U.S.-FocUSed Biochar report - BioEnergy Lists

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• Administrative• Social• Quality*• Sourcing and Procurement*Council on Sustainable Biomass Production (CSBP)This 22 member independent consortium includes a broad cross-section of major players in bioenergy production,biomass growers, energy producers, germplasm providers, academics, and the agricultural, forestry, and environmentalcommunities. 23 They have developed a statement of intent supporting the development of a nationalsustainability standard for biomass production and a draft set of sustainability standards. To quote directly:The CSBP Standard is designed to promote the production and conversion of biomass into bioenergy in a sustainablemanner. It will apply to biomass produced from non-food sources, including dedicated fuel crops, crop residues,purpose-grown wood, forestry residues, and native vegetation. The Standard addresses the full complementof sustainability issues, including climate change, biological diversity, water quality and quantity, soil quality, andsocio-economic well-being. 24The Draft Standard 25 (to be completed in 2010) covers the following nine areas, as well as an overview of BestManagement Practices.1. Soil – Biomass production shall maintain or improve soil quality by minimizing erosion, enhancing carbonsequestration, and promoting healthy biological systems and chemical and physical properties.2. Biological Diversity – Biomass production shall contribute to the conservation or enhancement of biologicaldiversity, in particular native plants and wildlife.3. Water – Biomass production shall maintain or improve the quality and quantity of surface water, groundwater,and aquatic ecosystems.4. Climate Change – Biomass production shall reduce GHG emissions as compared to fossil fuels. Emissionsshall be estimated via a consistent approach to life cycle assessment.5. Socio-Economic Well-Being – Biomass production shall take place within a framework that sustainablydistributes overall socio-economic opportunity for and among all stakeholders (including landowners,farm workers, suppliers, biorefiners, and local community), and ensures compliance with labor laws andhuman rights.6. Legality – Biomass production shall comply with applicable federal, provincial, state, and local laws, ordinances,and regulations.7. Transparency – Production of certified biomass shall be transparent.8. Continuous Improvement – Biomass production practices and outcomes shall continuously improvebased on the best available science.9. Integrated Resources Management Planning – Biomass production shall be based on an integratedresource management plan that shall be completed, monitored and updated to address objectives of theCSBP standard, appropriate to the scale and intensity of the operation.The outcome of the Council’s work, along with the SBA’s and PNBI emerging standards and guidelines, provideclear and workable sustainability criteria that all practitioners of biomass-to-energy and biochar producersshould be encouraged to adopt. These standards and guidelines will also form the basis for future certificationprograms that will help the producers and consumers ensure that environmental, social and economic issues areall being addressed in a healthy, sustainable manner.23 Council on Sustainable Biomass Production. http://www.csbp.org/24 Ibid.25 http://www.csbp.org/files/survey/CSBP_Draft_Standard.pdf50U.S.-Focused Biochar Report:Assessment of Biochar’s Benefits for the United States of America
Biochar GHG reduction accounting in:Potential Biochar Greenhouse Gas Reductionsronal Larson, PhDrongretlarson@comcast.netThe potential for Biochar to significantly contribute to U.S. climate mitigation effortsthrough atmospheric carbon dioxide reductions (CDR)5.1 SummaryThis section shows how 1 billion tonnes of carbon (1 gigatonne) in Biochar might be added every year to the soilin the United States while removing as much from the atmosphere - to the advantage of both. Biochar’s potentialbenefits for the United States in this Section’s topic area of greenhouse gas reductions are large in every sense ofthe Technology Assessment acronym “EPISTLE”; Economic, Political, Institutional, Societal, Legal, and Environmental.Interestingly, those benefits seem to grow monotonically. The greater the carbon dioxide sequestration,the greater will be the benefits. However, these benefits could be limited by two parameters; the upper boundon the total US land area and the expected annual productivity of that land. All countries face land availabilitylimits. However, the United States certainly has much available land that can be utilized for Biochar production.Many countries have a larger potential for increased biomass productivity – because they have better growthconditions for more months per year and because their soil has a greater potential for productivity improvement.But the US can produce much more biomass per unit land area than at present – and especially as Biochar is appliedto this country’s considerable available land.Using the “EPISTLE” framework to expand on the benefits of large scale Biochar:- Economic Benefits: Income will certainly rise in the forestry and agricultural sectors. Adding the energybenefits of Biochar as a new income stream will be hugely important in rural America. As Biochar productionincreases, so will this benefit.- Political Benefits: At the local producer level, Biochar could be even better received than wind or solar onvisual impact grounds. Nationally and internationally, politicians should find great benefit in having addressedPeak Oil, Job Creation, National Security and many other issues besides climate, without significantcost. Providing leadership on Biochar introduction should improve our international image.- Institutional Benefits: Mostly, the impacted institutions will be rural – which are some of the US institutionsmost in need of help. But all energy, climate, food, and forestry institutions will be impacted positivelyBiochar GHG reduction accounting in: Potential Biochar Greenhouse Gas Reductions51
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AcknowledgmentsThe Center for Energ
Page 4 and 5: U.S.-Focused Biochar Report:Assessm
Page 7 and 8: an efficiency of 32% and convention
Page 9 and 10: tion of N and S) get enriched in th
Page 11 and 12: Benefits of Biofuels and Potential
Page 13 and 14: conversion were taken into account.
Page 15 and 16: Lal, R. 2003. Global Potential of S
Page 17 and 18: Skjemstad, J. O., D. C. Reicosky, A
Page 19 and 20: Biochar and energy linkages in:Bioc
Page 21 and 22: of value. Depending on the process,
Page 23 and 24: eowner will have one half of the 3.
Page 25: 100%10%Char yeild (wt % of dry biom
Page 28 and 29: chars acting more like lime and rai
Page 30 and 31: ConclusionSociety has hundreds of d
Page 34 and 35: • Free biochar particles with emb
Page 36 and 37: Smernik (2009) has suggested that b
Page 38 and 39: al. (2009) reported a reduction in
Page 40 and 41: Bauer A, Black AL (1994) Quantifica
Page 42 and 43: Shrestha RK, Lal R (2007) Soil Carb
Page 44 and 45: Sustainability OverviewThe most com
Page 46 and 47: • thinnings (both understory and
Page 48 and 49: nineties, more than six million acr
Page 50 and 51: 3. Biomass shall not come from land
Page 52 and 53: Sustainability Protocol Purpose 181
Page 56 and 57: y Biochar.- Societal Benefits: Bioc
Page 58 and 59: 1 hectare (ha) = 2.47 acres; 100 he
Page 60 and 61: the seven in the BBTV.Continuing al
Page 62 and 63: F2 (Expanded forestry residues; 0.1
Page 64 and 65: projects (p 81 of his thesis) doubl
Page 66 and 67: Other Global NPP. projections To be
Page 68 and 69: former term, as well as “Biochar
Page 70 and 71: Biochar relevance in GHG markets in
Page 72 and 73: It is far easier to measure emissio
Page 74 and 75: STEPS ANDDOCUMENTATIONRESPONSIBLE P
Page 76 and 77: only account for 4.5% of members’
Page 78 and 79: Analysis: Biochar And Carbon Market
Page 80 and 81: Quantification of reductions for bi
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