Earthcare, LLC is proud to announce that it has become the first company globally to certify and offer for sale carbon offset removal credits (CORCs) generated by biochar produced from animal manure. Earthcare’s thermal gasification installation at Riverview Farms, Indiana, produces environmentally beneficial biochar from poultry manure. It is the first company to offer high-quality third-party verified CORCs to the voluntary carbon market from manure-based organic feedstock. The credits are certified through carbon removal standards and registry at Puro.earth to ensure key environmental and carbon accounting criteria are met.
Earthcare’s Riverview Farms facility sequesters CO2 from the gasification process of poultry manure at a family-owned farm in Indiana. The resulting biochar produced from this process is then beneficially land applied as a soil amendment, which sequesters carbon and has the benefits of adding micronutrients to the soil and retaining moisture to improve crop yields. CORCs certified, registered, and sold on various recognized platforms such as Puro.earth have been made from biochar produced from wood-based feedstocks.
“Manure-based biochar is very different than wood-based biochar,” says Earthcare’s President and CEO, Michael L. McGolden. “Although the fixed carbon content of manure-based chars is less than that of its wood-based counterpart, the manure-based chars have beneficial nutrients that are completely absent in biochar produced from wood-based feedstocks,” according to McGolden whose gasification technology has been deployed in several facilities throughout the world processing an array of organic feedstocks. “While agronomic end-use markets are still the primary uses for biochar, remediation applications including PFAS and ammonia adsorption, stormwater remediation, and green infrastructure are gaining ground,” says Sean Sweeney, Executive Vice President. “The key is to design the right biochar product for the right application as not all chars are created equal,” according to Sweeney.
Earthcare’s project is certified through Puro.earth’s Geologically Stored Carbon methodology as net-negative, verified, and audited by a third-party for life cycle analysis. The Puro.earth issued CO2 Removal Certificates (CORCs) will indicate 1,000-plus years of carbon sequestration, providing the key environmental criteria of permanence and additionality. For traceability and transparency, CORCs are issued in the Puro Registry, where their complete lifecycle is recorded, from issuance to retirement, as emphasized by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (IC-VCM) and International Carbon Reduction and Offsetting Accreditation (ICROA). Puro’s registry currently lists 264 vintage 2023 CO2 Removal Certificates from the Riverview Farms project, each representing one tonne of CO2 removal, equivalent to driving an average gasoline-fueled vehicle approximately 5,000 miles.
Earthcare partnered with GECA Environnement in the CORC certification and audit process and will be working to certify the CORCs generated from biochar produced at its Bethel, Pennsylvania facility in early 2025. This hybrid facility processes biosolids from municipal wastewater facilities in addition to locally-sourced poultry manure. “We are excited to continue to lead the way in manure-based biochar production with several facilities in varying stages of development throughout the U.S.,” according to McGolden. “Earthcare is not just an organics management solution and not just a biochar production technology; our focus is on developing a circular environmental and business ecosystem that drives real environmental change while producing economic benefit,” says Sweeney. “The markets are continuing to develop rapidly, enabling us to scale to meet the ever-increasing environmental demands for organics management and global decarbonization.”
About Earthcare
Earthcare, LLC is a leader in non-wood organics gasification technology with operating facilities across the globe. With more than 20 years of experience in organics waste management and biochar production, its Ecochar™ by-product has been applied in many beneficial applications with great success. The Earthcare Family of Companies provides holistic solutions to organic waste management, decarbonization, and an array of beneficial applications of biochar through a dedicated team of professionals. Our devoted experts provide circular solutions to clients across the globe. Earthcare is transforming waste into valuable resources – one solution at a time.