Biochar carbon drawdown in CA, US (Demo facility)
Carbon Removal Information
Status of production : Audited
Unit of product volume : tonne
Embodied carbon in product : 3.2
Year or years of CORCs issued : 2020
Minimum amount to negotiate : 10
Description
Verified atmospheric carbon removal from our demo scale biochar facility in California.
We convert biomass to biocarbon (biochar) - which stores the CO2 for 1000+ years in a virtually indestructible way.
Each ton of our biocarbon holds 3.2t CO2, and we use food production residue material such as walnut shells in our process. At present, we don't recover the heat or gases of the process, as we don't need it for biomass drying. (Central Valley gets to temperatures above 100F / 37C dry heat)
Biocarbon is one of the safest, most durable and fastest ways to draw down carbon today, according to the IPCC. Hepburn & al. estimate the removal potential at 300Mt - 2Gt annually in Nature (11/2019).
Carbo Culture is a Nordic-Californian climate tech startup standing on 15 years of breakthrough academic science and research in the domain of converting carbon in the most efficient way possible.
Our mission is to get to 1Gt CO2e annual removal, and we’re working to figure out:
- the fastest way to deploy carbon removal and
- the use cases where our material can help bioprocesses and make a more positive impact.
We’re a small but ambitious team, and working with some of the world’s best researchers in our field.
Conversion technology
Carbo Culture has developed a novel method for biochar based carbon drawdown.
The way we draw carbon down is via an instantaneous conversion from biomass to conductive biocarbon. In addition to just carbon removal, the biocarbon is used in environmental remediation and bioprocesses.
Our pilot facility is located in Central Valley, the agricultural heart of California, where we use local walnut shells and peach pits to make our high-purity, remarkably stable biocarbon.
Note on the pilot facility: The Carbo Culture demo system does not currently fully recover pyrolysis gases, as specified in the Puro.earth General Rules Annex A req. 1.1.7, due to the demonstrative nature of the pilot. Gas recovery will be added to a larger-scale facility.
Why is our biocarbon especially good for the environment?
- Our biocarbon has an ultra-high 85-95% fixed carbon content
- The projected half-life of our material is at minimum 1,000 years (O:C ratio (molar) = 0.02)
- Ultra-low electricity use in our conversion process (just for supporting tech)
- Functional use cases for more benefits in environmental filtration & remediation
- Learn more & download Materials Specifications
Examples of usage
- Soil regeneration
- Stormwater treatment & pollutants removal
- Blue-Green infrastructure
Co-benefits
Biochar application benefits
Reduced emissions
- In soil applications, suppresses nutrient runoff and emissions
- In bacterial processes, reduces Ghg emissions
- Using our activated biocarbon instead of activated fossile carbon, results in an up to 20 times lower carbon footprint
- In stormwater treatment, filtrates a range of pollutants
- In soil applications, improved soil structure and water retention capacity
- In material applications, often replaces finite or fossil fuel based ingredients
Economic acceleration impact
Carbon removal credits are an integral component to our business viability and financing. The CORCs revenue will be reinvested into scaling up production.
Audit Information
Independently verified by : EnergyLink Services Pty Ltd
Carbo Culture
Homepage address:www.carboculture.com
Phone:+1 408 772 6397
Email address: tim@carboculture.com
Contact person: Tim Preisenhammer
Location: Woodside, United States
