British Biochar News

Welcome to the winter edition

of the BBF Newsletter, Biochar

News. We hope that all mem-

bers had a happy Christmas and

continue pushing through the

short, cold and wet days of

January and are looking forward

to the year ahead.

This issue will focus on biochar

producing technology on an

international scale with articles

from two companies — one

based in Australia and another

in Germany.

The technologies talked about

are also on a larger scale than

we looked at in the first issue of

this newsletter in August. Previ-

ously we looked at technologies

including the Kon-Tiki kiln, the

Carbon Catcher unit and the

Exeter retort, which are perfect

for many gardening and horti-

cultural needs.

This issue will look at the Earth

Systems Mobile Pyrolysis plant

which is a batch pyrolysis unit

that processes large quantities

of waste biomass and turns it

into large amounts of valuable

biochar.

We also look at technology

developed by PYREG based in

Germany. Their unit can effec-

tively pyrolyse a variety of bio-

mass to help remove waste and

produce energy for commercial

needs.

We would like to thank Earth

Systems and PYREG for taking

the time and effort to write

articles for our newsletter. We

hope that all readers find the

articles interesting and informa-

tive and that they may help de-

ploy and develop the biochar

industry in the UK.

Lastly, we would like to high-

light that the British Biochar

Foundation’s directory is still

live and available through our

website. So get your businesses

listed as soon as possible.

The team at BBF

In this Issue:

Biochar Producing

Technology:

Earth Systems

MPP20

PYREG

British Biochar

Foundation

Directory

“Deploy and

develop the

biochar industry

in the UK”

Issue 3

January 2016

1

Earth Systems CharMaker MPP20

Biochar Production – Tales from Hong Kong

Earth Systems

Earth Systems believes biochar

holds a lot of potential – being a

fantastic soil additive but also help-

ing combat greenhouse gas emis-

sions – providing a local solution to

a global problem. Earth Systems is

an international environmental and

social consultancy firm founded in

Australia but with offices across

the world from Bristol (UK) to

China and Senegal. We have

worked on numerous carbon and

energy projects providing pyrolysis

expertise and biochar production

technology to help solve an array

of different problems.

This article presents our recent

experience with biochar produc-

tion in Hong Kong and also looks

at the technology we have devel-

oped to help solve some of the

issues surrounding the use of bio-

char.

Kadoorie Farm and

Botanic Garden (KFBG)

Hong Kong is a highly populated

territory with many mountainous

areas that have been deforested

over many centuries of human

settlement. The soils in these mon-

tane areas are highly fragile and the

slopes are battered by winds and

rain, causing large scale erosion

and frequent landslides to occur.

The natural vegetation fails to re-

cover in these soils leading to a

cycle where more erosion occurs,

native vegetation decreases, caus-

ing more soil erosion etc. The

Hong Kong Government has previ-

ously solved the issue with a range

of heavy engineering projects –

which although effective at pre-

venting landslides – are unsustain-

able and detrimental to the natural

environment. At KFBG they are

trying to clear land of non-native

species and unproductive planta-

tions and revert back to native

vegetation – but the poor soils and

exposed slopes represented a se-

vere problem.

Another problem faced by KFBG is

that their land clearance work and

day-to-day care of the gardens was

causing a large amount of waste

biomass to build up. Such biomass

can be expensive to dispose of –

especially in large quantities – and

this is all the more difficult in a

highly populated region such as

Hong Kong. These were a tough

set of problems to solve and this is

where biochar comes into the

story.

Biochar

Biochar represented a fantastic

solution to the Botanic Garden’s

problems. It would effectively dis-

pose of the waste biomass turning

it into valuable biochar. The bio-

char could be added to the soil,

improving its structure as well as

its water and nutrient holding ca-

pacities. It would subsequently help

prevent soil erosion and when

inoculated, enhance plant growth

and facilitate forest restoration.

However, although biochar

seemed like a good solution, there

were a number of obstacles that

had to be overcome.

Firstly, biochar production equip-

ment often needs the feedstock to

be finely processed and extensively

dried. This was not an option for

the Botanic Garden which did not

have the scale of processing equip-

ment to do this. If the biochar was

to be purchased then it would be a

very large expense – especially for

the quantities needed for large

scale habitat regeneration – and

this is assuming that this much

biochar could be purchased at all.

