ISTC News Highlights

ISTC demonstrates biochar research at Fulton County Field Day

Video produced by Illinois Farm Bureau

ISTC’s Wei Zheng showcased his research project “Designer Biochar to Capture and Recycle Phosphorous from Tile Drainage Systems” at the Illinois Farm Bureau’s Fulton County Field Day on July 16. Read more here.

Food and beverage manufacturers learn new sustainability approaches at ISTC workshop

On June 20, twenty-one people from seven different food manufacturing companies gathered in Champaign to learn how to take sustainability to the next level at a workshop sponsored by ISTC’s Technical Assistance Program, the Illinois Manufacturing Extension Center (IMEC), Ameren Illinois, and Energy Resources Group, Inc.

Biochar may boost carbon storage, but benefits to germination and growth appear scant

by Lois Yoksoulian - Physical Sciences Editor, U of I News Bureau

Biochar may not be the miracle soil additive that many farmers and researchers hoped it to be, according to a new study by ISTC researchers and collaborators at the USDA Agricultural Research Service and Loyola University. Biochar may boost the agricultural yield of some soils – especially poor quality ones – but there is no consensus on its effectiveness. Researchers tested different soils’ responses to multiple biochar types and were unable to verify their ability to increase plant growth. However, the study did show biochar’s ability to affect soil greenhouse gas emissions.