Group,
The elephant in the room is that we can’t produce biochar at a low-enough cost that comes even close to make economic sense for any of these applications.
Instead of discussing all the things we can do with this material, the discussion needs to be around how we can get the cost down.
On the revenue side, how can we get the yields up, say from 20 to 40% (half the carbon in the biomass is lost as CO2 during pyrolysis) so the value of carbon credits starts to be significant.
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On Mar 16, 2023, at 9:34 PM, Paul S Anderson <psanders@...> wrote:
Joe,
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. Nice to have a ray of hope. I hope to someday have some CDR via biochar listed with Puro.earth , so we will be talking directly in the future.
Paul
Doc / Dr TLUD / Paul S. Anderson, PhD
Email:
psanders@... Skype: paultlud Mobile & WhatsApp: 309-531-4434
Website:
https://woodgas.com see Resources page for 2023
“Roadmap for Climate Intervention with Biochar” and 2020 white paper, 2) RoCC kilns, and 3) TLUD stove technology.
Based on my experience working closely with Frontier, I can tell you the main issue is not as described: it’s that the science needs to evolve to a point where 1000+ years permanence is justified. Even our scientists at Puro.earth will not guarantee that durability because so much can happen in that period of time.
Biochar producers could ostensibly get in with Frontier if/when the biochar is stored in concrete. 2 other possibilities that may work: lock up biochar deep in an old mine or pump it underground as a slurry (geological storage). Keep in mind that Frontier, while important, is but one buyer. Microsoft is very open to mid-term durability CDR solutions and is a big buyer of biochar CORCs. Focus on scale - and credit registration (such as with Puro) - and your odds of success are greatly increased. You also need to apply with Microsoft. Listing on our platform provides more visibility to lesser known but important international buyers of negative emissions.
There is a lot happening in the space right now. All I can say is competition for large quantities of credits is getting more intense every day. Scale and you’ll be rewarded for your work.
Best of luck in your journey,
Director of Business Development
Biochar and CDR discussion groups,
Below is a respectful but negative reply that Frontier (Stripe and Meta and Google and others) will not consider biochar as a Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) method for Frontier funding. ☹ ☹
Such mindsets need to change.
Paul
Doc / Dr TLUD / Paul S. Anderson, PhD
Email:
psanders@... Skype: paultlud Mobile & WhatsApp: 309-531-4434
Website:
https://woodgas.com see Resources page for 2023
“Roadmap for Climate Intervention with Biochar” and 2020 white paper, 2) RoCC kilns, and 3) TLUD stove technology.
From: Frauke Kracke <
fkracke@...>
Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2023 8:16 PM
To: Anderson, Paul <
psanders@...>
Subject: Fwd: I am considering applying
Thanks for your interest Paul.
At this point, biochar isn't a priority purchase area for Frontier given questions of carbon efficiency, waste biomass availability, and yield/recalcitrance tradeoffs. In the meantime, best of luck with the project!
Frauke
Sent from
Mail for Windows
- Will Frontier this year consider biochar project as meeting the 1000 year requirement for sequestration?
- If yes, could there be interest in a project such as discussed in Part Two of my document “Roadmap for Climate Intervention with Biochar” that is found at https://woodgas.com/resources ? Please take a quick look and let me know. [ Build to a million tonnes CO2 removal in Kenya. ]
Thank you.
Paul S. Anderson, PhD psanders@... Mobile: +1 309 531 4434 (Illinois USA)