Opportunities for Negative Emission Technologies from the Biochar Industry Perspective [A Climate Protection Enterprise] Presented by Mike Weaver PYREG UK ESKTN & Oxford Geoengineering -13 March Brokerage Event

Dipl.-Ing. H.Gerber 1ST MEDITERRANEAN BIOCHAR SYMPOSIUM What is biochar? A carbon rich product made by subjecting biomass substrates to thermal destruction in the absence of air or limited amounts of air – process terminology - pyrolysis and/or gasification Classical means of production - earth covered piles enclosing logs of wood, a later development uses metal kilns – original and over-arching product name - charcoal The term biochar – selected principally to distinguish its use as a soil amendment product The R&D in biochar started many years ago - significant ramping up - last 2 decades getting to know – do‘s and don‘ts of the carbonised material Projects ESKTN & Oxford Geoengineering 13 March Brokerage Event

Dipl.-Ing. H.Gerber 1ST MEDITERRANEAN BIOCHAR SYMPOSIUM Types of biochar ESKTN & Oxford Geoengineering 13 March Brokerage Event Examples of Biomasses Green waste, sewage sludge, slaughterhouse waste,paper sludge, bark, pine needles, foliage, cereal production waste, straw, rapeseed, sugar beet waste, olive production waste, nutshells, digestate, screenings, coffee production waste, compost, beer barley residues, miscanthus, silphium, rubber, … Examples of Biochars

Dipl.-Ing. H.Gerber 1ST MEDITERRANEAN BIOCHAR SYMPOSIUM Classical charcoal production ESKTN & Oxford Geoengineering 13 March Brokerage Event Plenty of opportunities for reducing NEGATIVE emissions!! GermanyUkraine Batch production process

Dipl.-Ing. H.Gerber 1ST MEDITERRANEAN BIOCHAR SYMPOSIUM Different ways to make biochar Slow pyrolysis - temperature range 400 o C to 650 o C Fast pyrolysis - temperature range 650 o C to 850 o C Gasification - temperature range 900 o C to 1100 o C Range of process retention times - up to 30 minutes and down to one or two seconds ESKTN & Oxford Geoengineering 13 March Brokerage Event

Dipl.-Ing. H.Gerber 1ST MEDITERRANEAN BIOCHAR SYMPOSIUM Yields of biochar (dependent on: type of biomass, heating rate, retention time) Typically for a woody green substrate (eg willow/pine): Slow pyrolysis approx 35% dry weight of biomass Fast pyrolysis approx 20% dry weight of biomass Gasification approx 10% dry weight of biomass ESKTN & Oxford Geoengineering 13 March Brokerage Event

Dipl.-Ing. H.Gerber 1ST MEDITERRANEAN BIOCHAR SYMPOSIUM Other products and their uses from pyrolysis and gasification Ash - component for making fertiliser Syngas (cleaned up at STP) - fuel for reciprocating combustion engines driving generators for off grid electricity Syngas residues/tars - making bio-oil/fuel used in plastic manufacture and blending with fossil fuels ESKTN & Oxford Geoengineering 13 March Brokerage Event

Dipl.-Ing. H.Gerber 1ST MEDITERRANEAN BIOCHAR SYMPOSIUM Gasification CHP project – University of East Anglia 1.5 MW off grid electrical MW thermal heat recovery Feedstock 11,000 tonnes/year of chunky wood chip from a sustainable source hectares of woodland 8-10% (by weight) of biochar production =1000 t/year CCS contribution from the biochar t/year of CO 2 Efficiency when optimised – target 86% Coal burning power station 35% efficient ESKTN & Oxford Geoengineering 13 March Brokerage Event Continuous production process

Dipl.-Ing. H.Gerber 1ST MEDITERRANEAN BIOCHAR SYMPOSIUM Emissions from UEA biomass gasification CHP plant ESKTN & Oxford Geoengineering 13 March Brokerage Event PollutantHard coalBrown coalFuel oilOther oil Gas CO 2 (g/GJ)94,600101,00077,40074,10056,100 SO 2 (g/GJ)7651,3611, NO x (g/GJ) CO (g/GJ) Non methane organic compounds (g/GJ) Particulate matter (g/GJ) 1,2033, Flue gas volume total (m 3 /GJ) VERY SIMILAR TO GASVERY SIMILAR TO GAS Source - European Environment Agency (EEA) documented fuel-dependent emission factors based on actual emissions from power plants in the EU (2008 study ) Comparison Data

Dipl.-Ing. H.Gerber 1ST MEDITERRANEAN BIOCHAR SYMPOSIUM Claudia Kammann Institute of Plant Ecology, University of Giessen, 2010 Lab trials: 8g char type in 100g brown earth, 65% WHC max Biochar - Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions ESKTN & Oxford Geoengineering 13 March Brokerage Event CO 2 - Measured Biochar type HTC - hydrothermal carbonisation Eprida - manufacturer of Biochar(BC) Pyreg - manufacturer of Biochar(BC)

Dipl.-Ing. H.Gerber 1ST MEDITERRANEAN BIOCHAR SYMPOSIUM Use it nine times – pay for it only once silagefeed additivelitter additiveliquid manure treatment compostingurban soil substratesoil amendment humus increase climate farming ESKTN & Oxford Geoengineering 13 March Brokerage Event Cascading use of biochar (Institute for Ecology and Climate Farming)

ESKTN & Oxford Geoengineering 13 March Brokerage Event Carbon footprint down - site energy bill down ̴ £22k Qualifies for RHI ̴ £24k revenue Fixing the carbon in the biochar captures 1200t CO 2 Opportunity for bilateral carbon trading Slow pyrolysis continuous production process with a 35% yield A 500kW module per year can make 330t of biochar

Dipl.-Ing. H.Gerber 1ST MEDITERRANEAN BIOCHAR SYMPOSIUM ESKTN & Oxford Geoengineering 13 March Brokerage Event An innovative cascading use of biochar concept System integrated at existing Food Manufacturing site? Retail outlets Product distribution Sustainable feedstocks Animal feed additives for proven health and welfare benefits Humus increase

Dipl.-Ing. H.Gerber 1ST MEDITERRANEAN BIOCHAR SYMPOSIUM ESKTN & Oxford Geoengineering 13 March Brokerage Event One example of market size in the UK and its effect I million horses – assume market penetration 30% Annual supply of biomass feedstock – 20,000 tonnes Annual consumption of biochar – 6,500 tonnes 12 GWh of high grade renewable heat 12,000 tonnes of CO 2 capture and storage

Dipl.-Ing. H.Gerber 1ST MEDITERRANEAN BIOCHAR SYMPOSIUM ESKTN & Oxford Geoengineering 13 March Brokerage Event Biochar - other uses and topics Increasingly used in horticultural products - online and garden centres - encouraging profit margins ! Substrate component for peat replacement European Biochar Certification and QP- launched BSI PAS + QP being drafted - end of waste implications New carbonisation (slow pyrolysis) R&D in Germany with sewage sludge

Dipl.-Ing. H.Gerber 1ST MEDITERRANEAN BIOCHAR SYMPOSIUM ESKTN & Oxford Geoengineering 13 March Brokerage Event For those of us who like a glass of wine ! Some Global Statistics If the 3.7 million tonnes of grape pomace that are produced every year in the world and are carbonised into biochar :- 2.5 million tonnes of CO 2 equiv. are captured and stored 450 TWatt hours thermal energy (T=x10 15 ) could be used Having drunk the wine, consider a sobering thought: “There is one way we could save ourselves, and that is through the massive burial of charcoal” James Lovelock originator of Gaia theory THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION