Agro-economic valuation of biochar using field-derived data
Agro-economic valuation of biochar using field-derived data Agro-economic valuation of biochar using field-derived data
Agro-economic valuation of biochar using field-derived data Lukas Van Zwieten
- Page 2 and 3: www.dpi.nsw.gov.au •Scott Petty
- Page 4 and 5: www.dpi.nsw.gov.au Why is it import
- Page 6 and 7: www.dpi.nsw.gov.au Income based on
- Page 8 and 9: www.dpi.nsw.gov.au Benefits to yiel
- Page 10 and 11: www.dpi.nsw.gov.au Net benefit incr
- Page 12 and 13: www.dpi.nsw.gov.au Income breakdown
- Page 14 and 15: www.dpi.nsw.gov.au Other factors fo
- Page 16 and 17: Valuation in sugarcane www.dpi.nsw.
- Page 18: www.dpi.nsw.gov.au Valuation in hor
<strong>Agro</strong>-<strong>economic</strong> <strong>valuation</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>biochar</strong> <strong>using</strong> <strong>field</strong>-<strong>derived</strong> <strong>data</strong><br />
Lukas Van Zwieten
www.dpi.nsw.gov.au<br />
•Scott Petty<br />
•Stephen Kimber<br />
•Leanne Orr<br />
•Steve Morris<br />
•Yin Chan<br />
•Josh Rust<br />
•Katrina Sinclair<br />
•Elspeth Berger<br />
•Tony Walker<br />
•Robert Quirk<br />
•Adriana Downie<br />
•Stephen Joseph<br />
This project has been assisted by the New<br />
South Wales Government, through its<br />
Climate Action Grants Program
What is the (<strong>economic</strong>) value <strong>of</strong> <strong>biochar</strong>?<br />
www.dpi.nsw.gov.au
www.dpi.nsw.gov.au<br />
Why is it important to know the<br />
<strong>economic</strong> value <strong>of</strong> <strong>biochar</strong>?<br />
Base value<br />
Income per year ($A)<br />
1,200,000<br />
1,000,000<br />
800,000<br />
600,000<br />
Poultry litter<br />
400,000<br />
Based on 4t/h slow pyrolysis<br />
Timber based<br />
200,000<br />
plant <strong>using</strong> BEST Energies<br />
<strong>biochar</strong><br />
technology- producing 12,000t<br />
0<br />
0 20 40 60 80 100<br />
<strong>biochar</strong> per year<br />
Value <strong>of</strong> <strong>biochar</strong> (A$/ t)
www.dpi.nsw.gov.au<br />
Valuation based on nutrient content only<br />
Feedstock<br />
Poultry<br />
litter<br />
Green<br />
waste<br />
Paper<br />
mill<br />
N (%) 2.2 0.25 0.44<br />
P (%) 2.4 0.049 0.11<br />
K (%) 2.1 0.0072 0.047<br />
CaCO 3<br />
(%)<br />
14 0.90 7.50<br />
Analysis <strong>of</strong> <strong>biochar</strong>s<br />
$/t (A)<br />
product<br />
$/t<br />
component<br />
Poultry<br />
litter<br />
$<br />
Green<br />
waste<br />
$<br />
N Urea 1100 2391 52 6 11<br />
P<br />
K<br />
CaCO 3<br />
Single<br />
Super<br />
Muriated<br />
potash<br />
Agricultural<br />
lime<br />
Paper<br />
mill<br />
$<br />
650 7386 177 4 8.12<br />
880 1856 39 0.13 0.88<br />
165 165 23 1.50 12.00<br />
Estimated value $A/ t <strong>biochar</strong> 291 12 32
www.dpi.nsw.gov.au<br />
Income based on nutrient content<br />
4,000,000<br />
Income per year ($A)<br />
3,000,000<br />
2,000,000<br />
1,000,000<br />
0<br />
Greenwaste<br />
Papermill<br />
Poultry litter<br />
0 50 100 150 200 250 300<br />
Value <strong>of</strong> <strong>biochar</strong> (A$/t)
www.dpi.nsw.gov.au<br />
Benefit-cost analysis<br />
Setup Nov 07<br />
2007/08 corn<br />
2008/09 corn<br />
2008 faba bean
www.dpi.nsw.gov.au<br />
Benefits to yield over 3 crops<br />
Treatment<br />
(all plus fertiliser)<br />
Maize 07/08<br />
weight <strong>of</strong> cobs<br />
(t/ha)<br />
Faba bean<br />
2008<br />
dry bean (t/ha)<br />
Maize 08/09<br />
weight <strong>of</strong> cobs<br />
(t/ha)<br />
Poultry Biochar<br />
23.7 3.9 23.3<br />
(10t/ha)<br />
Papermill Biochar 25.7 3.9 27.3<br />
(10t/ha)<br />
Lime (3t/ha) 22.3 4.6 24.9<br />
Compost (25t/ha) 19.9 4.4 23.0<br />
Nil amendment 20.5 2.1 19.4
www.dpi.nsw.gov.au<br />
Benefits to yield over 3 crops<br />
Poultry<br />
<strong>biochar</strong><br />
rate t/ha<br />
Maize<br />
07/08<br />
weight <strong>of</strong><br />
cobs<br />
(t/ha)<br />
Faba<br />
bean<br />
2008<br />
dry bean<br />
(t/ha)<br />
Maize<br />
08/09<br />
weight <strong>of</strong><br />
cobs<br />
(t/ha)<br />
1200mm tall<br />
0 16.2 2.4 19.6<br />
5 17.9 4.2 22.5<br />
10 26.7 4.6 22.6<br />
20 28.4 5.5 22.3<br />
50 32.9 5.6 24.2<br />
1900mm tall
www.dpi.nsw.gov.au<br />
Net benefit increase<br />
Treatment: Poultry Litter Biochar (10t/ha) vs farmer practice<br />
Scenario<br />
Extra<br />
Benefits<br />
from<br />
Production<br />
Extra Costs<br />
<strong>of</strong><br />
Production<br />
Net Value<br />
Incremental<br />
Production<br />
Initial<br />
cost<br />
Incremental net<br />
benefit increase<br />
$/ ha $/ ha $/ ha $/ ha $/ ha %<br />
Corn<br />
07/08 3,886 1,651 2,235<br />
Faba<br />
bean 08 815 87 727<br />
Corn<br />
08/09 4,815 2,046 2,769<br />
3,250 2,480 10.4
www.dpi.nsw.gov.au<br />
Biochar <strong>valuation</strong> (BCR=1) based on mixed<br />
cropping in ferrosol in northern NSW<br />
Based on the 4t/h slow<br />
pyrolysis plant <strong>using</strong><br />
BEST Energies<br />
technology- producing<br />
12,000t <strong>biochar</strong> per year<br />
Income per year (A$)<br />
12,000,000<br />
10,000,000<br />
8,000,000<br />
6,000,000<br />
4,000,000<br />
2,000,000<br />
0<br />
Papermill <strong>biochar</strong><br />
Poultry litter <strong>biochar</strong><br />
0 200 400 600 800 1000<br />
Value <strong>of</strong> <strong>biochar</strong> (A$/ t)
www.dpi.nsw.gov.au<br />
Income breakdown for poultry litter<br />
Renewable energy<br />
certificates<br />
Electricity value<br />
Carbon value<br />
Biochar<br />
$1M<br />
$0.75M<br />
$6.4M<br />
•4t/hr poultry litter<br />
•2.3MW/h<br />
•38% <strong>biochar</strong> yield<br />
•60% C in <strong>biochar</strong>
www.dpi.nsw.gov.au<br />
Significant points <strong>of</strong> consideration<br />
• Not all <strong>biochar</strong>s will be valuable<br />
• Biochars may not be beneficial in all soil types<br />
• Value <strong>of</strong> the crop will limit application <strong>of</strong> <strong>biochar</strong>and<br />
bottom line<br />
• Look for studies such as this one before making a<br />
decision on purchasing <strong>biochar</strong><br />
• Biochar certification is coming (tread carefully until<br />
then)
www.dpi.nsw.gov.au<br />
Other factors for future consideration<br />
• Value <strong>of</strong> reduced emissions <strong>of</strong> soil GHGs<br />
• Value <strong>of</strong> reduced tensile strength <strong>of</strong> soil<br />
• Value <strong>of</strong> potential for climate change adaptation,<br />
especially improved water holding capacity
www.dpi.nsw.gov.au<br />
Breakeven <strong>valuation</strong> over 10 years<br />
80,000,000<br />
60,000,000<br />
Income per year (A$)<br />
40,000,000<br />
20,000,000<br />
0<br />
Poultry litter <strong>biochar</strong><br />
Papermill <strong>biochar</strong><br />
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000<br />
Value <strong>of</strong> <strong>biochar</strong> (A$/ t)
Valuation in sugarcane<br />
www.dpi.nsw.gov.au
Valuation in subtropical pasture<br />
www.dpi.nsw.gov.au
www.dpi.nsw.gov.au<br />
Valuation in horticulture<br />
45 trees used testing poultry litter char and<br />
greenwaste char (@10t/ha- 40kg per tree)
1 st Asia Pacific Biochar Conference<br />
Gold Coast, 17-20 May 2009<br />
Rick Davies<br />
Japanese Biochar<br />
Association
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