This short paper from Cornell researchers summarizes costs and benefits of converting dairy manure to biochar.
This research project, sponsored by the U.S. Center for Dairy Innovation, enabled an assessment of upgrading anaerobically digested, screw-pressed dairy manure into a higher value biochar product. In summary, dairy manure biochar is an odor- and pathogen-free, nutrient-rich fertilizer with approximately twice the nutrient content of the original manure by mass, and more than three times that by volume. The nutrient value of the biochar as a substitute for other organic fertilizers was calculated as $240-340/ton. In addition, the carbon value as a substitute for commercially available biochar was calculated as $1580/ton. Analyses suggest that over half of the carbon in the resulting biochar is stabilized to benefit soil fertility and carbon sequestration for over a century after application.