Agri

The Net Zero opportunities for the agricultural industry

The Dutch agriculture sector accounts for 14% (32 Mton CO₂-eq in 2016) of the national emissions of greenhouse gasses (GHG). This translates into a great opportunity to significantly contribute to the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂).

The challenge is to produce qualitative food with fewer emissions, whilst improving the quality of the soil.

Our biochar is a soil improver that enhances nutrient retention, improves soil aeration and drainage, increases the water holding capacity and increases microbial activity. It can be used with different types of plants and crops, and for a wide range of applications such as flower beds, home gardening, landscaping, organic agriculture and commercial horticulture.

In addition to this, biochar could be the answer to the methane and nitrous oxide emission problem. When biochar is added to manure, it reduces methane and nitrous oxide as well as stench. When the biochar-enriched manure is driven out on farmlands, biochar ensures minerals and nutrients are longer available for crops. Together with the WUR, University of Leeds and Nottingham University we are studying the effectiveness of biochar for the different purposes, as it has both the potential to enhance soil properties as well as to become the vehicle for carbon removal.

Besides offering our biochar solutions we als work closely with the the agricultural sector as a feedstock supplier. The agricultural residues are used as feedstock for our biofuels. In our plant in Ellesmere Port we use agricultural residues in our organic waste digester that produces 4 million m3 biogas per year from these residues. The biogas is upgraded to green gas, a sustainable alternative to fossil natural gas, which is injected directly into Ellesmere Port's natural gas grid. Read more about what we do in Ellesmere Port.

“Carbon is not bad, we just have too much of it in the wrong place”

- Berend de Haas - Dutch Carboneers


“ 40% of carbon goes
into the biochar and
60% is converted into
heat and power which
is recovered in a large-
scale plant. It’s a very
energy-efficient,
carbon neutral system.”

- Professor Colin Snape - Director of the Nottingham’s EPSRC Centre of Doctoral Training in Carbon capture and Storage and Cleaner Fossil Energy

Perpetual Carbon Applications

Are you a farmer, a horticulturist or producer of other agricultural products? Are you facing increasing government regulations on environmental restrictions? Do you want to join the international efforts to reduce GHG emissions, mostly through methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O)? In this uncertain phase, you must make important decisions to safeguard the future of your company and perpetuate your business.

We want to introduce biochar to you: it is an agricultural soil conditioner through enhanced nutrient retention, improved soil aeration and drainage, increased water holding capacity and increased microbial activity. It can be used with all types of plants and crops, and for a wide range of applications such as flower beds, home gardening, landscaping, organic agriculture, and commercial horticulture.

Examples of applications

Biochar for soil regeneration

Biochar is made from plant organic waste streams. In the process, all the volatile substances leave the material and a spongy carbon structure remains. The unique structure tremendously increases the interior surface area, which is one of the main reasons biochar is used as a soil enhancer. Due to this structure, nutrients and water are longer retained in the soil while housing beneficial microorganisms. Biochar can thus be used on degraded soils to regenerate soils and makes them less dependent on fertilizers and pesticides.

Perpetual Next - Agricultural industry biochar

Biochar for soil remediation

Due to biochar's great surface area, it can also be used for soil remediation. Pollutants like heavy metals and other toxic substances adhere to the interior surface, which makes them harmless for plants and animals. When biochar is used on polluted agricultural plots, biochar will absorb toxins, in which case they will not end up in the edible parts of the plant.

Greenhouse gas - Source EBI

CDR: Removal on managed land

Carbon removal with biochar in the agricultural industry

Biochar consists of 75–90% pure and stable carbon. With a simple molecular analysis, the stability of biochar can be determined and thus the carbon sink potential can be calculated. Besides the direct carbon sink, biochar also houses microorganisms in the soil, which increases the soil organic carbon content. This is also an important form of carbon sequestration.

Applications and value chains

Perpetual Carbon Soilcquest is a biochar soil improver, which keeps agricultural soils fertile through improved nutrient retention, improved soil aeration and drainage, increased water retention capacity and increased microbial activity. It can be used for all types of plants and crops, and for a wide variety of applications, such as flower beds, gardening, landscaping, organic farming and commercial horticulture. 
 
Together we can develop biochar solutions to reduce the carbon footprint for different types of farms. As an example, applying biochar as an additive to the manure of cows a CO2 equivalent reduction of 16% can be achieved. 

Applications of biochar as a natural soil improver:

  • Organic farming
  • Horticulture
  • Wastewater filtration
  • Landscape and garden architecture
  • Environmental remediation
  • Cattle industry >>
Perpetual Next - Agri value chains

Biochar as a solution

Biochar has beneficial effects in agricultural applications. In which it makes soils more drought resistant, it provides a safe haven for soil microbial life and it retains nutrients for plants to access later. These beneficial effects cannot be found with other carbon dioxide sequestration methodologies.

Biochar can offer the following advantages:

  •  Renewable additive
  • 1.4-2.7 ton carbon removal per ton of biochar
  • Enhanced nutrient retention
  • Water holding capacity & microbial activity
  • Improved soil aeration and drainage
  • Source for voluntary market carbon credits
Perpetual Next - Agricultural industry lab analyses

Our plants

Perpetual Next Vägari

Organic residues to biocoal

In Vägari, Estonia, a biocoal plant based on Perpetual Next's C-Vertr V technology has been under construction since 2020. A total of eight to ten reactors will be installed in the plant, capable of producing 120 kilotons of biocoal per year.

