Demonstrating the production of plant-based biochar in the compost cycle and developing high value-added biochar products.

Introduction

The project aims to demonstrate the production of plant-based biochar in the compost cycle and its development to high value-added biochar products. Biochar is obtained through pyrolysis, where the carbon of bio-waste is captured in a very stable form. However, today biochar is still a niche market, and with current technologies, it is not possible to produce biochar in large quantities and cheap enough to bring it to the market.

Proposed Solution

Our solution is a new and innovative biochar production system, integrated as a circular concept into the composting cycle. The key innovation is “Pyrodry,” a new drying and pyrolysis technology designed in a modular unit format, allowing easy upgrades to large biochar production.

Feedstock Utilization

Composting facilities are able to use the entire screening rest of organic waste as feedstock for the pyrolysis process, so the problem of incinerating screening residues is completely solved.

Energy Efficiency

Pyrodry also utilizes the excess heat during the pyrolysis process in such a way that the entire operation becomes energy self-sufficient. Additionally, another waste stream of wet industrial sludge can be dried and processed.

Work Plan

The transnational project consortium designed a work plan that foresees a prototype demonstration system in an operational environment, which shall be able to convert approximately:

1. 5,300 tons of wet bio-waste into
2. 1,000 tons of biochar (WP2).

Further Development

Once biochar is obtained, the project plans to:

1. Develop climate-positive concrete amendment (WP3).
2. Develop and exploit further high value-added biochar products in a wide range of sectors (WP4).

The project demonstration will form part of a blueprint for EU-wide dissemination, replication, and scale-up (WP4, WP5).

Environmental Impact

The circular innovation will lead to more cost-effective production of biochar while substantially reducing CO2 emissions. Moreover, the obtained biochar is the ‘magic bullet’ to mitigate climate change.

Carbon Storage

With 1,000 tons of biochar, we can store around 2,500 tons of CO2 in high value-added biochar products for centuries.