Core Guidelines for Biochar Carbon Removal Project

2025 European Biochar CDR Conference was successfully held in Málaga, Spain. This conference brought together technical experts and industry practitioners in the global biochar field. It focused on the standardized implementation and technological innovation of carbon removal projects. To share the core achievements of the conference, this article systematically sorts out the key implementation points throughout the whole life cycle of biochar carbon removal projects. It provides both scientific and operable technical references for industry project practice.

Requirements for Production Facilities

Facility Classification

Fixed facilities: Their core feature is permanent or semi-permanent layout. They need to rely on stable site resources. This ensures the continuous operation of the biochar machine. In terms of design, the focus should be on production continuity and safety. At the same time, the production activities of such facilities do not cause additional impact on the surrounding environment. They can also stably achieve the carbon removal target.
Mobile facilities: Mobile facilities focus on “flexible deployment and on-demand production”. They are suitable for project scenarios where raw materials are scattered and cross-site operations are needed. They must meet standards for single deployment cycle, annual movement frequency, and equipment scale. In addition, every time they are deployed to a new location, they need to complete environmental adaptation testing. This avoids environmental risks.

Project Types

Different projects have different initial conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to classify project types in a targeted manner. It is also necessary to clarify the corresponding “baseline setting” and “compliance certificates”. This is to measure the effect of carbon removal and verify the authenticity of the project.

New Built

Definition: It refers to a biochar production facility that is completely planned and built from scratch.
Baseline setting: Carbon storage capacity of biomass through natural degradation.
Compliance certificates: Equipment purchase contracts, construction schedules, and first commissioning test reports.

Retrofit

Definition: It refers to the technical upgrading of existing biochar-related production facilities.
Baseline setting: Carbon removal capacity before retrofitting, and H/Corg after retrofitting.
Compliance certificates: Production records before retrofitting, technical upgrading plans, and H/Corg test reports.

Charcoal Repurpose

Definition: It refers to changing the target of production facilities from fuel charcoal to carbon removal biochar.
Baseline setting: Carbon emissions from original charcoal production.
Compliance materials: Sales records before retrofitting, and charcoal carbon emission monitoring data.

Biomass Qualification Requirements

Raw Material Usage Boundaries

Allowed raw materials: High-sustainability raw materials (such as FSC-certified logging residues and municipal wood waste) have little environmental impact and clear carbon properties. They can be directly used in production. Medium-sustainability raw materials need to pass specific environmental indicator verification (e.g., meeting pollutant limits). Then they can enter the production process.
Disallowed raw materials: One type is raw materials with complex components. It is difficult to distinguish between fossil carbon and biochar properties (such as MSW). This avoids interfering with carbon storage accounting. The other type is raw materials that conflict with food security (such as corn and soybean grains). This ensures the compliance and rationality of the project from the source.

Control and Inspection

Moisture control: High-moisture raw materials need moisture-proof treatment. This prevents mildew or methane generation. The storage area must be equipped with methane monitoring equipment. Low-moisture raw materials need regular turning. This avoids spontaneous combustion risks.
Impurity & pollutant control: Remove impurities such as glass, metal, and plastic from raw materials. Regularly test and record micro-pollutant components (such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and formaldehyde) in raw materials.
Fossil carbon inspection: Inspect the fossil carbon content of some high-risk raw materials. If fossil carbon exists, its corresponding carbon emissions must be included in the project accounting system.

Biochar Production Rules

01 Water Resource Management

Recycling requirements: Production water (such as in cooling and washing links) needs to establish a recycling system. This improves the reuse rate. It avoids water waste.
Wastewater containing tar or pollutants is not allowed to be discharged directly. It needs to be treated before reuse or discharged up to standard.

02 Health and Safety Design

Harmful substance detection: Fixed detection equipment must be installed around biochar pyrolysis reactor. It monitors the concentration of harmful gases in real time.
Workshop safety design: The pyrolysis workshop must adopt explosion-proof lighting and ventilation systems. This reduces the risk of harmful gas accumulation and explosion.

