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On July 3rd, Paul visited a camel manure-to-biochar project in Dubai, UAE. The pilot plant is part of the partnership between VIQA investment and Cameliscious, a Sheikh-owned camel dairy facility. Both companies partnered up to implement an innovative waste treatment solution able to treat the 90 tonnes of camel manure produced on a daily basis. Dealing with the manure of more than 8,000 camels is not easy and requires an innovative approach, something we were impressed with. In this blog, we’ll highlight some remarkable numbers and takeaways.
Cameliscious has 8,000 camels, producing approximately 90 tonnes of manure daily. The challenge is far more extensive than simply disposing of the manure. Where before the ‘solution’ was to export the manure to the local landfill site (seen in image 2), Cameliscious sought to come up with a new way of dealing with their abundant biomass waste. VIQA Investments proposed to turn the manure into biochar.
However, sand contamination quickly emerged as a key concern, as the camels are housed on sandy grounds. Hence, the manure contains sand and small rocks, resulting in risks of machine abrasion. Leaving this unaddressed would possibly reduce the equipment's lifespan and increase overall maintenance costs.
Another hurdle came from the high moisture levels, ranging between 50% and 60%, making direct feeding into the pyrolysis reactor unfeasible. Hence, to effectively process the manure into usable biochar, the proposed solution had to be able to deal with the enormous amounts of manure and challenges related to this complex feedstock.
VIQA submitted a proposal to turn the manure into biochar using an eight-year Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) partnership agreement. Because manure is a fairly novel feedstock, VIQA and Cameliscious decided to start with a pilot project.
The pilot plant works in three steps. First, the sand and rocks in the manure are removed using a rotating screen drum. Additionally, manual sorting is used to further remove any other rocks, plastics, or metal objects that could potentially damage the reactor.
Next, a drying process is used to reduce moisture levels before the pyrolysis. VIQA uses a perforated floor supplemented by the waste heat from the pyrolysis to dry the manure, reducing its moisture level to below 10%.
After the sorting and drying process, the manure is loaded onto a moving bed that feeds the pyrolysis plant. Pyrolysis occurs at 500-700°C with a residence time of 2-5 minutes. Although the plant is initially started with wood chips and LPG gas, it requires no additional fuel inputs once operational and is a fully self-sufficient pyrolysis process. There is enough excess heat to dry the manure and produce electricity.
In terms of capacity, the current pilot plant can produce 2.8 tonnes of biochar daily (conversion rate = 40%). It takes one operator and two to three people for logistics to keep the plant running. In addition to the biochar, the plant also generates about 350 kWe daily through the waste heat, which they sell to Cameliscious.
Because of the pilot's success, VIQA has ordered four new plants to expand its capacity to 90 tonnes of manure daily. This would remove the need to landfill any of the manure. The full-scale facility is expected to be operational in 2025 and will produce up to 25 tonnes of biochar every day!
At the time of Paul’s visit, VIQA was finalising research on the development of high-value biochar-based fertilisers and exploring further export opportunities for the material. As fertiliser prices in the United Arab Emirates are relatively low (+/-80 $/ton), the company is actively exploring more profitable opportunities.
Hence, VIQA is eyeing the development of terra preta or ‘Black Earth’ (tip: read our piece about its origins or stay tuned for our Latin American blog to find out more about the origins of this concept). To achieve this valuable substance, biochar would be mixed with excess sand and manure, creating a nutrient-dense compost (with a high market demand). This product would help create fertile soils in the UAE's arid environment. Another potential application is the use of biochar as a soil additive for coffee plantations in Uganda.
All in all, this project highlights the versatility of the biochar industry. Facing an enormous biowaste challenge and turning it into an opportunity, VIQA Investment and Cameliscious have shown what innovation, determination and collaboration can bring forth.
This manure-to-biochar project is not just about waste management; it’s about redefining how we value biowaste. The potential has no limits, and we can only encourage further exploration of using a variety of feedstocks as biochar inputs.
Thank you to VIQA Investment for hosting this visit, we’re very excited about the project's future developments and will keep you updated.
And, of course, a delicious camel ice cream to round off the visit:
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