ARTi Podcasts

Paul S. Anderson, Ph.D., the President of Woodgas Pyrolytics, Inc., has authored a white paper titled “Roadmap for Climate Intervention with Biochar” (link). The paper aims to establish “Goals for Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR)” and emphasizes the need for carbon removal technologies to combat climate change. Biochar is identified as the most feasible and scalable option among the available technologies. However, not all biochar production systems possess the necessary technological and economic capabilities. Fortunately, ARTi is cited in the paper as one such company that possesses the required capabilities and more, as detailed on pages 18-19 of the paper. 

People who buy and get ready to move into a brand-new house have the chance to be the first ones to live there and have everything in top working order. For us at ARTi, soil is one of our first concerns. The soil must be strong and stable for the foundations of buildings. Strengths of soils vary due to the physical characteristics of the soil. A well-structured soil is more stable. If you're hoping to add satisfying landscaping or a backyard garden, you need to know that improving your soil is crucial. Instead of buying that roll-out, pre-made lawn, consider that there must be a better option.

Agricultural residue or agricultural waste is not waste, it's an asset. Because of biochar it's now valuable! Biochar is a substance that resembles charcoal that is produced from biomass and is sustainably sourced from agricultural and forestry waste. These can be from corn stalks, hulls, wood chips and much more. Check out our blog on “What Materials Has ARTi Successfully Pyrolysed (Turned into biochar)” at the following (Link). But is it really “waste”? Are they only agricultural residues? Firstly, due to the scale of our civilization and the growing human demands, there is more production of everything. This would for sure certainly include agriculturally grown food. More production means more waste, or unneeded materials from the process. That's the nature of production. Did you remember that potato plants have stalks and green leaves? The potato part we eat is just part of the root system in the soil. The stalks and leaves of potato plants for example have little use. Potato plants even generate flowers. Potato flowers, anyone? The global potato industry is enormous, producing 376 million metric tons in 2021. (Potato News Today, Jan. 21st, 2023). This is humongous. So, there's going to be a lot of unwanted biomasses generated.

Biochar both sequesters carbon and can be made from forest residues that when otherwise left unused become wildfire fuels. These two main benefits of biochar in addition to soil water retention and improved soil health make biochar an attractive consideration for wildfire mitigation.

It is always a great experience to get the chance to visit other organizations in Iowa where we are headquartered which are also working towards agricultural practices that make a positive impact. Practical Farmers of Iowa is one such association. Practical Farmers is located in Ames, IA, the town that also hosts Iowa State University, the Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory and the USDA's National Animal Disease Center. Their mission statement is “equipping farmers to build resilient farms and communities”. The organization was founded in 1985 to support information sharing between farmers working on moving their agricultural operations toward sustainability. We share their priorities.

All those spooky decaying things and the wiggly worms that live in them are all part of natural soil and help make the new plants grow. Biochar would have been decaying plant matter. Instead, as biochar it traps CO2 and aids soil structure. Soil is made up of minerals, soil organic matter, living organisms, gas, and water. Plant, animal, and microbial remains in various stages of decomposition make up soil organic matter. It's the most important indicator of soil quality. So, they may seem like dead and decaying gloom, but it is what makes the flowers bloom! When you add biochar to the soil mixture, with compost you make a nice dark mansion for them to live in.

