Coalition leads the way on environment solutions

Date Published: 2009-06-25

After seeing the biochar unit in action locally, I organised for a demonstration to be held at Parliament House.

The demonstration held on the Parliament House front lawn on Thursday 18 June showcased the Australian designed and built Real Power Systems Thermo Chemical Conversion Unit (TCCU).

The unit has the flexibility of use from farm scale through to large industrial. Already the demonstration system has travelled more than 6000km. It takes wood waste and similar materials and converts it to clean burning syngas and Biochar.

Designers, Peter & Kerry Davies, are highly regarded in industry and government with backgrounds in agriculture, public service, forestry, saw milling and bio‐energy. The TCCU is the culmination of more than two decades of research.

In Australia, research by NSW DPI suggests Biochar:

  • Combats CO2 emissions by storing carbon in the ground (reduces greenhouse gas emissions)
  • Prevents leaching of nutrients and contaminants from the soil
  • Increases soil water retention rates by up to 30 per cent
  • Progressively reduces the amount of chemical fertiliser required
  • Reduces methane, N2O and CO2 emissions from soils
  • Dramatically increases plant yields

Additionally pyrolysis processes that produce Biochar are able to:

  • Receive and convert greenhouse gas emitting landfill, plantation forestry waste, sewerage sludge, etc, into Biochar
  • Produce the by‐product syngas which can produce power for domestic and commercial consumption