03 By-Product Management

Syngas disposal: Syngas should be prioritized for reactor heating. It replaces fossil fuels. The remaining part must be completely burned through special equipment.
Tar/wood vinegar disposal: Store them in sealed containers. Buried storage is prohibited. If they are sold externally, their destination must be traceable.
Solid waste disposal: Hazardous wastes such as pyrolysis ash and waste filter materials must be handled by qualified institutions.
Liquid waste disposal: Equipment cleaning wastewater needs to go through multiple treatment links (such as sedimentation, filtration, and adsorption). This ensures that the pollutant content meets the standard.

04 Combustion System Quality

Operation requirements: The combustion chamber must meet specific requirements for temperature, residence time, and air ratio. This ensures complete combustion of substances such as tar and methane.
Material and safety configuration: The burner uses high-temperature-resistant materials. It is equipped with pressure safety devices. It adapts to high-temperature and high-pressure working environments. This ensures the stable operation of the system.
Leakage monitoring: Monitor and maintain the negative pressure state of the system. This prevents flue gas leakage. Conduct regular leakage tests. Troubleshoot potential safety hazards in a timely manner.

05 Greenhouse Gas Emissions

CH₄ emission control: Clarify the upper limit of CH₄ concentration at the outlet of the combustion system. Projects using pyrolysis gas reburning technology must implement stricter standards.
N₂O emission control: Regularly entrust a third party to measure N₂O concentration using standard methods. This fully reflects the emission situation.

Biochar Usage

Qualified Use Certificates

Each batch of biochar needs to establish a unique traceability system. It links key information throughout the whole process of production, transportation, and use. It retains production quality inspection records, transportation track certificates, and use receipt documents. This ensures that the destination of each batch is traceable and the responsibility is identifiable. Among them, different scenarios have differentiated requirements:

Pure biochar scenario: It is necessary to provide sampling test records before and after application. This verifies environmental changes. At the same time, it is necessary to clarify that biochar is only used for carbon storage-related purposes. It is not converted to other uses such as energy.

Biochar mixture scenario: For each batch, the proportion of biochar in the mixture must be clarified. At the same time, ensure that the mixture not only meets the functional requirements of use but also does not affect the stability of carbon storage.

Retail scenario: It is necessary to retain the operation records and key information of the application unit. Confirm no secondary transfer of biochar after use through after-sales follow-up. This ensures the continuity of carbon storage.

Usage Category Classification

01 Agriculture and Forestry

Core positioning: Focus on soil improvement and crop cultivation. Enhance soil carbon sink capacity through biochar.
Main applications: Pure biochar soil amendments, mixed amendments of biochar with organic fertilizers/compost, crop cultivation substrates, seedling cultivation substrates, and seed coating components.
Key requirements: Meet the corresponding agricultural quality standards. Prohibit use in plots prone to soil erosion. Dispose of waste or unqualified products through composting or reuse.

02 Animal Husbandry

Core positioning: Focus on optimizing manure management and improving breeding environment. Achieve synergy between carbon storage and emission reduction through product returning to the field.
Main applications: Manure storage additives, animal bedding, and industrial-scale animal feed additives (non-retail).
Key requirements: All used bedding and manure must be applied to the land. Incineration or industrial disposal is prohibited. Feed additives must enter the soil indirectly through the manure link.

03 Waste Management

Core positioning: Use the adsorption and stability characteristics of biochar. Optimize the industrial waste treatment process. At the same time, lock carbon elements to achieve long-term storage.
Main applications: Additives for industrial composting or anaerobic digestion facilities, and cover materials for landfills (mixed with soil and other components).
Key requirements: Compost or digestion products must be finally applied to the land. The landfill must be a compliant sanitary landfill. Prohibit open incineration.

04 Environmental Management

Core positioning: Focus on contaminated soil treatment and ecological reclamation of mines and quarries. Achieve carbon storage while improving environmental quality.
Main applications: Additives for contaminated soil remediation, and soil amendments for mine or quarry reclamation.
Key requirements: Remediation or reclamation activities must obtain authorization from relevant departments. In the reclamation scenario, mixing biochar with other components for use is necessary. Submit project acceptance reports.

