Responsibility / Opportunity
What or wherever the setting, the emission products of burning fossil fuel or municipal solid waste (MSW) include Greenhouse Gases (GHGs). The sourcing or refining of fossil fuel might be green-washed by its producers, but the concerning byproduct of its combustion is still CO2.
( C = carbon, H = hydrogen, O = oxygen, N = nitrogen )
The resulting increased atmospheric CO2 concentration is the main cause of climate change. Increased concentrations of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) are also contributory and require more rigorous management. Concentrations of the latter two, and other GHGs, are frequently expressed as CO2 equivalents (CO2e), i.e., the mass of CO2 which would cause an equivalent global warming impact. This worsening condition is the current state of our atmosphere.
The reduction of GHG emissions is a primary method in the solution to climate change. More accurately the reduction in NET GHG emissions, which also includes all the technologies contributing to the removal and sequestration of atmospheric CO2. Sequestration refers to that carbon’s permanent or near permanent removal from the atmosphere so it no longer contributes to global warming.
The Hamakua Group, a nonprofit corporation registered in the State of Hawaii, intends to implement such a project of carbon sequestration. One on a scale new to our island of Oahu.
The Initiative also provides local co-benefits. Modern pyrolysis equipment can, e.g., process a wide variety of MSW to offer a reduction in our currently expanding landfill usage and CO2 emissions resulting from MSW incineration. And further, to help reduce Hawaii’s lack of self-sufficiency in food production.
The Hamakua Biochar Initiative
Solutions and Co-Benefits
The Initiative is designed to operate on an expanding scale to help nullify increasing CO2e concentrations in our atmosphere.
In this setting waste biomass (plants containing photosynthetic carbon from the atmosphere and carbonaceous MSW) is processed to create Biochar (stable carbon). This Biochar is then distributed and incorporated into local farm soils, sequestering its carbon from the atmosphere and ending it’s role in long-term global warming.
Following is a concise schema of our proposed actions, results and significant co-benefits applicable across our State.
It begins with only WASTE biomass (carbonaceous waste) from MSW, local farms, landscaping firms, property owners, etc. …
>> Process in carbon-neutral pyrolysis furnace(s) to produce Biochar (stable carbon) thus preventing its flow into landfills or being incinerated with consequent CO2 emissions.
>> Add Biochar to compost during its composting cycle to create an even more effective soil amendment.
>> Apply amendment to Hawaii’s acid soils to increase crop yields and lessen current use and expense of chemical fertilizer.
>> Thus decreasing costs of food production, and the need and cost of food importation.
>> Leading to the reduction in public retail food cost.
>> All while reducing atmospheric CO2 concentrations as Biochar’s now stable carbon is sequestered into our needy agricultural soils.
>> And most specifically, a reduction in NET CO2 emissions. (NET CO2 emissions = CO2 emissions minus CO2 sequestrations)
The application of such a modern Biochar / compost soil amendment nourishes the soil microbial community which builds and maintains soil fertility and resilience. The advantages of these healthier soils include increased moisture holding capacity and the ability to more effectively transfer nitrogen to plants. Also, the reduction in soil emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O). (Nitrogen from compost is increased due to the addition of Biochar during the composting cycle.) These advantages are apparent even during the first growing season. In livestock operations adding Biochar to manure compost significantly decreases the mixture’s methane (CH4) emissions.
Considering all these benefits, the Initiative’s over-arching solution is its sequestration of atmospheric CO2, i.e., the conversion of source biomass’ unstable photosynthetic carbon (from the atmosphere) into Biochar (stable carbon) for sequestration into agricultural soils where most remains for hundreds of years.
This project is “low-hanging fruit” in the global effort to disrupt climate change. There’s a large payoff for the dollars spent, especially considering the local co-benefits beyond the sequestration advantage itself. The system’s scalability allows its practical expansion to equitably serve the local producers who work near the foundation of our agricultural food-chain.
See Sect 3.1.3 Biochar, in “Sustainable…“.
Following are a few sections from The Hamakua Group Business Plan.
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Rev 7.6.25