And lastly, there were questions

about the sustainability of the

“The CharMaker

MPP20 is a mobile

batch pyrolysis unit

designed to effi-

ciently and cleanly

pyrolyse a large

amount of biomass

feedstock and con-

vert it into valuable

biochar. ”

Biochar produced from the CharMaker MPP20

The degraded mountain soils surrounding KFBG and lack of

native vegetation.

2

biochar produced from other

sources. Perhaps a better solution

could be conceived.

CharMaker MPP20

The KFBG staff had not given up

on biochar and they came to visit

Australia where Earth Systems

were operating their CharMaker

MPP20. The CharMaker MPP20 is a

mobile batch pyrolysis unit de-

signed to efficiently and cleanly

pyrolyse a large amount of biomass

feedstock and convert it into valu-

able biochar. The design is based

on a shipping container layout and

as a consequence is easily trans-

ported despite the large amounts

of biomass it can handle. In fact

one MPP20 in Australia has now

travelled over 20,000km and is still

in almost continuous operation. It

has also been trialled on over 50

different biomass feedstocks from

African Mahogany to railway sleep-

ers and straw bale.

KFBG were impressed with the

CharMaker design and in particular

the large quantity of biomass taken

per run, the extensive variety of

feedstock that could be used and

the lack of processing of the mate-

rial required – perfect for the bio-

mass obtained from land clearance

and gardening by the botanic gar-

den. The CharMaker is also a

smoke minimised design and this

meant the char could be produced

cleanly and efficiently.

A CharMaker was soon purchased

and delivered as a fully operational

unit to Hong Kong. Earth Systems

staff travelled to the site and

helped train KFBG staff in the ma-

chine’s use and soon large quanti-

ties of biochar were being pro-

duced. The process is a batch

process and the amount of time

taken for a run depends heavily on

the feedstock and moisture con-

tent – but a typical run may take

between 5 and 10 hours. When

complete the biochar is removed

and quickly quenched in water. It is

then crushed and top quality bio-

char is produced.

The CharMaker also came with a

number of innovative add-ons to

help make the process more sus-

tainable. A drier unit was installed

which utilises the heat produced

from the pyrolysis process to dry

out other wet biomass, ready for

its use in the main pyrolysis plant.

The machine also had a built-in bio

-liquid extraction system to obtain

pyrolysis liquids from the gases

produced in the process. These

liquids are very complex and split

into a number of fractions. Some

fractions are high in oil content and

can be utilised as a sustainable fuel

source. An aqueous phase also

occurs and is often termed “wood

vinegar”.

“[The CharMaker

has] been trialled

on over 50 different

feedstocks”

“The CharMaker

not only produces

large amounts of

valuable biochar

from waste materi-

als but also creates

useful liquids, gases

and even energy

generation.”

Right: Earth Systems Environmental Engineer Rob Laird (right) shaking hands with Dr Gunter Fischer, Head

of Flora Conservation at KFBG. The main pyrolysis plant and drier unit are both visible.

Left: The pyrolysis unit loaded with wood ready to start the pyrolysis process.

CHARMAKER MPP20

Key Facts

Easy to Use Can produce as much as

1200kg dry basis per run.

Can handle a variety of

feedstocks

Highly mobile

Numerous add-ons including heat

and bioliquid extraction

Long Term assistance from

Earth Systems staff. Remote

monitoring and control in-

stalled.

No chipping required Smoke minimised design

3

Contact Information

The unit is perfect for anyone with large amounts of waste biomass in-

cluding botanic gardens, farmers, nurseries and forestry organisations.

Earth Systems Bristol Office:

Email: enviro@earthsystemseurope.com

Phone: +44 (0) 117 373 6153

Earth Systems Melbourne Office:

Email: enviro@earthsystems.com.au

Phone: +61398107500

http://www.esenergy.com.au/

Dr Gunter Fischer and his demonstration plots of forest re-

generation work utilising the biochar.

British Biochar Foundation Directory

The BBF Directory is a FREE ser-

vice provided by the BBF to all

members to advertise biochar

products, services and biochar

producing technologies. The free

listing can be up to 5000 characters

with up to four images and a hy-

perlink to a website. The listing

comes with a contact form so

other users and browsers can con-

tact you regarding your listing. The

content is entirely up to you but

will be checked-over by BBF and

changes might be requested prior

to listing. Please note that hyper-

links and email addresses are not

permitted in the listing itself and

will be removed before publication

Users have to register to use the

Directory separately from the

Forum site. The Directory can also

be used for advertising the avail-

ability of biochar or feedstock for

producing biochar or for advertis-

ing a request to obtain feedstock

or a particular type of biochar.

