#co2 compensation

[schlorian]

[oarfjsh]

am slightly baffled that this conclusion is seemingly just now reaching the broader population but i guess i shouldnt be surprised

[earaercircular]

Elephant grass stores four times as much CO2 as a forest. This company therefore wants to plant it on all wasteland.

A little-known grass may be the answer to the problems with CO2 compensation: applicable locally and everywhere. The company Vibers therefore wants to plant it on all pieces of waste ground in the Netherlands.

Farmers, citizens and builders can use elephant grass [1] to become more sustainable. The plant absorbs four times as much CO2as trees. It also contains cellulose and therefore can be used as a filler in all kinds of products. The Dutch company Vibers[2] wants to expand the planting of this elephant grass on waste ground and thus remove CO2from the air.

It all started on a piece of land in Charlois, a neighbourhood of the Dutch city of Rotterdam that is located on the south bank of the Meuse River. There was a piece of land belonging to a housing corporation, where there used to be houses, but now nothing happened with it. Jan Govert van Gilst, founder of Vibers, planted its first hectare of elephant grass there. For research and development, to see what could be done with it. But also to show that we can make much better use of waste ground in the Netherlands.

Rainforest and palm oil

Van Gilst said goodbye to his well-paid ICT job in 2010. His goal? Making the world a little better. This wish arose after he saw the impact of humans on the environment in Borneo. “Everywhere vast areas of rainforest were being demolished for palm oil plantations. The beaches were awash in a sea of plastic waste. I realized that the damage was due to the demand for stuff we have in the west.”

At that time, sustainability did not really exist, but Van Gilst was already working on it. In 2011, the province of South Holland organized a competition: what can we do with the vacant industrial estates? Van Gilst had the idea to grow raw materials on those empty areas. At first he thought of growing bamboo on building sites, for co-firing in coal plants, but that required too many special machines for the harvest. The agricultural experts at Wageningen[3], whom Van Gilst contacted at the time, had a perfect alternative: elephant grass.

What is Elephant Grass?

Elephant grass is an old plant that has been used in many places and ways. It is a crop of several meters high, with leaves around a thick stem. It ensures good water management of the soil. Therefore (Dutch) farmers used to and still use it on their land. Not only does it retain a lot of water in the soil, it is also good for biodiversity, because insects find shelter under the leaves. And it has unexpected applications: at Schiphol, for example, there is elephant grass to keep the geese away from the aircraft engines. And it is used as biomass: raw material for combustion, generating electricity with its heat.

But Vibers does something different. The company first produced paper, then bio-concrete and finally bioplastics. As the name suggests, Van Gilst and his five colleagues make fibres from the grass. Fibres that can be as large and above all as small as necessary. The fibres of the grass can be made up to fifty micrometres through a process for which Van Gilst has a patent. With those small fibres, the material can serve as a filler in all kinds of products.

As in paper, which means fewer freshly felled trees are needed. Vibers had that paper made at the oldest paper factory in the Netherlands. “When I first started, I immediately ordered two tons of the elephant grass paper. I had to keep that at home. My wife was less happy about that," he says with a smile. Van Gilst started a web shop, Urgenda[4]boss Marjan Minnesma tweeted about this environmentally friendly paper and that's how the ball started rolling.

Bioplastic and concrete

Paper and cardboard are still an important market for elephant grass fibres. But now it is also in (bio) plastic, and in concrete. As a means of filling the empty space, elephant grass is well suited. The company delivers bioplastic granulate and film. Although it is impossible to make plastic entirely from elephant grass, one needs less expensive and environmentally polluting raw materials by replacing part of it with elephant grass. Vibers bio-concrete is available as a mix for outdoor applications in the public space like street furniture, tiles, architectural designs and bases for various uses. Additionally, those products then become 'carbon sinks': material in which CO2 is stored.

Because that's where the grass excels: according to Van Gilst, it stores four times more CO2 per hectare than a forest. Every year, 30 tons of CO2 per hectare disappears from the air in the plant. And that makes it an excellent way to offset CO2 emissions. Such compensation is popular[5], but much is unclear. Many projects to plant trees for compensation take place around the equator, where the growth rate is faster. But there is often no real control that the planted trees remain for decades to really retain the CO2.

In contrast, the elephant grass is grown in the Netherlands, where Vibers strictly monitors its management. Incidentally, they do not always do this themselves; Vibers focuses on waste ground, mostly with farmers. By using this unused land for CO2storage, everyone wins: the farmer can earn money from CO2compensation and from the sale of the grass. Vibers wins by supplying the fibres to (local) companies. And those companies are more environmentally friendly because they use elephant grass as a filler.

Local and responsible

It is no coincidence that the entire chain fits so beautifully. “Local is important to us. And the grass must always be on wasteland, there is no discussion about that. I do not want to lose agricultural land to CO2 compensation.” By arranging everything locally, Van Gilst had an advantage in corona time. “While ships from Asia delayed, we were able to continue. This proves the advantage of local chains.” This also means that he will not soon be exporting the grass fibres to cheap factories in China to make bioplastic there. “That would be easier, but I don't want that. Of course one can copy this local idea and introduce it in other countries.”

Actually, there is still a missing link in the entire chain: the party that needs CO2 compensation. If the farmer grows elephant grass as a CO2 bank, then there must also be a party that emits the CO2 and wants to compensate. “We hope that the Dutch industry will become increasingly interested in this. And the consumer too, by the way: they can then compensate for their own behaviour locally.” Van Gilst expects that compensation will become more popular if new rules and taxes for CO2 emissions are introduced. The farmer can of course also compensate the emissions of his own farm - something that is topical again after the latest advice from the PBL[6].

Vibers already has access to about 100 hectares of grass throughout the Netherlands. That should quickly become 1000 hectares. “That is ambitious, but achievable. The value of CO2 is increasing, so it will become an attractive choice for more and more farmers and companies.”If that is the case, a large part of the Netherlands will soon be full of elephant grass. That wouldn't be a bad thing for the climate.

Source

Marc Seijlhouwer, Olifantsgras slaat vier keer zoveel CO2 op als een bos. Dit bedrijf wil het daarom op alle braakliggende stukken land planten. in: ChangeInc, 8-7-2021, https://www.change.inc/circulaire-economie/olifantsgras-vier-keer-zoveel-co2-als-bos-36737

[1] Cenchrus purpureus, synonym Pennisetum purpureum, also known as Napier grass, elephant grass or Uganda grass [2] English (vibersinside.com) [3] University - WUR The university is part of Wageningen University & Research and is the only university in the Netherlands to focus specifically on the theme ‘healthy food and living environment’. [4] Home NL - Urgenda Urgenda is the organization for innovation and sustainability that aims to make the Netherlands more sustainable quicker, together with companies, governments, social organizations and private individuals. [5] think of the possibility to compensate for your business flight [6] PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency |PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency is the national institute for strategic policy analysis in the fields of the environment, nature and spatial planning.