ARTi and Iowa Women in Agriculture are both organizations native to the State of Iowa. It makes perfect sense for us to meet and share perspectives. Plus, more and more initiatives are being put forward that seek to add the input of diverse groups. Iowa Women and Agriculture is one such group that ARTi will be working with. ARTi team member and graphic designer Mechi (left) shows off biochar results to members of Iowa Women in Agriculture at their August 2022 conference. Who Are the Iowa Women in Agriculture? Link to their website here. The organization's heart center of women's roles in farming has a foundation that goes back decades. Founding member, farmer, Iowa native and published author Cheryl Tevis got her M.A.in journalism before becoming managing editor of Successful Farming magazine (Link). During her time there she wrote on women's viewpoints on agriculture as well as supporting the business side of farming and child safety on farms. Her acclaimed short story titled We Kill Too Many Farm Kids was published in 1989. See more information about Cheryl's work with child safety on farms at this link. Previous president of Iowa Women in Agriculture Deb Marcellus Schuler aslo has extensive farming and business experience.She is a partner with the farmland brokerage, management, and appraisal company Smith Land Service, Co. Deb has spent 14 years as the director of the Cass County Fair. Iowa Women in Agriculture was established with the intention of assisting female farmers, landowners, and agribusiness professionals. The goal is to assist women in developing their knowledge, abilities, and connections within the community in order to help them reach their financial goals and give back to the agricultural community that is near and dear to them. A volunteer board of directors oversees the operation and plans and implements all elements of their services and programs, including the annual conference. We have mentioned Cheryl and Deb, but all the other members have considerable experience in farming, business and in the numerous related fields that come into contact with agriculture. And, of course, all of them are women. 2022 Iowa Women in Agriculture Conference Central to IWiA's work is their annual conference. ARTi had a chance to join them at their 17th Annual, August 4, 2022 event with the title Women Power Up: Countdown to Success! This year the conference highlighted a pre-event tour of the Cedar Covered Bridge (Link), a genuine bridge of Madison County referring to the 1996 romance movie as well as a tour of the Winterset Cidery (Link). The main event featured talks from Dr. Lisa Schulte Moore, professor of Natural Resources and Ecology at Iowa State University, Angie Treptow from Farm Credit Services, Rena Striegel on Best Practices for Family Farm Relationships and lots more. To see the full event list, go here to this (Link).

ARTi is not only a leading-edge environmental technology company focused on biochar and pyrolysis reactors. Our team members also contribute to bioprocess economics and technical feasibility research. Two of our ARTi colleagues have published a paper studying the feasibility of uses for residual biomass. Specifically, for the Ecuadorian market, and for one possible industrial, chemical product from unused biomass, acetic acid. Diego Guevara-Fernandez and Juan Proano-Aviles published in 2021 Techno-economic analysis of the production of acetic acid via thermochemical processing of residual woody biomass in Ecuador, Biofuels, Bioprod. Bioref. (2021). Link to the paper here.

Great news in green technology development and biochar implementation from ARTi! ARTi designed and built a water filter full of biochar made for filtration aided by a solar-powered pump which brings water from a lake into the filter. This type of filter system is called a carbon bed filter. The pump is able to run constantly powered by the sunshine. ARTi conducted many research trials to bring this unit into operation. The main features of the filter unit is to address detrimental nutrients and organic materials in the lake which the unit is able to remove. ARTi analyzed the pond water before the filter was installed and further water samples will be taken every six months to see how much the solar powered biochar filter is reducing the nutrients and organic materials in the water. This is also to see how much of the nutrients and organics are being collected in the biochar over time. The biochar will be replaced, and contaminants monitored every 6 months.

As we know, climate change is due to too much carbon in our atmosphere. But carbon is not our enemy, it's the building block of life. Every living thing is made of carbon. But the way we are managing it is disrupting the natural balance, heating our planet and destroying nature. During the last centuries we have been burning too much fossil fuels and clearing our forests. Even the way we manage lands and do agriculture is releasing even more carbon into the atmosphere, destroying our soils and disrupting the natural balance. Of course, we need to stop burning fossil carbon and change to sustainable practices, but the big question is: Where do we put all this excess carbon that is already in the atmosphere to balance this natural cycle again? The answer is literally under our feet: in the soil! Carbon in the ground is good for us! It makes healthy soils hold more water and bring nutrients and life back. We've been studying Biochar for almost a decade and we know its huge potential to reduce CO2 concentrations in a natural, long-term and more effective way. This is why we launched iTRAp CO2! A carbon removal project that connects people who want to help reduce CO2, with farmers who want to put carbon back into the soil. It'´s on us whether we stop waiting and start working to slow climate change! If we reach a massive transformation, we can help reduce global warming! iTRAP CO2 .. and you? TOGETHER we can do much more than reducing Carbon Dioxide, we can also restore our soils!

