This research explored the opportunities and constraints to combine production of biofuels for local use in an African context and biochar for soil use with low-temperature pyrolysis. Three real-world issues justify this approach:
- The need for rural land-users in Africa to generate additional household income and fuels to spread risk and allow transport for access to markets.
- The necessity to provide sustainable production systems that minimize soil degradation and increase efficiency of applied nutrients.
- The demand for solutions to global warming.
The research addressed three important questions:
- How can pyrolysis of biomass be linked to microbial processing to make biofuels and char from biomass?
- What level of biofuels production will local biomass resources allow?
- What impacts on energy, economics, and the environment can be foreseen with analysis and modeling of adoption?
View publications arising from the Village-Scale Pyrolysis project.