Scientists, poultry producers, and biochar manufacturer collaborate to help restore River Wye
Black Bull Biochar (BBB), a leading biochar manufacturer is collaborating with two world-leading research institutes, Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), and one of the largest UK poultry businesses, Avara Foods, to develop and trial biochars for use in poultry housing and manure.
The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) are funding the project through The Farming Innovation Programme’s Nutrient Management competition, delivered by Innovate UK.
The project aims to help tackle two of the biggest challenges in poultry and wider agriculture – ammonia emissions in poultry housing, and phosphorus pollution from poultry manure applied to arable land. BBB are developing the biochars whilst UKCEH, SRUC and poultry growers with both poultry and arable operations will carry out testing in labs, research facilities and on farms respectively. The farms will be based in the River Wye catchment area, where most land use is agricultural and around 25% of UK poultry production is concentrated.
Biochar is produced when biomass – typically wood – is heated to high temperatures without oxygen. The process is known as pyrolysis, and when completed effectively, produces a biochar that is great at adsorbing nutrients, while maintaining nutrient availability to plants.
“We have proven biochar’s ability to solve challenges in dairy but also to increase grass yields,” says Alex Clarke, co-founder and CEO of BBB. “Similarly, we hope to see improved bird performance and increased arable crop yields with our poultry biochars, on top of solving key welfare and environmental challenges.” Clarke further explained.
Ammonia emissions in poultry housing
Ammonia emissions can be a welfare and productivity issue in poultry. Emissions build up in the sheds which can house 25,000 birds or more. At high concentrations this causes pododermatitis and burning on broilers’ feet and legs. The source of the ammonia is the birds’ droppings.
In lab environments, biochar has been shown to reduce ammonia emissions from droppings by up to 58% (Steiner et al., 2010). BBB and their partners seek to develop and prove a cost-effective biochar for UK growers to address these emissions. The biochar will be deployed in the bedding and will work by binding ammonium to its surface, preventing release as ammonia gas.
“At our Allermuir facility, the UK’s largest research facility for poultry trials, we will use biochar in small-scale through to near commercial conditions. We will identify the optimal inclusion rate of biochar in litter and demonstrate its benefits on bird welfare, nutrient utilisation and production, as well as gaseous emissions from the litter,” says Professor Jos Houdijk, Head of Monogastric Science Research Centre at SRUC.
Phosphorus pollution in the River Wye
The River Wye is experiencing declines in biodiversity (Natural England, 2023). Surplus nutrients cause the proliferation of algae that is outcompeting plants, preventing fish egg laying and lowering oxygen concentrations, resulting in toxic conditions. Poultry manure applied to arable land is one of the major sources of phosphorus pollution in the Wye.
Dr Dafydd Elias, a soil biogeochemist at UKCEH, explains: “Poultry manure is a rich source of phosphate and large amounts are spread across surrounding agricultural land as an organic fertiliser. However, this poses an environmental risk when phosphates are washed into the river by rainwater and contributes to the eutrophication of waterways.” He added, “Cost-effective solutions that mitigate phosphate runoff into the River Wye are urgently required to restore water quality and protect biodiversity.”
Modified biochars are proven to adsorb up to 99.98% of phosphorus under lab conditions (Huang et al., 2020) but these are not commercially accessible. BBB and its partners seek to prove a cost-effective biochar for farmers that will support the safe use of poultry manure – an important and renewable fertiliser. The biochar will work by binding highly mobile phosphates in the manure to its surface, preventing leaching and run-off into watercourses, and enhancing plant nutrient accessibility.
“Not all biochars are made the same,” says Dr Hamish Creber, CTO and co-founder of BBB. “Some are highly sorbent, some not – the quality of the feedstock and manufacturing is important. This holds true for adsorbing ammonium and phosphorus, which will require high quality tailored biochars to be effective.”
Experiments, Housing and Field Trials
Both products will be tested and trialled in three stages. In mid-2025 UKCEH will test how well the biochars bind ammonium and phosphorus by passing an NPK solution with ratios reflecting poultry manure through the biochar in test columns. In early 2026, the ammonia product will be trialled with birds at SRUC’s poultry research facilities in Scotland. Finally, both biochars will be proven on poultry and arable farms in the River Wye catchment where ammonia emissions, phosphorus leaching and associated indicators will be assessed. Where the biochar-manure mix is applied to land, UKCEH will carry out field monitoring work.
“Avara Foods is pleased to be able to support this project, with potential benefits that stretch far beyond our supply chain. We take bird welfare extremely seriously and are always looking for ways to improve. The possibility of reducing ammonia emissions further is an appealing prospect. If biochar can also help other agricultural sectors limit phosphorus losses, that’s an outcome we’ll certainly support where we can,” adds Samuel Laing, Agriculture Innovation and Data Manager at Avara Foods.
For further information on the project, please contact:
Christian McKenna, Project Manager at BBB, christian@blackbullbiochar.com
Black Bull Biochar in brief
Black Bull Biochar (BBB) is a biochar producer in the UK with a mission to solve agriculture’s biggest challenges and rapidly scale carbon removal. By increasing the production and application of biochar, BBB actively contributes to the mitigation of climate change and the enrichment of agricultural systems. Additional information is available at www.blackbullbiochar.com
UKCEH in brief
The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) is a leading independent research institute dedicated to understanding and transforming how we interact with the natural world. With over 600 researchers, it tackles the urgent environmental challenges of our time, such as climate change and biodiversity loss. Their evidence-based insights empower governments, businesses, and communities to make informed decisions, shaping a future where both nature and people thrive. https://www.ceh.ac.uk/
SRUC in brief
SRUC is a higher education institute, whose education, research and consultancy grows the sustainable natural economy in Scotland, UK and beyond. They create and mobilise talent and taught over 2,500 full-time students in 2024. They provide research and consultancy services to find, and make real, the answers to climate change, biodiversity loss and access to nutritious food and clean water. Additional information is available at www.sruc.ac.uk
Avara Foods in brief
Avara Foods is one of the largest food businesses in the UK supplying poultry to the UK’s biggest supermarkets. They oversee an end-to-end poultry supply chain from hatcheries through to processing and delivery, working in close partnership with independent farm owners. The 300 farms in their supply chain rear over 230 million birds each year for UK customers. Additional information is available at www.avarafoods.co.uk
Innovate UK in brief
Innovate UK drives productivity and economic growth by supporting businesses to develop and realise the potential of new ideas. www.innovateuk.ukri.org
