Department of Renewable Energy Engineering, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology at Udaipur has developed an efficient technology to produce organic carbon (Biochar) from agricultural residues.

Every year 700,000 ton of agricultural residue is being produced in India, most of which is being burnt by the famers in their own fields.  This causes environmental pollution as well as reduces the fertility of the fields. In this direction, producing biochar from agricultural residues and using it to increase the fertility of the fields can be a good experiment for organic farming.

Dr. Narayan Lal Panwar, Head of the Department of Renewable Energy Engineering and in-charge of the project said that this is a good technique for farmers to convert agricultural residues into Biochar. The organic carbon prepared from the straw remaining after the harvest of the crop in the fields not only increases the fertility of the land, but also increases the crop production, which can increase the income of the farmers.

The technology has been designed and developed by the Department of Renewable Energy Engineering, MPUAT Udaipur. This technology has been developed to be farmer-friendly, so that farmers can easily produce Biochar using the resources available on their farms. In this technology, no conventional energy sources like electricity, diesel, etc. are used. Maga Ram Patel, a research scholar of the department, is doing research on the evaluation of this developed technology and the Biochar obtained from it on crop production and field fertility.

Using this technology, 60kg of Biochar can be produced from 200kg of agricultural residues. The obtained Biochar contains 80-85 percent carbon, which can prove to be very beneficial in increasing the fertility of the fields. This Biochar technology is completely pollution free and energy efficient. University Vice Chancellor Dr. Ajit Kumar Karnataka told that no traditional energy sources have been used in this and this technique is useful for farmers and farmers can easily use it and increase their income by making biochar from the remains of their crops. Research Director Dr. Shanti Kumar Sharma told that by burning wood available in the fields, obtaining a temperature of 400 to 500 degree centigrade, low cost and high quality Biochar is made from agricultural residues. This will prove useful in improving the environment, farm and health by using it in place of chemical fertilizers in the present context.