05 Built Environment

Core positioning: Integrate biochar into construction-related materials or scenarios. Achieve carbon sequestration using the long-term stability of the built environment.
Main applications: Mixtures of urban soil/subgrade/landscape soil, temporary greening substrates, components of long-life building materials, and pavement materials.
Key requirements: Meet the functional performance of the materials themselves (such as compressive strength and stability). For long-term scenarios, ensure soil movement does not affect carbon storage.

06 Natural Environment and Passive Deposition

Core positioning: Target ecologically sensitive areas or special storage scenarios. Achieve long-term or even permanent carbon storage of biochar.
Main applications: Soil amendments for ecologically sensitive areas (such as nature reserves, wetlands, and peatlands); passive deposition methods such as injecting biochar (or biochar slurry) into inaccessible underground formations and burying it in underground pits.
Key requirements: Applications in ecologically sensitive areas must obtain permission from relevant departments. Underground deposition methods must obtain permission from geological and mineral departments. The project meets local quality and safety standards.

dMRV System

Measurement

Reporting

Verification

Scope and Core Indicators

Raw material link: It covers raw material type, source information, physical and chemical properties, compliance certificates, etc.
Circulation and production link: It includes transportation track, load and energy consumption, energy consumption, pyrolysis process parameters, and biochar output-related data.
End-use link: It records the application location, time, method, dosage, and post-application environmental test results.

Monitoring Mechanism and Technical Support

Differentiated adaptation: Combine scale and facilities. Integrate sensing, positioning, and metering tools. Capture data in real time. Reduce human errors.
IoT connection: Connect equipment to achieve interconnection. Use tools such as GPS, temperature sensors, and flow meters. Cover all scenarios. Ensure no dead ends in data collection.
Quality control closed-loop: Establish a management mechanism. Conduct anomaly detection and real-time verification. Handle deviations in a timely manner. Ensure the integrity and accuracy of data.

Core Content of Reports

Basic project information: Clarify project type, facility configuration, value chain participants, operation cycle, etc. Define the project accounting and monitoring boundaries.
Summary of monitoring data: Present the original data, statistical results, and anomaly explanations of core indicators by value chain links.
Carbon sink-related explanations: Include carbon storage capacity, carbon loss accounting logic, data source basis, and compliance certificates for each link of the value chain.

Technical Support for Reporting

Hardware-software collaboration: Integrate collected data and management systems. Use tools such as APIs and blockchains. Realize real-time data upload and integration. Reduce labor costs.
Multi-tool empowerment: Use tools such as fleet management and on-site collection APPs. Complete location recording and photo upload of tracks and scenarios. Improve traceability.
Template standardization: Adopt a unified report template. Standardize data format. Facilitate verifiers to capture key information. Improve audit efficiency.

Verification focuses on “data traceability, scientific verification, and full-chain coverage”. It not only verifies the accuracy of monitoring data but also confirms the compliance of the whole project life cycle and the rationality of carbon sink accounting. The verification process must rely on scientific testing methods and clear standards.

Dimensions and Processes

Data traceability verification: Trace recording process, and storage path of monitoring data. Confirm that the data meets collection specifications.
Full-link compliance verification: Compliance certification of raw materials/production processes/end-use scenarios, implementation of leakage control.
Laboratory and on-site verification: Combine third-party testing and on-site verification. Verify biochar quality and carbon storage indicators. Supplement and confirm data accuracy.
Stakeholder collaborative verification: Link value chain participants such as raw material suppliers, logistics partners, and end users. Cross-verify data consistency.

Evolution Trends

Intelligent evolution: Shift from annual manual verification to real-time verification. Use prediction models and automated equipment. Adjust data dynamically. Improve verification efficiency.
Scope expansion: Extend verification to the secondary impacts of the whole life cycle (including leakage and full-chain emissions). Ensure the comprehensiveness of carbon sink value.
Transparency empowerment: Realize verification transparency through blockchain technology. Results are traceable and immutable. Strengthen data credibility.

In the End

2025 European Biochar CDR Conference covers standardized guidelines for the entire biochar chain, from source raw material control to final carbon removal verification. These key points not only integrate global industry best practices but also reflect cutting-edge trends in technological innovation. Best Group will continue to promote the exchange and popularization of biochar technology, contributing to the achievement of global carbon reduction goals. Want to learn more about carbon removal? Follow us on LinkedIn.