Methodology · 03
A biochar credit is two things stitched together: a long-term carbon sink and a compensation for the short-term methane released during pyrolysis. Here is how the standard handles each.
Biochar carbon does not persist uniformly. Part of it is geological-scale stable, part of it decays over centuries. The standard splits every certified biochar into two fractions and treats them differently.
~75% of certified biochar
The polyaromatic structure of well-pyrolyzed biochar. Persists in soil for over a thousand years. This is the only fraction that is sold as durable carbon removal.
Used forSold as long-duration carbon removal credits.
~25% of certified biochar
Decays in soil over a roughly fifty-year window. Treated as a temporary sink. Cannot be sold as removal, but can offset short-lived greenhouse gases like methane.
Used forMethane compensation and global-cooling services.
Burning biomass in low oxygen always releases some methane. The certification body requires every credit to come with a strategy for compensating that warming within a twenty-year window. Four methods are accepted.
New plantings on fallow land, silvopasture, or natural-regeneration sites. Replacing existing trees does not count, only new biomass. The standard credits the cooling effect of the new growth over a twenty-year window.
Fast-growing bamboo with continuous harvest delivers a high methane offset per plant. A common option where land and conditions support it.
A portion of the methane warming from a batch can be offset using the SPC fraction of the same biochar. It is not enough on its own, so it usually stacks with trees or bamboo.
Where farmers previously burned residue in the field, switching to controlled pyrolysis avoids significant methane and particulate emissions. Producers sign a declaration not to burn anymore.
The standard deducts a small margin of security from every credit to cover transport, milling, blending, and field application emissions that have not been individually measured. If transport from production to field is unusually long, those extra fuel emissions are accounted on top. This is why a project model uses conservative numbers rather than headline ones.
Newsletter
Updates on active projects, technical findings, and honest accounts of what's working and what needs iteration.
One email a month. Unsubscribe any time.
