Turning Bamboo Waste into Biochar: Unlocking a New Path for Carbon Credits

thesaigontimes.vn

Bamboo King Vina, a company located in Linh Son Commune, Thanh Hoa Province, is transforming bamboo waste into biochar, paving a new path for forestry waste treatment, sustainable agriculture, and tapping into the carbon credit market.

Every day, Bamboo King Vina (BKV), based in Bai Bui industrial cluster, processes about 1,500 tons of bamboo and wood, generating 800–900 tons of waste including branches, leaves, roots, bamboo scraps, and sawdust. Previously, this biomass was mostly burned or left to rot outdoors, releasing CO₂, CH₄ (methane), and fine dust into the environment.

Since mid-last year, BKV has launched the “Bamboo King Vina Biochar” project, investing in six advanced pyrolysis lines. This technology combusts biomass in an oxygen-limited environment at temperatures between 600–800°C, locking carbon into biochar. The gases generated during this process are reused to power the furnace, reducing emissions into the atmosphere.

The project is registered under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) by U.S.-based nonprofit Verra, under project ID 5108, with a crediting period from June 2024 to May 2031. The company’s designed capacity currently reaches 47,520 tons of biochar per year.

According to calculations, the plant is expected to reduce or remove approximately 112,000 tons of CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e) annually—about 784,000 tons over the first seven years. These reductions will be internationally verified and converted into carbon credits (VCUs) that are the property of the company. These are classified as carbon removal credits, which currently sell on the market for USD 100–300 per credit.

Biochar produced from bamboo waste will be directly applied to soil or indirectly used in livestock farming, composting, and sludge treatment. This carbon-rich material helps improve soil porosity and water retention, reduces the need for chemical fertilizers, and lowers nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions—a greenhouse gas hundreds of times more potent than CO₂, primarily emitted during the breakdown of nitrogen-based fertilizers and organic matter. The carbon stored in biochar can remain in the soil for hundreds of years, effectively turning farmland into a natural carbon sink.

Beyond its environmental significance, the project also brings economic benefits to farmers by creating value from bamboo waste while returning biochar to the fields to improve crop yields and reduce production costs.

Mr. Do Quoc Thai, Chairman of the Board of Bamboo King Vina, shared that the company is looking to expand to 15 facilities nationwide through investment attraction, biochar equipment supply, and consulting services for carbon credit registration.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, Vietnam currently has nearly 1.6 million hectares of bamboo plantations across many provinces and cities. Thanh Hoa is one of the largest bamboo growing areas in the country, supplying tens of millions of culms to the market annually.