European Biochar Certificate (EBC) - Guidelines Version 10.3

Sewage sludge, digestate, slurry and manure new on the EBC positive list

Good day

From the outset, there were some glaring omissions in the EBC positive list of permissible biomass types, namely manure, slurry, digestate and sewage sludge. Various regulations and laws made it difficult to approve these raw materials, which are not directly plant-based, for biochar production. However, ultimately it is these very types of biomass that predominate on farms, in cities and in municipalities. To date they incur costs, but they are also sufficiently homogeneous for inspection and control.

For years now, several manufacturers have been conducting pioneering trials to generate safe, value-added products from sewage sludge for the farming sector. In terms of pyrolysis technology, all major problems have now been solved and there are several different types of facility that operate reliably and produce biochar of certifiable quality.

European Biochar Certificate (EBC) - Guidelines Version 10.3

Please find the positive list, guidelines and trackchanges here:

With the new Version 10.3, which comes into force on 21 April 2023, the EBC regulates the use of manure, slurry and digestate as feedstock for the production of biochar for all certification classes with the exception of EBC-Feed and EBC-FeedPlus. Similarly, sewage sludge is now a permitted feedstock for EBC-BasicMaterials.
Pursuant to some country annexes, such as the annex for Denmark, and under certain additional conditions, the pyrolysis products may also be put to agricultural uses.

Julia Winter
Product Management EBC, Carbon Standards International AG

While in some countries the permissible types of feedstock for the production of biochar are still limited, the new EU Fertilising Products Regulation already allows the use of livestock-based feedstock such as slurry, manure and digestate. Moreover, pyrolysed sewage sludge may already be used as fertiliser in some EU countries, and with certain restrictions.

Numerous scientific publications explore the conditions under which biochars from these types of feedstock can be used safely and effectively as fertilisers. With version 10.3, the EBC sets clear parameters on the basis of which the quality and safety of pyrolysates from the newly approved types of feedstock are assured and controlled.

We have added additional products to the EBC positive list as well as a country annex for Denmark.

Best regards

Carbon Standards International AG

Julia Winter
Product Management EBC

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