burning, which reduces carbon emissions. Those complete methods provide the most important material to make circular economic products.
Every product of Guantain Black Gold requires biochar, which is converted from wastewater caltrop shells. The process of converting water caltrop shells into biochar can be divided into several steps. The method starts with drying the water caltrop shells under the sun, the company is located in Tainan city, where it has sunshine in every season, which provides a location very suitable for the process. Furthermore, large quantities are evenly distributed to reduce moisture content, which is an important step in preparing for the following phase.
The biochar products of Guantain Black Gold are closely related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals(UNSDGs), which had solved many problems in rural areas, including environmental pollution, soil damage, waste management, and ecological issues, which these parts of our project had supported some of the SDG goals.
First of all, Biochar can clean the air and improve the water quality of dring and irrigation water into rural areas. This supported SDG 6 by helping create cleaner water systems. Therefore, it also improves soil by holding water and increasing fertility, which restores soil damage caused by over-farming. This supports SDG 15 by encouraging sustainable use of land and helping our ecosystem to recuperate.
Additionally, the process of turning agricultural waste into biochar also reduces waste and reuses resources which supports SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production. Furthermore, biochar also helps fight against climate change by lowering greenhouse gas emissions by storing carbon dioxide, making it a key tool to combat climate change and contributing to SDGs 13 Climate Action.
Currently, its diversified application not only addresses environmental issues but also drives economic growth by helping grow new industries, creating jobs, and boosting the economy, contributing to SDGs 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth. Overall, biochar technology not only brings significant improvements to rural areas but also contributes to worldwide sustainable development.