Small changes that make a difference! The fashion industry is the second most polluting after oil. These shirts are Carbon Neutral… what does it mean? Through an LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) we calculate the environmental impact generated by producing a t-shirt: from the cotton harvest, to industrialization, manufacturing, transportation and commercialization until it reaches the consumer. Through the production of Biochar, a Carbon Negative technology, we sequester the same amount of CO2 emissions, so for each purchase of a t-shirt, Biochar is donated to green projects! Buying textiles without heating the planet is possible! Annually, 2 billion t-shirts are sold globally. CO2 emissions are unavoidable, but we can compensate them to reduce the impact on the environment! If we achieve a massive transformation, we can reduce the impact of clothing on the environment!!

Wildfires were and are still common in the North American Prairie lands, and the flowers and grasses that make up this amazing ecosystem evolved as a result. For those that live in prairie regions, controlled prairie fires are a sign of spring. Non-native plants are burned away during each burn, giving prairie species more nutrients and space to develop. Because prairie plants have deep roots and develop from a place underground, they can withstand fires. In prairie restoration, a prescribed burn is essential. As this is a burn process, there is resulting carbon.

In April of 2021 ARTi had the chance to sell and ship 40 cubic yards of biochar. 40 cubic yards weighed at approximately 16k lb of biochar which would represent (if the conversion is x3) 48,000 lb of CO₂ or 20 Metric tons of CO₂ sequestered . With 1 gallon of biochar able to sequester 6 lbs of CO₂ this shipment represents 48,473.76 lbs (3.84 metric tonnes) of CO₂ capture!

Want to get closer to the Real ARTi feeling everyday? You prefer to let the world know that you're engaged in practical climate change solutions. One great way to do so is to show off carbon-neutral clothing from our new ARTi wear T-shirt line. Biochar sequesters CO2, the primary driver of climate change. These shirts can be purchased with biochar carbon offsets so you will know you're wearing an item that has successfully addressed its climate change impact. You can even go an extra step beyond carbon neutral by donating to iTRApCO2. Through this initiative, we will produce more biochar than what is needed to offset the CO2 emissions coming from the production of your shirt. This is carbon negative which goes further than carbon neutral. ARTi conducted a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) on the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) involved in the production of our shirts.

The ARTi Team includes researchers. Indeed, this does mean studies into topics that directly revolve around biochar such as pyrolysis and numerous aspects of soil science. However, a large number of topics can be found not too far from biochar itself. One of these is wildfire behavior studies. In fact, the idea of wildfire prevention through turning dead fuel wood into biochar has generated projects in California and Washington State, US. Nevertheless, better understanding of how wildfires behave can add to better practices.

It is with great pride that we are able to share that ARTi was among the top 60 best teams out of 1132 registered entrants into the world's largest incentive prize seeking to address climate change: This puts ARTi in the top 5.30% ‎of contenders! The XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition sponsored by Elon Musk and the Musk Foundation is a $100 million competition aimed to address humanity's greatest challenge: combating climate change and restoring the carbon cycle on Earth. ARTi entered the competition through our project called iTRApCO2. Our project offers biochar and pyrolysis as a Land-Based solution to remove Carbon. We design Pyrolysis Reactors capable of sequestering between 4 and 20 tons of CO2 per day. Our cost-effective, proven and highly scalable land-based solution of biochar and pyrolysis is a real rival for this prize and for fighting climate change. Our reactors will prove to be the most cost-effective pyrolysis systems in the world. What's even better is that when the Biochar generated is applied to soil it helps to recover soil health, fertility and structure. As biochar retains water and nutrients in its porous structure, it also promotes beneficial microorganisms. Together, this all adds up to healthier soils. Please follow us on our social medias to get updates on our journey.

