The Potential of Biochar
Oral Presentation
Potential Panel Discussion Participant: Biochar Market Development Projects & Landscape-Scale Mobile Sustainable Forest Waste Disposal (Tigercat 6050)
Roger Smullen
Earth Foundries, Saratoga, California


Tom Miles suggested a panel discussion might be appropriate for me/Earth Foundries, and John Webster instructed me to create an abstract as a place holder for you to consider this, and that the abstract description would not be considered final.  I am happy to adjust it based on the panel priorities.

We have USFS and CAL FIRE funded grants to support our SF Bay Area Biochar Market Development projects where we are aiming to demonstrate the techno-economic benefits of incorporating biochar into various high volume applications, those being green waste composting, dairy manure composting, chicken manure composting and a storm remediation/bioswale construction.  (We have already shown good results on the green waste + biochar composting project and are in the middle of the manure projects.)  Rather than perform another study showing how biochar improves crop yields, etc., we decided we wanted to demonstrate how incorporating biochar into large operations could benefit the operator.  For example, our results in the green composting + biochar project show a reduction in VOC's from the biochar-amended compost pile.  Air quality districts in California permit composters based on VOC emissions.  By reducing the VOC's, composters could run more compost through their facilities with no CAPEX increase.  Further, we demonstrate that the compost reaches maturity faster with biochar which means they again could run more compost through their facility thereby increasingn their tipping fee capture, again without CAPEX increases.  (We also tested the compost and saw improved quality versus the control so the value of their end product increases as well).

We are also part of a team that has already completed an 80-acre fuels reduction treatment in the SF Bay Area where we turn the unmerchantable forest waste into biochar on-site using the Tigercat 6050 (aka “The Carbonator”), and we have started on our next, larger, 365-acre project at the same site.  The park district we are working is beginning to incorporate the biochar we are producing into park operations.  (The Carbonator operation could be a field trip for conference attendees, although I know you are not hosting field trips as part of the conference).  This project demonstrates that there are more sustainable methods for disposing of unmerchantable forest waste, and biochar can be part of circular economoy solution for waste disposal for land managers that lowers the cost and carbon footprint of landscape-scale forest health projects.

Keywords: mobile pyrolysis,compost, manure, bioswale, sustainable forestry, circular economy, waste to value