Biochar is like smart, human-made charcoal created by burning wood side streams at high temperatures without oxygen. The process is called pyrolysis and binds for hundreds of years 50% of the carbon which would otherwise be released into the atmosphere. Biochar’s solid structure and low degradation rate make it into one of the best carbon sinks.
Process sustainability
The project converts residual wood from sawmills and forest residues from FSC certified managed forests. Part of the feedstock is supplied from efforts to reduce catastrophic wildfire risk in California. Wood residues are transformed into biochar, locking the carbon for more than 100 years.
The Pacific Biochar modifies existing bioenergy infrastructure in order to generate biochar as a co-product. The production capacity per facility varies, with an estimated average of 3,000 to 8,000 tonnes of biochar per year per facility. A high-tech pyrolysis unit is used for the production of biochar. During biochar production, all pyrolysis gases and oils are incinerated in the process and all heat is used for electricity production and drying of wood.
Reliable baseline and carbon calculations
The baseline is net zero emissions based on scenarios of alternative usage of biomass as required by the European Biochar Certificate standard. Such scenarios could be thermic usage, bioenergy, degradation, or landfill. Given that these alternative scenarios would cause GHG emissions in production and processing (methane/NOx), a baseline of zero is a conservative assumption. No double claiming as biochar is not incl. In the host country GHG inventory.
Carbon content and stability are confirmed via a chemical lab analysis. Life-cycle assessment is used to calculate the emissions of the biochar production process. All emissions from pyrolysis, process, and transportation are deduced to come up with the net carbon sink value of biochar.
The pyrolysis plant is certified, including assessment of emissions (methane), and energy consumption of the pyrolysis process. The European Biochar certificate also has certified the individual production process including the assessment of feedstock sources and preparation as well as the pyrolysis process and energy mix.
Co-benefits of biochar
In addition to storing carbon, biochar is increasing soil fertility and reduces the need for irrigation. For boosting its nutrient content, biochar is first used for livestock bedding, manure treatment, and as a compost additive.
Not only the biochar captures the nutrients which otherwise would leak and contaminate water bodies, but also increases soil fertility and enhances yields. Finally, when nutrient-rich biochar is applied to soil, it leads to long-term improvements in water conservation, nutrient conservation, and increased crop yield. Biochar feedstock sourcing, transportation, and biochar application support rural jobs.
The project supports 8 out of the 17 SDGs.
Additionality
The biochar produced is primarily sold to be used in agricultural applications, where the price has been sufficiently subsidized by carbon credits to support farmer adoption and enable the large-scale application.
It is anticipated that biochar production capacity can increase at a rate faster than biochar sales demand. In such a situation, the carbon credit price would need to be sufficient to cover not only biochar production but also its application to land. In addition, costly climate-related crop failures faced by farmers reduce their ability to invest in soil amendments like biochar.
To mitigate this risk, Pacific Biochar has already adjusted pricing for all future contracts to a higher rate per tonne of CO2e. Pacific Biochar believes this to be sufficient to allow for the production and application of biochar to grow at a rate not hindered by biochar sales demand.
Photo credit: Valeriya Azovskaya
The biochar produced is primarily sold to be used in agricultural applications, where the price has been sufficiently subsidized by carbon credits to support farmer adoption and enable the large-scale application.