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Biochar boom? South Africa invests in super charcoal to create green jobs

Sithandekile Nyathi, a confident woman, climbs into the compact loader and lowers the metal cage around the vehicle. She then drives to large mounds wood chips.

The chips are then transported by conveyer belt to a converter where they're heated up and transformed into activated carbon, a form of "biochar" that can store carbon and help reduce the planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions.

"I was a maid before, and I never imagined I would be working in an industry which also benefits lives and the environment," said Nyathi. She is a controller in the Brakpan plant of Adsorb, South Africa's manufacturer of activated charcoal.

South Africa, a country rich in coal, has become the face of international efforts to move towards cleaner industries and energy.

These efforts have been slowed by funding issues, high unemployment and political divisions. This has raised questions about the best way to make this transition.

Darryl Phipps is a chemical engineering and manager of Adsorb, where Nyathi also works. He believes that the plant, located in Brakpan east of Johannesburg, may be the first plant of its kind worldwide.

It is possible because the wood chips are converted into biochar or activated charcoal using the heat generated by the converter. This allows the organic molecules to adhere to the surface of the charcoal and produces only clean flue gases.

Experts say that some proponents believe the biochar industry can create jobs and capture carbon, but it is struggling due to a lack in South African data.

According to the International Biochar Initiative, the global industry is expected to reach US$600 millions in 2023. This represents a 97% increase from 2021.

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Researchers, farmers, and industry experts have praised biochar and activated charcoal for their ability to improve soil quality, water retention, absorb toxins, and capture carbon.

According to Frontiers, when used as a fertilizer, biochar increases water-holding capability, which helps plants survive in drought conditions.

According to researchers at the University of Venda, initial studies in South Africa's agriculture sector showed that biochar improved maize yield as well as soil health. However, they called for more long-term, intensive research.

The South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment did not reply to requests for comments on the size and future of the biochar industry in the country.

Workers like Nyathi, however, are optimistic.

She said, "If I grow with my company, then I will also grow."

JOBS CREATED AND CARBON CAPTURED

South Africa's high rates of unemployment, funding cuts, and the size of the coal sector have all slowed the movement towards green energy and jobs.

Phipps stated that Adsorb's converter can be replicated in other parts of South Africa as well as the world.

Adsorb uses wood chip from pallet repair centers that originate from responsibly managed forests.

The gas produced when the wood is heated to 1000 degrees Celsius first produces biochar, and then activated carbon.

According to the academic journal Science of The Total Environment, activated charcoal can be used for industrial pollution removal and has a greater adsorption capability than biochar.

Adsorb wants to convert this gas into electricity.

Adsorb has captured approximately 750 tons of CO2 by 2024. It supplies activated carbon to the fertiliser, animal feed, and cosmetic industries. They are also looking at water treatment, mine rehabilitation, and cleaning mercury from coal gas.

Phipps said that processing centres could be set up in areas that previously had coal mines or other mining operations.

This could include communities producing biomass and supplying them to these processing centers. He estimated that if enough plants were built, they could create tens or even hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Needs for DATA and FUNDING

Experts said that despite the enthusiasm for biochar, there are few data and the estimates of the size of the South African market vary greatly, possibly due to the different classifications used when defining biochar.

Romain Pirard is an environmental economist at the School for Climate Studies of Stellenbosch University. He said that to his knowledge, there was "no centralisation or policy specific to biochar".

Phipps said that finding willing customers was also a challenge in the promotion of Biochar.

He said that farmers are very cost-sensitive. If anything increases costs, this will damage the potential sales.

Pirard stated that subsidies could be used to encourage farmers to "use biochar instead of chemical fertilizers" and use invasive, alien tree biomass as a way of helping biochar "take-off".

Pirard stated that despite the fact that biochar has the potential to create green jobs, efforts to establish a biochar organization to centralise information and data on initiatives failed. The feasibility of the sector is still to be proven, he said.

Phipps insists that they will be on to something great if additional finance is received.

(source: Reuters)