In many tropical regions, monocultural export-oriented plantations are associated with large volumes of agricultural waste, which go hand in hand with meaningful environmental contamination. Being part of a bigger project in Côte d'Ivoire ("Olea Vitalis", see Further information) aiming to upcycle industrial waste from the palm oil and coconut industry for nutrient upcycling to promote soil fertility among smallholder farmers, this project focuses on how to best convert lignin-rich residues through pyrolysis. These materials, unsuitable for composting, are converted into high quality biochar, which then is mixed with compost produced from palm oil residues to serve as a soil enhancing fertilizer for smallholder farmers. While the farmers benefit from long-term yields, the technology per se has important climate-relevant effects, by sequestering carbon and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through improved nutrient cycling and the use of the pyrolysis heat in the drying of the cobra.
In the framework of the project, engaging both Swiss and local partners, a robust continuous pyrolysis system will be developed and industrially run to produce EBC certified biochar from waste coconut shells and palm kernel shells. Besides implementing and showcasing this scalable, climate-friendly waste management technology, the project aims to build local technical capacity among Ivorian professionals in the construction, operation, and dissemination of this pyrolysis systems.
Project manager
fibl.org: Project "Olea Vitalis" in the FiBL Projectdatabase
