Plantd launches biochar line from construction waste

Plantd has launched a biochar product line, converting a costly waste stream from its construction panel business into a new revenue source from agriculture. The North Carolina-based company, co-founded by CEO Nathan Silvernail, was previously spending $13,000 each month to remove leftover biomass.

Rather than absorbing that cost, the company now processes the waste into biochar, a soil amendment farmers have used for thousands of years. Silvernail says the new line provides a substantial revenue stream and helps move the company toward a fully closed-loop manufacturing process.

From waste to fertilizer

The initial goal was to cut the monthly waste bill. Plantd's primary business is making structural panels from a fast-growing perennial grass, marketed as a replacement for OSB board. Panel production generated significant biomass leftovers.

In an effort to turn that liability into revenue, Silvernail used a small-scale bioreactor to produce biochar and sent it for testing. The results showed a premium product. "This was pretty much top-of-the-line fertilizer," Silvernail notes.

Biochar is made by heating organic material like plant waste at high temperatures with little to no oxygen. The process creates a carbon-rich solid that can improve soil. Plantd markets its version as a soil amendment that can reduce fertilizer use, rejuvenate damaged soils, and potentially sequester carbon for future credits.

A superior product claim

The company claims its biochar is more consistent and superior to many available products. Plantd's director of agriculture, Dr. Janel Ohletz, states that not all biochar performs the same.

"Our high silica content biochar has been shown to improve crop disease resistance and shows promise for delivering stronger agricultural performance than wood-based biochar," she says. She adds that it also improves water retention, soil structure, and pH, while offering long-term carbon storage.

Plantd is working with agricultural solutions provider Qualterra on biomass processing. Through this relationship, the company has established an initial customer base for the soil amendment.

The closed-loop vision

The biochar line is a step toward a zero-waste manufacturing model. Currently, Plantd's all-electric panel machine runs on grid power, with future plans to use solar and wind.

Silvernail suggests the gasification process that creates biochar could itself become an energy source for operations. This would further reduce costs and advance the closed-loop system.

He outlines the vision: "We grow the plants. We put them through our process. We use electricity for that." Silvernail concludes that this represents a real zero-waste model where every part of the process becomes a product.