[Terrapreta] Charcoal: Economics of carbon sequestration (Blog)

[Kevin Chisholm]

Dear Michael

There is another logic, as follows:

If he burns the coal, costing LS42 per tonne, he has to buy carbon 
Credits costing LS56, for a total fuel cost of LS98.

He would be money ahead if he gave use LS97 per tonne for char,so that 
he could set fire to it. :-)

That make sense?

Kevin

Michael Bailes wrote:
> *Charcoal*: Economics of carbon sequestration 
> <http://sustainingfuture.blogspot.com/2008/05/charcoal-economics-of-carbon.html>
> By Administrator: Albert Ip(Administrator: Albert Ip)
> from Carbon Commentary Besides all the benefit of improvement to soil, 
> the carbon sequestration itself already worth the effort:. A tonne of 
> good quality biochar has an energy value of about 28 gigajoules (GJ), 
> slightly less than the *...*
> Sustaining Future - http://sustainingfuture.blogspot.com/ 
> <http://sustainingfuture.blogspot.com/>
> from Carbon Commentary <http://www.carboncommentary.com/2007/11/11/52>
>
> Besides all the benefit of improvement to soil, the carbon 
> sequestration itself already worth the effort:
>
>
>     A tonne of good quality biochar has an energy value of about 28
>     gigajoules (GJ), slightly less than the best quality coal. (Pure
>     black carbon is about 32 GJ/tonne.) Standard coal costs about
>     £1.50 per GJ. If a power station operator is prepared to pay the
>     coal-equivalent price, biochar is worth about £42 per tonne in the UK.
>
>     Burning a tonne of biochar will produce about three and a half
>     tonnes of CO2. (Pure carbon would generate 3.667 tonnes.) The
>     current price of CO2 in the European Emissions Trading Scheme
>     (ETS) is about £16, meaning that sequestering 3.5 tonnes ought to
>     be worth approximately £56. Since £56 is greater than £42, the
>     economic logic suggests that we should hold the carbon in the soil
>     rather than burning it. This is before considering the secondary
>     climate change benefits of reduced fertiliser use and lowered
>     nitrous oxide emissions. [my emphasis]
>
>
>
> -- 
> Michael the Archangel
> "Politicians will never solve The Problem;
> because they don't realise they are The Problem.".
> -Robert ( Bob ) Parsons 1995
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