ARTi is consistently working on Research and Development for biochar and pyrolysis under the direction of PhD. Bernardo Del Campo. Dr. del Campo is a biochar expert and co-author of Chapters 3 and 4 of the book Biochar for Environmental Management: Science, Technology and Implementation published in 2015 by Routledge. Dr. del Campo's chapters focus on Biochar production technology. The study of biochar production technology or pyrolysis technology includes testing out many varieties of biomass feedstock to produce biochar material for various uses and with different characteristics based on the original materials. There are also differences in processing techniques and in the lengths of production times as well. These procedures include tests such as biomass analysis (CHON-S), biochar composition and characterization, surface area analysis for adsorption, filter media performance analysis, and emission testing. At ARTi we have our own laboratory and we communicate and work regularly with other laboratories and researchers in the field.

We all know we need to mitigate our carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere to fight climate change. It has been a great challenge to accept that climate change is a real and serious problem. It has then been a great challenge to accept that humanity's activities, that have made life easier in many ways, are by far the largest contributors to global warming. Well, we have good news! We all know we need to mitigate our carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere to fight climate change. It has been a great challenge to accept that climate change is a real and serious problem. It has then been a great challenge to accept that humanity's activities, that have made life easier in many ways, are by far the largest contributors to global warming. Well, we have good news!

Thirty years ago the father of Enrique Sanz planted trees and in 2021 it was now time to harvest them for their timber. The process of cutting trees for timber generates a great deal of excess wood that can be converted to biochar. Instead of allowing the extra wood to decompose or otherwise go to waste, the wood residues will become biochar with the intention of improving the soils. The improved soil will make for better grass which will be fed to the cows that also live on the farm. For over 20 years, no chemical products have been used on the grass eaten by the livestock and there are no plans to change this. Biochar was chosen as an instrument to increase the quality of the farm's soil because of its numerous beneficial properties but also because it aligns with the elder Sanz's vision for the farm. A vision that entails minimal impact on the land and circular resource usage.

ARTi's is as compelling as the topics the company deals with. Characteristically, there always is a unique combination of the down-to-Earth and the global. Juan Proano, Edson Vendrusculo, Matthew Kieffer, and Bernardo del Campo founded ARTi in 2013. We came together as a group of graduate engineers and began working on ways to help farmers and gardeners make a healthier soil. ARTi has been working on developing renewable environmental technology and agricultural solutions since the beginning. ARTi and subsidiaries have grown to make up an international team of more than 30 team members from Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Germany, Mexico, US and Uruguay with a multitude of academic backgrounds. Mechanical, agricultural, chemical, and electrical engineers, as well as economists, physicists, agronomists, and lifelong farmers are part of the ARTi team dedicated to creating a variety of biochar-based products and improving our technology day by day to help more companies to accelerate its journey to a greener future.

Central to the story of biochar is Amazoinian Terra preta, fertile anthropogenic (meaning human made) dark earths in Amazonia that were enriched with char more than 8000 years ago. 1 Terra preta is the result of char and household waste (bone, broken pottery, compost and manure) mixed into the native soil, Oxisol, which transformed this otherwise low fertility soil into a more productive soil. But is Terra preta, ancient carbon rich soil only found in the Amazon basin?

On February 2nd this year, 2021 ARTi Team led by president Dr. Bernardo del Campo successfully acquired a patent in pyrolysis “Thermochemical conversion system and method” del Campo, B., 2021, US 10907827B2. The patent can be viewed here as well as on the Google Patent page.

Scott Booher's Four Winds Farm began in April 2020 to amend their soil with compost and biochar to improve soil carbon content (increase organic matter) nutrient availability, structure, and biology. ARTi is assisting in this ongoing effort with soil analysis, biochar and compost analysis, and preparation, monitoring as well as the application. To add to this, the carbon sequestration levels anticipated at Scott's farm through ARTi's biochar show great promise. Essentially, the project is about the integration of biochar to improve soil quality and likewise, with the added compost.

