Today, more than ever, compa­nies are faced with rising waste disposal costs and legis­la­tion aimed at redu­cing waste, while encou­ra­ging recy­cling.  Further­more, they are being chal­lenged by govern­ments and consu­mers, to demons­trate lower CO₂ emis­sions and circular economy initiatives.

Inno­va­tive solu­tions to meet these chal­len­ging requi­re­ments:  Carbo­niza­tion systems can trans­form carbo­naceous waste into value-added products, while provi­ding a proven solu­tion to help lower your Carbon Foot­print.  The same, proven PYREG tech­no­logy that was first used to carbo­nize sewage sludge into high-quality phos­phorus ferti­lizer, can just as well be applied to trans­form mixed waste into a product called biochar. Biochar seques­ters CO₂. Used as a soil improver it rein­tro­duces important elements in the envi­ron­ment, substi­tutes highly pollu­ting mate­rials of diffe­rent use, and gives all of us the oppor­tu­nity to create a stronger circular economy.

The disposal of indus­trial and consumer waste is beco­ming incre­asingly complex and cost-inten­sive world­wide. The legal direc­tives required by envi­ron­mental policy aim to reduce waste, elimi­nate land­fills and increase raw mate­rial reuse.  Carbo­niza­tion allows redu­cing waste volumes by more than 90%.

Sepa­ra­tion of mixed waste often entails long trans­port distances, high sorta­tion costs and low resi­dual value of reco­vered mate­rials (due to conta­mi­na­tion).  However, PYREG systems offer a proven alter­na­tive to those cost-prohi­bi­tive, mixed waste sepa­ra­tion models. By applying that tech­no­logy, manu­fac­tu­ring compa­nies can actually upcycle organic waste into valuable biochar, thereby “closing the loop” and demons­t­ra­ting a true Circular Economy.

During this carbo­niza­tion process, the majo­rity of the carbon is actually seques­tered in the resul­ting biochar, thereby inhi­bi­ting the release of CO₂ into the atmo­sphere, for centu­ries.  Further­more, as the PYREG system operates at tempe­ra­tures of up to 750°C, organic-based pollut­ants (such as solvents and micro­pla­s­tics) are prac­ti­cally elimi­nated and mineral pollut­ants are filtered, to ensure they cannot re-enter the envi­ron­ment.  The process itself is auto­thermal; meaning that only energy, gene­rated by the carbo­niza­tion of the waste mate­rial, is used to perpe­tuate the opera­tion of the system.