Nonprofit making Biochar with first mobile processing facility in Florida

HIGHLAND PARK Fla. — A Florida nonprofit is on a mission to revive the state’s farmland with sustainability in mind.

Biotech Applied Research is turning waste into “biochar,” a charcoal-like material.

The nonprofit said it could completely change the Florida agriculture industry.

Farming is in Biotech Applied Research CEO Zack Farr’s blood

“It’s everything, being able to be outside and in God’s country and just not be behind a cubicle,” said Farr.

He is a third-generation citrus farmer from Avon Park. He grew up working in the groves, but now, many are just piles of wood.

“We’re going to be going to groves that I’ve planted when I was four years old,” Farr said.

The United States Department of Agriculture said Florida orange production has decreased by more than 90% since the early 2000s. 

“Now we’re at a 93% loss of production over the last two decades because of disease and hurricane and real estate encroachment,” Farr said.

In 2023, Farr realized that some of his crops were on an old citrus burn pile. 

“On one plot of land we had, a 12-foot by 12-foot plot of hemp that was 12 feet tall in 60 days, and the rest was barren,” he said.

From the ashes came an opportunity, he spent about two years researching technology to make biochar himself.

Now, he is the CEO of Biotech Applied Research.

He said the nonprofit has the first mobile biochar processing facility in Florida.

“This machine can eat about 15 tons of wood an hour,” he said.

Nearly whole trees are dropped into the Tigercat 6040 Carbonizer and hit with 2000 degrees Fahrenheit.

“With that heat and the right combustion, it actually allows that, organic carbon, the pores inside of it to expand,” Farr said.

Farr said rather than burning the trees in an open fire where their carbon is turned into carbon dioxide, this machine is helping keep the carbon in place

“When you burn a grove, you’re releasing about 11 tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. What we’re going to be doing is redirecting that carbon back into the soil,” Farr said.

The final product is biochar. The material is chock-full of carbon — Farr said it’s just what the soil needs.

“So adding that carbon into the soil allows for that microbial growth. Basically, it allows the plants to eat more food. The more food you eat, the bigger you are, the bigger you are, the higher the return for the farmer,” he said.

Big Earth Landscaping in Tampa sells biochar. The store’s assistant manager said they’ve been selling more of the product as awareness grows. 

“It helps to provide a healthier environment for the plants. And, if you have a healthy plant, you get better nutrient intake and, more resistant to pests and disease,” Big Earth Landscaping Assistant Manager Kevin Damphouse.

As Biotech Applied Research is scaling up its operations, Farr said it’s hoping to clear about 5 acres of trees and produce about 20 tons of biochar a day. 

“That’s what Biotech Applied Research’s intentions are, is to kind of take the risk to do crazy innovative stuff and this is where we’re starting,” he said.

Turning waste into innovative farming solutions.

The nonprofit said local schools are testing how much carbon dioxide is absorbed from the atmosphere when biochar is produced.