Hugh McLaughlin - Biochar: A Powerful Tool for Carbon Farming

Very informative 10min from Hugh McLaughlin on biochar production fundamentals. 



"Hugh McLaughlin, an engineer and expert in biochar and activated carbon, discusses the many applications of biochar for environmental improvement and its role in reversing global warming."

The presentation was part of "Biodiversity for a living climate" event. If you have trouble with the viewing frame size here, then look for it and connect via the link above (plenty of other great presentations to be found) or click on the YouTube link.

UniKL - MPOB biochar trials update

The following report has been provided by Dr Robert Bachmann from UniKL on their biochar collaboration work with MPOB...

PKS biochar from BEK

"The Biochar Experimenter Kit (BEK) at the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) has now received a shelter place with concrete flooring and flue gas extraction system (Figure 1). Mr Kong Sieng-Huat, master student at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), has established that the BEK is able to give 30 % yield of palm kernel shell (PKS) biochar from the current controlled conditions in batch production (retort mode). The biochar is then subjected to a series of physico-chemical characterizations to determine the most suitable biochar to be used in the designed field trial study (see below). A mini workshop was also conducted recently from 17-19 October 2012 to give local participants a better understanding on the operation of the BEK. "

BEK protected from elements in its new shelter

Rainshelter with automatic irrigation system

 with drips for 200 plants

"In March 2012, construction of a plant nursery facility began at Universiti Kuala Lumpur (MICET), Melaka, funded by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) (Figure 2). The purpose of this facility is to study the effect of biochar produced from oil palm plantation waste such as PKS, oil palm trunk, empty fruit bunch (EFB) and fronds on the growth of oil palm seedlings. Parameters such as cation exchange capacity (CEC), soil pH and water holding capacity, biomass yield, and chlorophyll content of palm oil leafs are investigated. The nursery has a capacity for 200 plants with an automatic irrigation system. The project is conducted by postgraduate (Arasu Uttran) and final year undergraduate students (Farain Zainal and Subki Awang) from the Environmental Engineering Technology Section supervised by Dr Robert Thomas Bachmann (UniKL MICET and Dr Loh Soh Kheang (MPOB). "


Reported by:
Sieng-Huat Kong (free2rhyme0628(at)hotmail.com) &
Arasu Uttran (arasu_biotech(at)yahoo.co.uk)

For further enquiries kindly contact:
Dr Loh Soh Kheang (MPOB): lohsk(at)mpob.gov.my
Dr Robert Thomas Bachmann (UniKL): bachmann(at)micet.unikl.edu.my

Malaysia Biomass Strategy

Recent press announcements here in Malaysia have focused on biomass utilisation...

• EU boost for domestic SMEs in biomass sector
• Oil palm biomass offers huge potential, RM30bil in income

Neither article specifically mentions biochar but the first does describe support for companies involved in biocarbon production and export. Biochar still languishes as a low profile research subject in most of SEA.

The 2nd article discusses  the National Biomass Strategy 2020. This strategy describes utilising an additional 20MillionT of oil palm industry biomass by 2020 for higher value activities. The document does acknowledge the importance of biomass nutrients for the plantations... "Biomass should not be removed from the field without consideration of its nutrient value and protection to the top soil. However there is the potential to retain in the field the portion of the biomass that has the highest nutrient value but the lowest downstream value, as represented by its carbohydrate content, and replace the balance with inorganic substitutes."

Biochar production and utilisation within the plantation could provide new options and additional flexibility for the proposed strategy...

• The organic carbon currently provided by the retention and/or return of biomass to plantation soils is very transient in the tropical conditions. It will be consumed on an annual basis along with the regular application of organic or inorganic fertilizers. Biochar offers a 'permanent' organic carbon addition, potentially freeing up more biomass for alternative uses.
• Biochar will improve the nutrient use efficiency by reducing NPK leaching losses and soil gas emissions (CO2, methane & nitrous oxide). 
• The reduced requirements for fertilizers and their improved retention in the soil will reduce pollution of water tables, streams, rivers and catchments.
• Biochar positive effects on plant growth, health and productivity are well documented. There is reason to believe that these benefits will also translate into benefits for the oil palm - particularly for tropical soils.
• Biochar has proven soil remediation benefits (for both organic & inorganic contaminates). Soils damaged by mining or contaminated by industry may be put back into service. Agriculture on bris soils may be improved.
• New products and industries can be established that relate to the soil amendments, animal feeds, waste management, building products, green roofs, urban water gardens & swales.
• Pyrolysis systems offer localized processing solutions for 'thinly distributed biomass'. Transport and infrastructure costs often kill large biomass projects. Pyrolysis is scalable for source locations such as palm oil mills or mobile plantation processing.
• New 'slow' pyrolysis technology offers multiple product streams, 
• carbon (biochar, bio-coal, torrified fuels, charcoal, activated carbon, industrial carbon, super-capacitors)
• bio-oil (boiler fuel oil, refining for chemicals & transport fuels, organic pesticides and plant foliate) 
• pyrolysis gas (process heating, renewable energy production, advanced gas reprocessing, fuel cells)
• process heat
• carbon credits (carbon sequestration and emissions reduction).