If you have any questions, please

contact Simon Shackley on:

simon@

britishbiocharfoundation.org

To find the directory please visit:

www.britishbiocharfoundation.org/

directory

“The BBF Directory

is a FREE service

provided by

members to

advertise biochar

related products,

services and bio-

char producing

technologies”

This wood vinegar has potential for

use as a germination enhancer and

as a plant-derived pesticide. KFBG

are actively pursuing the use of

these liquids as well as investigating

the use of heat generation from

the system to generate power.

Thus the CharMaker not only pro-

duces large amounts of valuable

biochar from waste materials but

also creates useful liquids, gases

and even heat energy generation.

The unit is now being run by the

Botanic Garden‘s staff and biochar

is being produced for application

on the hillsides and in the gardens.

Earth Systems staff are able to

provide assistance if needed as the

pyrolysis unit is connected to the

internet and can be monitored and

even controlled by Earth Systems

from its international offices.

In Hong Kong, the biochar is now

being used as part of the forest

restoration work, helping improve

the structure of the soil, enhance

its nutrient and water holding ca-

pacity as well as helping prevent

soil erosion. Over time the forests

will start to grow on the hillside,

biodiversity will start to increase,

and soil erosion and landslides will

become a thing of the past. Biochar

will hopefully allow all of this but

whilst it does this, it remains for

thousands of years, fixed in the

soil, mitigating greenhouse gas

emissions and watching the city

and gardens develop. There is a lot

to be excited about.

4

PYREG

Producing high quality biochar with PYREG Technology

Producing biochar often starts with

the need to solve a disposal prob-

lem. A good example of this crite-

rion is Fetzer Rohstoffe & Recy-

cling GmbH, a German recycling

company, which entered the world

of biochar two years ago. The

Fetzer Company is situated in the

south of Germany and recycles

PET bottles (PET = polyethylene

terephthalate). The collected emp-

ties are sorted, shredded, washed

with hot water and sold again as

secondary raw material to PET

bottle manufacturers or other

users such as plastic film produc-

ers. In addition the results of this

process produce a waste made up

of the detached labels as paper

fibre sludge, which also had to be

disposed of.

Christoph Zimmermann, CEO of

Fetzer Rohstoffe & Recycling

GmbH, explained, “three years

ago, we had to solve two prob-

lems. On the one hand the disposal

of paper fibre sludge didn’t corre-

spond with our recycling thoughts.

On the other hand we have a large

energy demand for our warm wa-

ter cleaning process. We wanted

to optimize that and therefore

checked several recycling tech-

nologies. One of them was PY-

REG".

PYREG GmbH is an innovative

solution provider in the field of

environmental technology. It

manufactures equipment for the

production of biochar and via its

subsidiary company, PYREG trades

in the renewable thermal energy

business and the material recycling

of different biomasses as well as

the marketing of the products it

produces.

Using the PYREG module, quality

biochar is produced from organic

residues, however, another innova-

tive technique offered by the PY-

REG module is the thermal treat-

ment of sludge from a municipal

wastewater treatment plant

(WwTP) to recover its phosphorus

content as an enriched “plant avail-

able” fertiliser. In both cases ex-

cess thermal energy is generated

for further use.

Mr Zimmermann speaking again,

“that was exactly what we needed:

recycling the paper fibre sludge in a

new product like biochar and gen-

erating usable excess energy for

our PET-recycling-process in an

eco-friendly way“.

The PYREG biochar production

technique is based on dry carboni-

sation, which has the ability to

carbonise different natural bio-

masses in a thermal way. What

remains is a sanitised mineral and

carbon-containing dry residue,

which can be used, for example,

directly for soil amendment or as

additive in the livestock husbandry.

The process starts with the trans-

portation of biomass along a twin

screw conveyor inside the reactor,

via a rotary wheel sluice outside

the reactor. At temperatures of

approx. 650 °C the biomass is

completely carbonised. The tech-

nique means the input material is

not incinerated, but partially

burned by a staged combustion by

means of a limited air supply enter-

ing the reactor. The carbon-rich

product leaves the reactor via a

second rotary wheel sluice. The

other product, syngas, passes into

the main combustion chamber and

is burned by a FLOX®-burner

(flameless oxidation burner) to

avoid thermal NOx at about

“PYREG GmbH is

an innovative

solution provider

in the field of

environmental

technology”

PYREG P500 Module

5

1,250 °C. This thermal energy, in

the form of exhaust gases, is used

to heat up the central section of

the reactor (the twin screw con-

veyor). Finally, the spare thermal

energy (up to 150 kW) after leav-

ing the annular space of the reac-

tor, passes through a heat ex-

changer decoupling the usable

excess energy.

