Our story
The project, called the 'Urban Biochar and Sustainable Materials Demonstrator', is being led by the Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute (EBRI) based at Aston University, and funded by Local Growth Fund (LGF) from the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP), as well as the EU European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
When wood and other plant material is heated without oxygen by a process known as 'pyrolysis' it produces a number of valuable byproducts including gases, oils and biochar. Processing organic waste materials in this way prevents them from releasing greenhouse gases and provides a safe and long-term way of capturing carbon.
The main objectives of our project are to: develop biochar for the benefit of city and town environments, and local economies; research how biochar can be used as a soil enhancer in urban landscapes; conduct scientific modelling to assess the carbon capture merits of biochar.
The EBRI team and its project partners have developed a mobile production unit situated at Birmingham City Council's Cofton Nursery, a horticultural site near the Lickey Hills on the outskirts of the city. This innovative demonstrator is devised to thermally convert wood cuttings from around Birmingham and Solihull into biochar.
Up to ten businesses from in and around Birmingham and Solihull were given the chance to trial this ground-breaking project to help combat climate change through the use of biochar. The call-out, which is for companies wanting to make the move towards becoming carbon neutral, came from the Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute (EBRI) based at Aston University.
The chosen businesses have been guided by the experts at EBRI into how they can use biochar and how it can be used for practical purposes. Tim Miller, director of engagement at EBRI, said this is an important landmark project for the city:
"By taking waste residues, such as diseased and fallen wood from trees in our streets and parks, our demonstrator contains the technology to convert such unwanted material into useful, high value bio-products, such as biochar, and energy such as oils and gases.
By combining this innovative technology with EBRI's scientific expertise in the field of biochar, we plan to raise awareness of the benefits this sustainable material offers including climate change mitigation (carbon capture), soil enhancement, water treatment and industrial applications."
Our advice
The ten 'live use' case trials will be able to demonstrate how biochar can be used for practical purposes, for decarbonisation and for work to improve the land as a soil amender. The businesses can be any size.
There is a wide variety of potential applications of biochar material. For example, biochar could be used in green roofs or walls or in hydroponics; a business doing some sort of property development could apply biochar to reduce the greenhouse gas balance impact of their construction; or an organisation may be leading a tree planting project and use biochar to help store carbon in the ground and increase tree growth.
Our Changeprint
Our Changeprint can be measured by the amount of carbon sequestered; the quantity of green waste converted to biochar; the application of biochar for carbon capture, water treatment, soil improvement, odour control and industry applications; and the contribution of these use case trials towards the growth of the low-carbon and energy technology sector.
