Carbon Standards has introduced a draft certification standard designed to strengthen the verification of biochar production through continuous monitoring of industrial pyrolysis equipment.
The Swiss-based registry opened a 30-day consultation on its Technically Advanced Kilns (TAK) Standard on October 20. Developed by the Ithaka Institute, the framework is intended for professional, closed-flame pyrolysis systems operating at industrial scale.
Existing biochar standards typically rely on annual sampling and audit visits. Under the proposed approach, key production data—including reactor and flue-gas temperatures, oxygen levels and biochar output—would be recorded continuously and transmitted online. Carbon content would be measured daily.
The system cross-checks production figures against feedstock consumption, temperature readings and carbon content. Batches would qualify for certification only for periods supported by complete records, excluding volumes produced during gaps in monitoring.
The standard also requires pyrolysis to operate without fossil-fuel energy, mandates oxidation of pyrolysis gases and sets continuously monitored limits for carbon monoxide and methane emissions.
Importantly, TAK certifies biochar production and quality, while the carbon removal associated with the material is quantified and registered under the Global Biochar C-Sink Standard. The new framework is intended to establish a documented chain of evidence linking each registered carbon sink to a verified production batch.
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Carbon Standards Chief Executive Ueli Steiner said real-time monitoring was designed to address uncertainty in carbon markets and strengthen confidence in the underlying data.
“The TAK Standard goes one step further [than other frameworks]: it does not only set the rules, it verifies that they are met – in real time, batch by batch,” said Hans-Peter Schmidt of the Ithaka Institute, the standard’s lead author.
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