| dc.description.abstract | In the light of the increasing focus on climate changes biochar is now considered one of the Negative Emission Technologies (NET) in the toolbox. Biochar is the product of pyrolyzed biomass and has a variety of applications besides capturing and storing carbon (PyCCS). This includes the established soil improvement application and newer, less explored applications as an additive in concrete or solar dye cells. Research for new applications is ongoing. Pyrolyzed wood feedstock, called biocarbon, is already being used in the metallurgical industry to replace fossil coal. The biochar market is still immature; the production is very low and so is the demand. This thesis analyzes the market state of affairs with the objective of predicting the future of biochar as an economically viable product. Some key points for new entrants are established through Porter’s five forces model and Value Chain Analysis. Some points on optimal production plant are presented. The analysis demonstrates that biochar plant size should not exceed a yearly production of 50 000 tons biochar because the costs of logistics become too large. This is due to biological constraint that limits the quantity of biomass that can be collected per area. The area required for producing the millions of tons biocarbon needed for the metallurgical industry is too large so biocarbon will not be able to replace fossil coal completely. The potential demand in the agricultural industry for biochar is even larger, several hundreds of thousands of tons, will neither be possible to produce. The potential supply will never reach the potential demand. This thesis demonstrates why the best chance of success is within the biochar for the agriculture market. | |