The spare thermal energy can be

used for drying purposes - or

other industrial processes, district

heating for houses or steam pro-

duction are some examples. The

standard throughput per module is

roughly 1,200 tonnes DS (dry sol-

ids) per year. The production of

biochar from natural biomasses

with high lignin content is approxi-

mately 350 tonnes DS per year.

The compact modular design fits

into a 3m x 2.8m x 9m container

and can be scaled up by using sev-

eral modules. Compared to some

applications of pyrolysis and car-

bonisation the PYREG system is

not used to generate a syngas or

synthetic oil that can be exported

and utilized elsewhere. The PYREG

technology is therefore technically

classified to be in the transition

region between gasification and a

combustion plant.

In 2013 the Fetzer Company inte-

grated successfully a PYREG mod-

ule in their material flow manage-

ment to produce high quality bio-

char according to the strict re-

quirements of the EBC (European

Biochar Certificate). This certifica-

tion is possible, because the staged

combustion, on which the PYREG

process is based, allows a selective

temperature control at intermedi-

ate temperatures, which is essen-

tial for a continuous high quality of

the carbonised material.

“Our certified biochar is in demand

throughout Europe. Due to the

increasing demand, we have al-

ready ordered a second PYREG

module, which will be brought on

line in middle of 2016“, said

Zimmermann.

Once the reactor reaches the se-

lected treatment temperature, the

module is thermally self- sustaining

and is designed to operate typically

for 7,500 hours per year.

Currently there are more than 10

PYREG modules in operation in

Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

As of mid-December 2015, the

combined hours of operation ex-

ceeds 50,000 hours. More than 15

plants are due to follow in 2016.

In the case of a biomass in the

form of municipal sewage sludge

Pyreg GmbH commissioned its first

plant to recover phosphorus for

the Linz-Unkel WwTP (situated

close to Bonn, in Germany) in

September 2015. In future around

18,000 m³ (700 tonnes DS) of sew-

age sludge will be treated with the

new sewage sludge technology on-

site at Linz-Unkel. After thermal

handling there remains approx. 400

tonnes per year of a phosphorus

fertiliser, which can be delivered to

fertiliser industry without further

preparation.

(Continued on the next page)

“In 2013 the Fetzer

Company inte-

grated successfully

a PYREG module in

their material flow

management to

produce high

quality biochar

according to the

strict requirements

of the EBC”

“Currently there

are more than 10

PYREG modules in

operation in

Germany,

Switzerland and

Austria”

Schematic diagram of the PYREG Process

6

PYREG Module located at the Linz-Unkel Minicipal

Wastewater Treatment Plant

With Thanks to: Thomas White

Simon Shackley

Mike Weaver

Adrian Morphett

Nigel Murphy

John Sanderson

Any Questions please contact the BBF by email or phone at:

Email: info@britishbiocharfoundation.org

Phone: 07920066830

www.britishbiocharfoundation.org

If you would like to contribute to further newsletters please do not hesitate to get in contact.

For more information:

PYREG UK:

Phone +44 (0)1223 440020 Mail: m.weaver@pyreg.com

PYREG GmbH:

Phone: +49 (6747) 953-880, Mail: info@pyreg.de, Web: www.pyreg.de

Fetzer Rohstoffe & Recycling GmbH:

Phone: +49 (7161) 982-500, Mail: info@du-willkommen.de, Web: www.du-willkommen.de

7

All images in the PYREG and Earth Systems articles are owned by PYREG and Earth Systems respec-

tively and should not be reproduced without permission.

Any other images can only be reproduced with permission from the BBF.

This pioneering utilisation concept

enables midsize wastewater treat-

ment plants:-

Independence regarding

sewage sludge disposal,

Long-term calculability of

costs

Safe disposal due to guar-

anteed ash utilization

Reducing lorry transports

by up to 90%

Flexible capacity expansion

due to modular design

Eco-friendly, Energy-

efficient & low-labour plant

operation

Contact Us: