Biochar boom? South Africa bets on super charcoal for green jobs

TimesLIVE

5 days ago

Sithandekile Nyathi confidently hoists herself into the compact loader, lowers the metal caging around the vehicle and drives towards large mounds of wood timber chips.
The chips go up a conveyor belt into a converter, where they are heated and turned into a type of 'biochar' called activated carbon, a charcoal that stores carbon and could help cut planet-heating carbon dioxide emissions.
'I used to be a maid. I never thought I would work in an industry that helps lives and the environment,' said Nyathi, a controller at the plant in Brakpan owned by Adsorb, a local manufacturer of activated carbon.
South Africa is a coal-rich country but has been the poster child for international efforts to shift towards cleaner energy and industries.
However, funding challenges, high unemployment rates and political divides have stalled the efforts, raising questions about how the transition should happen.
Darryl Phipps, a chemical engineer and manager of the Adsorb plant where Nyathi works, said he thinks the plant east of Johannesburg is the first of its kind globally.
It uses self-sustaining energy, the heat in the converter, to turn wood chips directly into activated charcoal or steam-activated biochar, which allows for greater binding of organic molecules to its surface and has clean flue gas as its only byproduct.
Some proponents see the biochar sector as one answer to job creation and carbon capture, but the young industry is struggling with a lack of South African data and funding support, experts said.
Globally, the industry was valued at $600m (R10.6bn) in 2023, up 97% from 2021, according to the International Biochar Initiative (IBI).
Biochar and activated carbon have been praised by some researchers, farmers and industry experts for improving soil quality and water retention, absorbing toxins and capturing carbon.
When used as a fertiliser, biochar improves water holding capacity which helps plants survive drought conditions, according to research publisher Frontiers.
Initial studies into South Africa's agricultural sector have showed biochar improved maize yield and soil health, but researchers called for further long-term research, according to the University of Venda.