<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman', sans-serif;"><div><div><div>While biomass is carbon neutral in principle, its use seldom is as the collection and processing of it is not. The claim of carbon neutrality in the use of biomass has opened the industry to valid criticism as over-stating its benefits. Bioenergy and biofuels are better than fossil fuels, but carbon neutrality is a hyperbole, in my opinion.</div><div><br></div><div>And while biochar is carbon negative in principle, not all of it is fixed and some appears to be vulnerable to biological activity. Proving the degree of sequestration is challenging, and few jurisdictions have officially accepted this aspect of biochar. </div><div><br></div><div>That said, bioenergy, biofuels and biochar are all (usually) beneficial to fight climate change (compared to fossil fuels), but we should be careful not to overstate the degree that this takes place.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div><div id="MAC_OUTLOOK_SIGNATURE"><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-family: 'Times New Roman', sans-serif;"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#0000FF"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size: 14px;">Gerald Kutney, Ph.D.</font></font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-family: 'Times New Roman', sans-serif;"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#0000FF"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size: 14px;">Managing Director</font></font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-family: 'Times New Roman', sans-serif;"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#0000FF"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size: 14px;">Sixth Element Sustainable Management</font></font></div><div><span style="font-size: 14px;"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#0000FF"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Times New Roman">“<font face="Times New Roman,sans-serif">Innovation can move the world</font></font></font><font color="#0000ff" face="Times New Roman,sans-serif">”</font></span></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#0000FF"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Times New Roman"><font face="Times New Roman,sans-serif" style="font-size: 14px;">www.6esm.com (613) 425-0619</font></font></font></div></div></div></div></div></div><div><br></div><span id="OLK_SRC_BODY_SECTION"><div style="font-family:Calibri; font-size:12pt; text-align:left; color:black; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: #b5c4df 1pt solid; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 3pt"><span style="font-weight:bold">From: </span> Gasification <<a href="mailto:gasification-bounces@lists.bioenergylists.org">gasification-bounces@lists.bioenergylists.org</a>> on behalf of Anand Karve <<a href="mailto:adkarve@gmail.com">adkarve@gmail.com</a>><br><span style="font-weight:bold">Reply-To: </span> Discussion of biomass pyrolysis and gasification <<a href="mailto:gasification@lists.bioenergylists.org">gasification@lists.bioenergylists.org</a>><br><span style="font-weight:bold">Date: </span> Wednesday, April 20, 2016 at 4:43 AM<br><span style="font-weight:bold">To: </span> Discussion of biomass pyrolysis and gasification <<a href="mailto:gasification@lists.bioenergylists.org">gasification@lists.bioenergylists.org</a>><br><span style="font-weight:bold">Subject: </span> Re: [Gasification] Biochar - Carbon Negative?<br></div><div><br></div><span style="mso-bookmark:_MailOriginalBody"><div dir="ltr">Dear Doug,<div>biomass is formed by the process of photosynthesis. Burning biomass is considered to be carbon neutral, because the carbon dioxide produced in this process was originally already in the atmosphere before it got sequestered in plants by photosynthesis. After being released into the atmosphere by burning, it would be sequestered again in plants by photosynthesis. Therefore, the carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere is zero. if any of the biomass is converted into char and buried into the soil, it creates a negative carbon dioxide balance, irrespective of the proportion of char going into the soil.</div><div>Yours</div><div>A.D.Karve</div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br clear="all"><div><div class="gmail_signature">***<br>Dr. A.D. Karve<br><br>Chairman, Samuchit Enviro Tech Pvt Ltd (<a href="http://www.samuchit.com" target="_blank">www.samuchit.com</a>)<br><br>Trustee & Founder President, Appropriate Rural Technology Institute (ARTI)<br></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Apr 20, 2016 at 11:24 AM, Doug Williams <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:doug.williams.nz@gmail.com" target="_blank">doug.williams.nz@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">Hi Mark,<br><br>
You ask:<br><span class="">> After gasification, approximately 5% of the woody biomass remains a biochar<br>
> which sequesters carbon, hence a 'carbon negative' claim can be made.<br><br></span>Qualify which type of gasification, because 5% would only apply to a<br>
high performance gas making system. If however it was a pyrolysing char<br>
making system, about 1/3rd of the fuel weight would be char, but two<br>
thirds would be consumed by combustion to become a CO2 emission. So not<br>
honestly carbon negative in my opinion (other than replacing fossil<br>
carbon). Restoration of the environmental CO2 balance would be a tricky<br>
calculation.<br><span class=""><br>
> Alternatively, if the woody waste is left to rot in situ, the carbon<br>
> sequestration is 0% (all carbon is released/transformed into CO2 and other<br>
> gasses).<br><br></span>That fits the normal explanations, we all go back to CO2 and CH4 if<br>
left to rot(:-)<br><br>
> True?<br><br>
Truth can be very elastic sided when claims are made about<br>
gasification, so take care to confirm all calculations regarding the<br>
process in question.There is a lot of attention paid to carbon credits<br>
as an intensive to cheat in the Souther Hemisphere, and one should be<br>
careful if included in any proposals.<br><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><br>
Doug Williams,<br>
Fluidyne.<br></font></span><div class="HOEnZb"><div class="h5"><br>
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