Carbofex, a Finnish company founded in 2016, is one of Europe’s largest EBC-certified biochar producers. The company has developed a thermal pyrolysis technology that produces non-energent biochar from biomass while permanently removing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the natural carbon cycle. One ton of Carbofex biochar removes 3.2 equivalent tons of CO₂ from the atmosphere. Since 2019, Carbofex’s solution has captured over 3,000 tons of CO₂.
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Challenges
Carbon emissions
Since the early 1900s, carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels in the atmosphere have increased by 50% due to human activities. When fossil fuels (such as coal, oil, and natural gas) are burned for energy production, transportation, and industrial processes, CO₂ is released into the atmosphere. This excess CO₂ acts as a greenhouse gas, trapping heat and causing the air and ocean temperatures to rise. CO₂ emissions play a crucial role in driving climate change.
This warming effect has caused the global average temperature to rise by about 1.1 ºC since the pre-industrial period. This has led to rising in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, melting of polar ice caps and glaciers and rising sea levels, shifts in species ranges and increased risk of species extinction, agriculture and food security, and ocean acidification.
To mitigate these impacts, the Paris Agreement aims to limit global warming to well below 2 ºC above pre-industrial levels. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that a “carbon budget” of about 500 GtCO₂, which corresponds to about ten years at current emission rates, provides a 66% chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 ºC.
Biochar carbon removal
Biochar removes CO₂ from the atmosphere through carbon sequestration. It starts with plants absorbing atmospheric CO₂ during photosynthesis and converting it into biomass. Biomass is converted to a stable solid biochar at high temperatures in the absence of oxygen. Biochar can endure in soil for thousands of years.
When biochar is added to soil, it acts as a carbon sink, storing the carbon that was previously in the atmosphere. This long-term carbon storage contributes to the reduction of CO₂ in the atmosphere, thereby aiding efforts to mitigate climate change. In addition to its carbon sequestration role, biochar improves soil performance by enhancing the retention and diffusion of water and nutrients.
Carbofex Technology
Carbofex has developed a simple and efficient thermal pyrolysis system that continuously converts biomass into non-energent biochar in the absence of oxygen. The biochar contains very few polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds. This is accomplished by thermally treating the biomass inside a conveyor reactor system through the use of water vapor. Syngas produced in the conveyor reactor flows in the opposite direction of the traveling to-be-processed biomass. Syngas transfers heat to biomass. The cooled syngas is combusted by a gas burner to directly heat the conveyor reactor system. The entire process is self-sustaining.
Carbofex pyrolysis system
The diagram below depicts Carbofex thermal pyrolysis system.
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