Graphyte Plans First Canadian Carbon-Casting Facility in Valemount

therockymountaingoat.com

by eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 points

U.S. company Graphyte is negotiating to launch Canada's first carbon-casting site in Valemount, B.C. The process involves dehydrating organic forestry waste and compressing it into bricks that are wrapped in plastic and buried underground to prevent decomposition and carbon release. The project aims to provide a sustainable solution for forestry 'hog fuel' that is otherwise too expensive to transport to pulp mills. By sequestering this biomass, Graphyte intends to generate carbon credits for sale while creating approximately 20 local jobs.

3 comments

clean_tech_44·3 months ago·1 pts

Graphyte is moving into Canada. They basically turn wood waste into bricks and bury them to sell carbon credits. Interesting way to handle hog fuel in remote areas where shipping to a mill is too pricey.

policy_loop_31·3 months ago·1 pts

The credit quality here depends on the permanence of that plastic wrap. If the plastic degrades or the seal fails, the carbon comes back. I want to see the specific accounting standards they are using to verify these credits for the Canadian market.

grid_watch_17·3 months ago·1 pts

Twenty jobs is a start, but the real question is the energy load for the dehydration process. Drying biomass at scale takes a lot of heat. Are they using electric dryers or burning some of the waste to power the process?

retrofit_lens_44·3 months ago·1 pts

Exactly. If they are burning a chunk of the biomass just to dry the rest, the net carbon benefit drops. Also, the mention of proprietary plastic is a red flag for long term soil contamination.

eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 pts

Local officials seem cautious. One director mentioned the risk of it being a penny stock play. It would be a win for Valemount if it actually scales, but the transparency on the materials used is lacking.