Perpetual Next Dilsen-Stokkem

Organic residues, B-wood & SRF to biocarbon

In Dilsen-Stokkem, Belgium, a biocoal plant based on Perpetual Next's C-Vertr R technology has been in operation since 2010. This site has a design capacity of 27,700 t/y of biocoal output.

Technical papers

This section contains a selection of our most relevant technical papers in the field of carbonisation for this segment application. These technical papers are mostly papers from our own Perpetual Next experts.

For all our technical papers, please visit our Knowledge page.

Perpetual Next - Shortlist of converted & analysed feedstocks

Perpetual Next shortlist of converted & analysed feedstocks

Tabel

At Perpetual Next, we continue to analyse different types of feedstocks, options from different feedstock baskets, with different properties. All feedstocks have their advantages, it all depends on which bias you look at an opportunity. This document is the shortlist of feedstocks we have looked at so far in more detail.

Biochar for horticultural and agricultural applications using_

Biochar for horticultural and agricultural applications

using high temperature torrefaction technology

Biomass currently accounts for less than 10 percent of the world’s renewable energy production. There is however an increasing trend in biomass consumption based on a variety of applications apart from...

Biochar project - National Forest High CV biochar photo diary

National Forest High CV biochar photo diary

Biochar project

Biochar project of Bio2Carbon Ltd, CEG Technology UK Ltd, University of Nottingham, National Forest and Perpetual Next.

Scientific papers

This section contains a selection of the most relevant scientific papers in the field of carbonisation for this segment application. These scientific papers are made by scientist in the field of carbonisation. So these downloads are conducted by others.

For all our technical papers, please visit our Knowledge page.

Biochar properties - Transport, fate and impact

Biochar properties: Transport, fate and impact

M Fernanda Aller

Biochar is the name given to charcoal produced from pyrolyzed biomass with the purpose to add into soils to enhance soil properties and sequestrate carbon. Biochar has been a very popular research topic and...

Biochar effects on methane emissions from soils - A meta-analysis

Biochar effects on methane emissions from soils: A meta-analysis

Simon Jeffery, Frank G.A. Verheijen, Claudia Kammann, Diego Abalos

Methane (CH4) emissions have increased by more than 150% since 1750, with agriculture being the major source. Further increases are predicted as permafrost regions start thawing, and rice and ruminant animal...

Biochar in agriculture – A systematic review of 26 global meta-analyses

Biochar in agriculture – A systematic review of 26 global meta-analyses

Hans-Peter Schmidt, Claudia Kammann, Nikolas Hagemann, ...

Biochar is obtained by pyrolyzing biomass and is, by definition, applied in a way that avoids its rapid oxidation to CO2. Its use in agriculture includes animal feeding, manure treatment (e.g. as additive for bedding, ...

Biochar-based carbon sinks to mitigate climate change - EBI Whitepaper

Biochar-based carbon sinks to mitigate climate change

Harald Bier, Helmut Gerber, Marcel Huber

EBI Whitepaper.
The threat of climate change is increasing constantly. This is seriously bad news. And as this becomes more and more understood and accepted, the...

The Potential for Biochar to Enhance Sustainability in the Dairy Industry

The Potential for Biochar to Enhance Sustainability in the Dairy Industry

Kathleen Draper, Shannan Sweet

The US dairy industry launched a Net Zero initiative with the objective of becoming carbon neutral or even carbon negative by 2050 along with adoption of goals to optimize water use and improve water quality by...

Position papers

This section contains our position papers. These position papers are documents that present an arguable opinion in the field of carbonisation.

For all our technical papers, please visit our Knowledge page.

Perpetual Next - Position paper - NET ZERO by reversed mining

Net Zero by reversed mining

How Perpetual Next leads the emerging carbon removal industry

Greenhouse gas emissions are caused by human action and also by nature itself. It is mainly the exhaust gases from the combustion of fossil fuels that pollute the atmosphere with carbon that was previously stored in...

Spec sheets

This section contains a selection of our specification (spec) sheets. A spec sheet, or data sheet, summarises the performance and other characteristics of a specific form and grade of Perpetual Carbon.

For all our technical papers, please visit our Knowledge page.

Perpetual Next - Spec sheet PCS775P

Spec sheet PCS775P

Soilcquest biochar chips

Soilcquest biochar is a soil conditioner that offers multiple soil health benefits like enhanced nutrient retention, improved soil aeration and water holding capacity. It can be used with all types of plants & crops...

Safety data sheets

This section contains a selection of our safety data sheets (SDS). The SDS include information such as the properties of each chemical, the physical and environmental health hazards, protective measures and safety precautions for handling, storing, and transporting the chemical.

For all our technical papers, please visit our Knowledge page.

Perpetual Next - Safety data sheet - Perpetual Carbon biochar-chips PCX270-900

Biochar-chips PCX270-900

Safety data sheet

This SDS (formerly MSDS or Material Safety Data Sheet) is about Perpetual Carbon biochar-chips with a volume ≤ 3 m3 with typenumber references PCX270-900. It includes the properties of each chemical, the physical, health, and environmental health hazards, protective measures, and safety precautions for handling, storing, and transporting this material.

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