Lets hope the new Biomass Strategy has room to accommodate new opportunities that will present, as the biochar industry develops in SEA. More research investment from government and industry would greatly accelerate access to these opportunities.

May 2011 IBI Newsletter - SEA reports

The May IBI newsletter features 3 reports that have been covered by BIG-SEA...

• BIOCHARM Report: Finding from Biochar Research in South and Southeast Asia (http://sea-biochar.blogspot.com/2011/01/biocharm-project-final-report-now.html)
• Mindinao Terra Preta-Biochar Initiative (http://sea-biochar.blogspot.com/2011/05/terra-preta-sanitation-biochar-tps-b.html and http://sea-biochar.blogspot.com/2011/01/terra-preta-sanitation-project-in.html)
• The first BEK Installed in Malaysia (http://sea-biochar.blogspot.com/2011/03/bek-arrives-in-malaysia.html)

Also featured is the setting up of large scale field trials in North Carolina (http://www.biochar-international.org/profiles/northcarolinafarmcenter). It is this scale of research that is badly needed in the tropical plantation setting, to rapidly develop our understanding on the agricultural benefits that are predicted in tropical SEA with the development of a biochar industry.

Large scale field trials are being discussed and planned but are constrained by the availability of suitable biochar.  This supply constraint is one of the issues I am currently focusing on.

Envergent Technologies Designing Plant to Convert Palm Biomass to Renewable Fuels

"DES PLAINES, Ill., Mar. 10, 2011 – Envergent Technologies LLC, a Honeywell (NYSE:HON) company, announced today that it has been selected by Premium Renewable Energy (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. to perform the engineering design for a project that will use Envergent’s RTP® Rapid Thermal Processing technology to convert palm biomass to renewable heat and electricity. The initial Premium RTP facility, to be initiated in late 2011 and completed in early 2013, will be Malaysia’s first plant to use RTP for the production of a clean-burning liquid biofuel derived from biomass. The RTP liquid fuels will be used to generate renewable electricity and heat."

This press release made the local papers here in Malaysia today. This is a 'flash pyrolysis' technology... probably similar to Dynamotive in Canada (and a number of other technology providers in various stages of commercial development). The business model for flash pyrolysis is very much focused on biomass to energy - principally bio-oils and liquid fuels.  Residual carbon from the process is being identified as a source of biochar. Dynamotive have been supporting biochar soil trials by BlueLeaf over the last few years with exciting results. A search on the Energent website for biochar pulls no results so it does not look like they have the supply of biochar in their immediate plans.


As oil prices rise, so will the intrinsic value of waste biomass, such as EFB (the likely target of Energent for biomass feed-stock).  Supply currently exceeds demand so EFB probably has a disposal cost rather than an income - particularly for independent palm oil mills (with no access to plantation disposal). This is set to change in the future and I am predicting competition between slow and fast pyrolysis technologies for the attention of the big plantation companies and their biomass wastes.  The two technologies vary in a number of ways: 

Flash pyrolysis

• Flash pyrolysis is focused on liquid biofuels but could also provide CHP integration into the palm oil mill. Some high temperature biochar may be available depending on the technology but this will be a minor component.
• The technology is often more complex and expensive than slow pyrolysis so will demand larger project scales with a more centralized model (maybe a bold assumption!). This may work well for POM integration but not so well for the massive plantation replanting program that is required in the industry (and currently being deferred by high palm oil prices!).
• The biomass and carbon is removed from the agricultural system. Additional inputs will be required to replace these losses. This will carry an additional cost to the plantation or to soil / crop productivity, if not replaced.

Slow pyrolysis

• Slow pyrolysis technologies can also produce bio-oils and energy gases for CHP and power production but must sacrifice some on the potential energy value when locking it up as recalcitrant carbon. This 'charcoal', when applied to the soil as biochar, has multiple benefits... principally related to soil enhancement, environmental management and carbon sequestration.
• Slow pyrolysis will generally be smaller, simpler, cheaper and may be much more variable in scale and efficiency. It may offer a more 'distributed energy' solution that will lower biomass handling costs. It can offer mobile solutions to capture biomass that may otherwise be lost as co2 to hungry bacteria (replanting of palm requires chipping of old palms to control beetle infestation... a great opportunity for mobile pyrolysis).
• Slow pyrolysis biochar has different properties than flash/fast. It remains to be seen which product has greater benefits under specific agriculture conditions. And this may depend on soil type / condition, agriculture and environmental considerations.
• Slow pyrolysis may have greater control over process conditions for the manufacture of designer biochars. Mainly because biochar is likely to be the focused product.

The competition for this biomass will be based on hard-nosed economic decisions by plantation companies.  Personally, I'm punting on biochar and slow pyrolysis... but it looks like the flashy guys have got the lead! If market devices are allowed to drive this, then biochar must prove its self in the 'field'. It will have to have a higher economic value as a soil / crop enhancer and carbon sequestration tool than as a combustion fuel. The plantation companies are only likely to factor in the environmental benefits if they can be quantified and converted to an economic value (or environmental marketing opportunities?).  Bring on the soil trials! 

I am currently aware of four separate groups planning biochar soil trials and targeting the palm oil industry. Other project proposals are looking for funding.