Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
How loud is a biochar pyrolysis unit?
The loudest working part of the system is the electrical generator. At a distance of three metres it's 65-70db. 10m from the door it drops to 50-53db. As a comparison, a restaurant or office is regularly around 60db and the maximum level of noise allowed in a working environment is 85db.
Will the process create odours?
There are no smells from the operation of a biochar plant as gases and oils are combusted internally and the emissions from this process are scrubbed before being dispersed via a flue. The proposed feedstock is woody material from felled and chipped timber and woody material rejected from composting operations because of it being too large, these materials should not cause any odour issues but we will monitor this. We are not planning to use any food waste in the process at any site and it is not a biological process like anaerobic digestion.
Are there emissions from the unit?
Woodtek Ltd clean all the emission before venting to the atmosphere using a wet scrubber meaning that Particulates are virtually eliminated.
- Methane: 0 emissions
- Sulphur and chlorine: 99% removal
- Nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide: 95% removal
This would be the same for a unit at the proposed Ludlow site.
How big is a pyrolysis unit?
Pyrolysis units are housed indoors. The length of the unit in Powys is 18.3m by 24m width, with a maximum height of 7m.
How much carbon will be removed through the pyrolysis to biochar process?
Our unit in Powys will be able to sequester the equivalent of at least 1,600 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere every year. As a comparison Shropshire Council’s net direct (scope 1 and 2) carbon emissions in 2023 were 2,539 tonnes of CO2e.
How long is the carbon stored?
When biochar is added to the soil it stores the carbon for 100+ years. In materials, storage time depends on how long the material is used for and if the material is reused or recycled.
Where can the units be placed?
Units can be placed on any industrial or agricultural land, subject to the relevant planning permissions being granted.
Our first site near Welshpool is on agricultural land, near to an existing farm.
Our proposed site on Coder Road Business Park on the outskirts of Ludlow was the home of our former anaerobic digestion plant. The Coder Road site is already owned by us and the location, its buildings and former use lend very well to installing the technology to produce biochar.
What feedstock is used?
We're planning to mostly use mainly woody materials. Feedstock types include:
Arboricultural arisings, virgin whole tree, virgin wood chip, parks and gardens arisings from Shropshire Council’s estate, and possibly woody material rejected due to its size from composting operations.
Will there be lots of additional vehicles?
During the development stage some vehicles will be required to bring plant, equipment and materials to the site but this is expected to be just a few per day. During the operational phase vehicles will be required to deliver feedstock for the process and remove the biochar product. We expect this to require two to four small lorry movements per day. The times permitted for deliveries and collections will be set by the planning process.
What throughput will the biochar plant have?
The proposal for Ludlow is for around 5,000 to 6,000 Tonnes of feedstock per year, this is similar to the scale of the operation of the former anaerobic digester.