Bioforcetech, a waste management company operating out of South San Francisco and Milan, Italy, is part of a pioneering global movement to pit clean technology against one of the world’s filthiest industries. Its goal is to redefine the sewage supply chain with biochar.Biochar is a product of pyrolysis, a process that transforms organic materials like wood chips and farm, animal or food waste by heating them at mega-high temperatures in the absence of oxygen.
When you put compost down, over time, carbon will start leaking back into the atmosphere. Adding more compost will sequester that carbon for a while, but a cycle is created of carbon and compost. “It's a completely new, radical way of doing business,” said Mcgiffen. “You suddenly say, ‘We want to convert all your poop into charcoal?’ Politically it's a really tough one.”
Sewage is usually processed in a wastewater treatment plant. Out of treatment come biosolids, among other products, sometimes called sewage sludge, which is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency as well as state and municipal bodies, to meet various standards for safety and pollutant reduction.
“Some municipalities will look at something like biochar or other processes to remove the liability that could potentially be out there if they're sending their biosolids out for land application without prior treatment,” said Miles, “even though it's hard to define what that liability might be.”