New thread: Carbon6 Oct 2020 17:06
Been back reading through all the NRW correspondence. Found this and thought it was interesting:
The oxford English dictionary defines biogenic as being “Produced or brought about by living organisms.” In the context of the SUP waste derived fuel pellets this material would constitute ‘biomass’, meaning the biodegradable fraction of products, waste and residues of biological origin from agriculture, forestry and related industries and the biodegradable fraction of wastes. The vast majority of this material contained within the fuel pellets is waste paper and cardboard which cannot be effectively recycled.
Because the carbon contained within this material has relatively recently been absorbed from the atmosphere in the form of CO2 during the life of the parent plant material, the CO2 released during its combustion is deemed net zero at point of use.
Biogenic carbon is that in plant-derived material, such as waste paper and cardboard, whereas fossil carbon is that in material derived from fossil fuels, such as plastics. Only fossil carbon is regarded as causing a net increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration, having been released from long-term geological storage. Biogenic carbon was drawn down from the atmosphere by the plants during growth prior to being released again by combustion, so over this short cycle does not change the net atmospheric concentration, provided that the C content is released as CO2 and not as methane (CH4, such as from a decomposition process).