While it has been known that Ecochar has the ability to absorb ammonia, less information was available on how much difference it would make in practice.  Mavitec wanted to research this in an environment with a lot of ammonia - a horse stable.

​

     To test Ecochar's effectiveness, the ten dirtiest stalls were selected at Waarland riding school.  The first step was to determine a baseline for comparison.  These measurements were the first taken and, as a result, not affected by the addition of Ecochar.  After the initial ammonia measurements, five stalls were randomly ch0sen to have Ecochar added, while the remaining five did not.  This was done to establish a control sample against which the stables with Ecochar could be measured.

​

     The riding school began adding Ecochar to the bedding of the five stalls when they were maintained or cleaned, usually daily.  The workers would add five to ten liters of Ecochar each time.

​

     After weekly visits and measurements, it is clear that Ecochar has a huge impact on not only the reduction of ammonia in the air, but on other aspects as well.  The stalls required less frequent cleaning, and were much cleaner overall.  There were also cost savings on bedding, which may prove to be a greater benefit than ammonia reduction.

​

     The PPM of ammonia in stalls with Ecochar was reduced by an average of 30% compared to the stalls without.  Something to note is that the location had very low PPM initially, so the reduction could potentially be far higher than the 30% measured here.  On top of ammonia reduction, other benefits included:

​

• Stalls previously required cleaning every day.  With the addition of Ecochar, cleaning was reduced to every two days.

• Reduction of flax required for bedding by two bales per five stalls.  Scaled up, this would result in significant cost savings.

• Time required to maintain each stall was reduced by two minutes.  Due to concentrated moisture retention, workers are only required to remove smaller portions of bedding.

• Due to the composition of Ecochar, the nutrient value of the manure is increased, providing a greater benefit for farmers.