Every palm oil mill, cashew processor, and timber yard generates a steady stream of residue. Most of it is burned in the open, left to rot, or paid to haul away. To BIG, that same residue is a feedstock — the input that everything else depends on.
What makes a good feedstock
Not all agricultural waste makes equally good biochar. The quality of the output depends on what goes in. The two things that matter most are carbon content and moisture.
- Palm kernel shells (PKS) — around 50% carbon, ~15% moisture, and concentrated in large volumes at mill sites. One of the most reliable feedstocks we work with.
- Cashew nut shells — even higher: ~55% carbon, only ~10% moisture, and a strong carbon-removal yield per tonne.
- Sawdust & timber residue — works well when kept dry. Moisture management matters more here since it can arrive wet from active mills.
What does not work as well
Feedstocks with very high moisture content — like fresh fruit bunch residue or mango waste — are harder to make work, because the energy and cost of drying them erodes the economics. If your waste is wet, that does not rule it out, but it does change the maths. The fastest way to know is to tell us what you process.
How much do you need?
A commercial operation typically generates 300 tonnes per month or more of suitable residue — and that is roughly the threshold where a biochar partnership starts to make clear financial sense. Smaller volumes can still qualify depending on the material and your location.
The point is simple: the waste is already there. The next step is turning it into stable carbon.