Kathleen DraperOctober 16-17, 2017

How Biochar can Revitalize

Economies & the Environment

Défis industriels et environnementaux de la filière du biochar au Québec

Agenda

▪ Biochar impact on economies

▪ Biochar impact on the environment

▪ Ensuring quality

e·con·o·my(ĭ-kŏn′ə-mē)n. pl. e·con·o·mies

1. Careful, thrifty management of resources, such as money, materials, or labor

2. a. The system or range of economic activity in a country, region, or communityb. A specific type of economic system: an industrial economy; a planned economy.

• Turn waste into an asset

• Improve regional independence

• Boost climate resilience

• Encourage innovative products from renewable carbon sources

Benefits to Economies

Benefits to EconomiesTurn waste into an asset

Waste generators can• Reduce cost of waste management• Generate renewable energy for use or sale• Generate value added products (e.g.

biochar, syngas, etc.)

Key Industries:• WWTP• CAFOs• Pulp & Paper• Forestry Management• Food Processors

Waste generators become bio-refinery hubs

– Clean energy from local waste

– Reduced need for external inputs • Fertilizers

• Activated Carbon

• Carbon Black

Benefits to EconomiesImprove regional independence

Benefits to EconomiesBoost climate resilience

Stage How biochar can helpPrevent • Increase photosynthesis

• Sequestration• Reduce GHG emissions

Prepare • Storm water management• Carbonize invasives, forest prunings, infected

trees, etc.• Soil WHC• Erosion Control• Reduce Heat island effect

Respond • Provide renewable energy• Carbonize downed biomass

Recover • Remediate toxified soils• Filter contaminated H2O• Replant perennial ag crops

Benefits to EconomiesCarbon Innovation

Fossil fuelsI. Extraction• Mining• Drilling: land & seaII. Transportation• Coal: rail, barge, truck• Gas: pipelines• Oil: tankers, pipelines, rail, trucksIII. Use (fuel mostly, also fertilizer,

plastics, etc.)• GHG emissions (78% of GHG)• Air Pollution (SO2/acid rain,

NOx/smog, Particulate matter/soot; mercury)

• Water Pollution• Soil Exhaustion (fertilizers) &

pollution

Biochar Production & UseI. Procurement/Production• Carbonize under-utilized biomassII. Transportation• Local use strongly encouraged• Rail, truckIII. Use (soils, non-soil)• Carbon sequestration• Soil Conditioner• Remediation (mines, spills, etc.)• Air Filtration• Water Filtration (harvest nutrients,

filter toxins)

Environmental ImpactsBiochar vs fossil fuels

Regenerative vs Degenerative

Environmental ImpactsUsing the UN SDGs

#6 – Clean Water & Sanitation• Storm Water Mgmt• Filtration & Harvesting#7 – Clean Energy• Carbon negative #12 – Responsible Consumption• Carbonize organics#13 Climate Action• C Sequestration• Renewable Energy#14 Life Below Water• Nutrient Leaching• Carbonize Seaweed#15 Life on Land• Remediation

• oil spills, mining, fracking• Reduce fire threat• Healthier soils

Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats

• Overselling biochar benefits• Not all biochars are

the same• Quality control• Lessons learned not

being communicated well

• Over emphasis on sequestration can be off-putting

• Patents• Nay-sayers

• Developing world economics are more enticing for biochar production & use

• Biochar production provides many co-benefits which can help reduce cost of biochar and attract investment capital• Renewable Energy• Waste Mitigation

• Increasing regulations restricting • Organics to

landfills• Air Pollution• Toxic Soils• GHG

• Biochar can be framed in many different ways

• Low market awareness

• Lack of comprehen-sive, unbiased educational materials for specific end uses

• Many producers do not fully understand the nuances of their char

• Standards (IBI & EBC) are not well adopted yet

• Few labs with experience in characterization

• Few ROI examples• Lack of investment

capital• Price of biochar

makes value prop for Ag difficult

• Increasing number of production technologies at many different scales

• Much more biochar available now for trials

• Many different end uses for biochar

• Enormous amount of underutilized biomass available

• There is a lot of biochar coming into the market place of varying quality.

• All biochars are not the same!

• Standards & Certifications: Defining what is ‘good’

– IBI: soils

– EBC: soils & feed char

– Organic

Ensuring Quality

http://www.european-biochar.org/biochar/media/doc/IBI-EBC.pdfTo understand the differences between IBI & EBC standards:

▪ Feedstock: biomass + diluents ▪ (>10% must be declared, < 2% dw contaminants)

▪ Focused on

▪ Safety

▪ Carbon Sequestration & Stability

▪ H:C ratio <0.7 (stability)

International Biochar Initiative

IBI Standards & CertificationsFor use in Soils

Biochars with Certifiable QualitiesMaterial Ash

%Organic Carbon

%H:C Toxic

e.g. As mg/kg

pH

IBI Biochar Standard 10% MinClass 1:≥60%Class 2: ≥30%Class 3: ≥10%

<0.7 <13

Slow Pyrolysis(Hardwood)

5.2 % 83.8% 0.68 1.2 7.5

Gasification(Softwood tops)

18.3% 74.3 0.41 0.7 12.0

Boiler – High Carbon Fly Ash(Softwood hog fuel)

8.4 75.8 0.48 9.8 9.5

Raw Dairy Manure 500 ⁰C

32 51.2 0.39 10.7

International Biochar Initiative

IBI Assists Definitions Standards and Certifications

▪ US, Canada, Puerto Rico– AAPFCO Association of American Plant Food Control

Officials biochar definition (2016)

• USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Conservation Stewardship Program, Conservation Enhancement Activity E384135Z Biochar production from woody residue(2016) Conservation Practice 384: Woody Residue Treatment

• California Air Pollution Control Officers Association (CAPCOA) Biochar Protocol (2015) or carbon sequestration.

International Biochar Initiative

IBI Assisted Official of Biochar for Labelling Biochar in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico

Biochar - is a solid material obtained from thermochemical conversion of biomass in an oxygen-limited environment (pyrolysis) containing at least 60% carbon. Feedstocks may be composed of crop residue, wood or other forest waste, and animal manures. Materials transported in salt water, painted, or treated with preservatives are not permitted. When listing biochar in an ingredient statement, the feedstock shall be designated by prefixing the term biochar with the feedstock from which it was produced; i.e. poultry litter biochar, green waste biochar, papermill biochar, etc. When more than one feedstock is involved, all feedstocks greater than 10% of the total volume are to be listed by decreasing volume. Their uses include soil amendments (Official 2016 WA) Pg 74 OP69

Approved at Association of American Plant Food Control Officials AAPFCO Winter Meeting, February 22, 2016 www.aapfco.org

International Biochar Initiative

IBI Biochar Classification Tools: Qualities Help Determine Appropriate Use

IBI Classification Tool www.biochar-international.org/classification_toolIBI Classification Webinar Jan 30, 2017 1-2 pmwww.biochar-international.org/node/8730

Questions?