In 2019 a team of Iowa State University engineering students including former ARTi interns Joseph Sabas and Denver Robak sought to help address the problems of wastewater treatment experienced by the small town of Rinard, Iowa. The tiny town of Rinard with a population of 50 citizens faces a confluence of challenges as do many such towns in the US and elsewhere. First of all, a projected continued population exodus does not bode well for future town revenues. Secondly, regulations regarding wastewater treatment have become more stringent and are predicted to continue to be so. Additionally, the existing system is over 30 years old and has not been actively maintained during this time. Correspondingly, an updated system would also have to be passive requiring little or no active maintenance as the town lacks both the people and the financial resources. Lastly, the improvements to the wastewater treatment system faced legal time deadlines and environmental stewardship concerns which were also important to the community and the student engineering team.

In 2019 a team of Iowa State University engineering students including former ARTi interns Joseph Sabas and Denver Robak sought to help address the problems of wastewater treatment experienced by the small town of Rinard, Iowa. The tiny town of Rinard with a population of 50 citizens faces a confluence of challenges as do many such towns in the US and elsewhere. First of all, a projected continued population exodus does not bode well for future town revenues. Secondly, regulations regarding wastewater treatment have become more stringent and are predicted to continue to be so. Additionally, the existing system is over 30 years old and has not been actively maintained during this time. Correspondingly, an updated system would also have to be passive requiring little or no active maintenance as the town lacks both the people and the financial resources. Lastly, the improvements to the wastewater treatment system faced legal time deadlines and environmental stewardship concerns which were also important to the community and the student engineering team.

Dr. Aller has been engaged in unique and relevant work in Suffolk County, Long Island examining if biochar can contribute to increasing nutrient availability and soil water retention, and decreasing leaching losses in field and container nursery production. The field experiments were conducted at a privet nursery and a Christmas tree farm in 2019 with another privet nursery to be added in 2020. The hardwood biochar was provided by ARTiChar. The California Privet and Douglas Fir Christmas trees were chosen as they are prone to nutrient management concerns that have yet to be fully addressed by conventional methods. Dr. Aller, her colleague Mina Vescera, and their partnering nursery growers will be monitoring treatment differences via soil moisture and water potential sensors, lysimeter collected leachate samples, and soil, foliar, and roots samples. The project is ongoing, with funding until 2022, and we are looking forward to hearing about the progress. Deborah and us at ARTi are excited to see how the biochar addition contributes to nutrient availability, uptake and soil water retention in nursery crop production.

The City of Des Moines, Iowa and the tree planting and forestry advocacy non-profit Trees Forever represented by their member Kerri Sorrell recently partnered with ARTi for a biochar and tree planting project right in the middle of urban Des Moines. When passing through the cities or suburbs, whether by foot or bicycle along those long and often empty sidewalks most of us take little notice of the small plots of earth where one tree is planted apiece. Cumulatively, the effect is a good one. The avenues all lined with trees and when they grow a bit larger the positive difference does become apparent. However, what if these small plots of urban soil and the associated saplings could become part of the carbon sequestration effort? Furthermore, what if the trees themselves could become much more robust and healthier due to such an effort?

A topic in biochar that ARTi has been interested in along with many others in the biochar field is the potential for the substance's use in animal feed. The health of the animal products, the surrounding environment and the animal themselves has been demonstrated to have been positively affected by the addition to biochar to their feed. Furthermore, the potential for biochar's addition to animal feed to reduce the impact of CO2 emission in animal farming shows exciting possibilities as well (Using biochar in animal farming to recycle nutrients and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Hans-Peter Schmidt, Kelpie Wilson, and Claudia Kammann, Geophysical Research Abstracts Vol. 19,EGU General Assembly 2017) Link to conference paper.