Bone Charcoal in Soil Enhancement Applications

Bone Charcoal in Soil Enhancement Applications
Ebonex Corporation, www.ebonex.com,. Michigan, USA

Bone Charcoal Fines are derived from the manufacture of New Animal Charcoal - a carbonaceous adsorbent widely used in the Sugar Refining and Water Treatment Industries. The product is manufactured from selected grades of cattle bone carbonized at temperatures between 700oC and 1000oC for a total period of around 12 hours. Hence, the final product is virtually sterile, suitable and, indeed, safe for use in food industry applications.

The Bone Charcoal Fines are of a particle size - below 40 mesh - and contain carbon (about 10 percent) on a Hydroxyapatite matrix. Hydroxyapatite is a calcium phosphate compound (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2 and therefore , is a good source of both phosphate and calcium.

A typical analysis of bone char fines is [given]

Bone Charcoal Fines has a unique buffering capacity, resulting in the material imparting alkalinity to aqueous solution.

The product is being used as a fertilizer in hill/grassland application and can be used mixed with other ingredients to produce specific fertilizer products for both agricultural and horticultural applications. Tests by third parties has indicated that Bone Charcoal Fines, when included in proprietary blends, can enhance the availability of nutrients to plants.

See Ebonex site.