Climate Action 2011-2012

ioChar as a ConstruCtion
material
Carbon fibres are state-of-the-art materials with properties
that include light weight, high strength and chemical
stability. Carbon composite materials can substitute steel
and other metal although they exhibit different properties.
To become a useful construction material, the mechanical
strength of carbon materials must be comparable to existing
steel and concrete materials. Carbon fibres are already used
in tensile force-resisting construction material to reinforce
concrete for special applications. In addition, carbonbased
concretes have been used for decades in construction
material resistant to compressive forces. For instance, the
lower part of blast furnaces for iron production consists of
carbon brick. Composites used for construction materials
are already an emerging field, both for new building and for
reinforcement of old structures.
table 1. possible bioChar produCtion
sCalability aCross europe from
organiC Wastes alone
Mt
Cereal crop residues 300
Other (forestry etc) 100
Viticulture (cuttings) 40
Household garden waste 35
Commercial garden waste 20
Total
495 28% biochar yield
Biochar (80% carbon content) 140
(10%)
EU carbon emissions circa 1,200
With ready-to-go technology (eg. PYREG), about 140Mt of
biochar can be produced annually, offsetting additionally about
10 per cent of C emissions across Europe.
Biochar amendments
offer the potential for carbonneutral
or carbon-negative
food production.
bioChar produCtion
teChnologies
From a technology point of view, several companies such
as PYREG and German Charcoal GmbH already have
well-developed pyrolysis systems to produce Biochar. These
systems are capable of handling a range of biomass types
including organic waste materials. Furthermore, there are
large volumes of readily available biomass to feed the biochar
process. What is lacking is the political will to drive the
widespread implementation of this ready-to-use technology.
hoW muCh bioChar Can We
afford?
Considering Europe and only the residue from grain
crops, total dry perennial biomass potential is around 300
megatonnes (Mt). This could be turned into over 80Mt of
biochar (not including additional yield from crops such as
maize, vine cuttings, sunflowers etc). Given that Europe
emits about 1,200Mt of carbon per year, biochar could offset
around 10 per cent of Europe’s emissions (Table 1). The EU
intends to reduce these emissions (basis 2005) by 14 per
cent by 2020. However, with the large-scale deployment
of biochar, this could be improved to 23 per cent. If
implemented on a global scale, biochar could have a much
larger impact and go a very long way to slowing or possibly
reversing the increase of atmospheric CO 2
.
Since biochar is a ‘ready to go’ tool it should be added to
the climate change tool kit of renewables, energy saving and
CCS. Furthermore, given that the issue of rising CO 2
levels
is an immediate problem, we believe that it is imperative to
deploy all the ready tools in the CC tool kit in as prompt
and large-scale fashion as possible.
It is imperative to
deploy all the ready tools
in the CC tool kit.
Dr Bruno Glaser is Professor in the Institute of Agricultural and
Nutritional Sciences, Soil Biogeochemistry, Martin-Luther University
Halle-Wittenberg, Germany.
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg has been a
scientific institution for more than 500 years. The department of Soil
Biochemistry is part of the Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional
Science, which is an interdisciplinary group consisting of soil
scientists, chemists, ecologists, biologists, geologists, environmental
managers and specialists of isotopes and experimental ecology.
Co-operations exist also to the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental
Research (UFZ) and other German, European and International
institutions dealing with Biochar issues. This consortium aims to
understand the dynamics of organic and inorganic compounds in the
environment, and the fate of Biochar is a special focus.
Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg
Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät III
Institut für Agrar- und Ernährungswissenschaften
06099 Halle, Germany
Tel: +49 (0)345 552 2301 or 2302
Fax: +49 (0)345 552 7118
Email: bruno.glaser@landw.uni-halle.de
Web: www.landw.uni-halle.de
139 climateactionprogramme.org