Extraction Industries

Abandoned oil and gas wells may number close to 29 million globally with more than 3 million in the US alone. Many of these are emitting significant amounts of methane, estimated at 2.5M tons per year. Due to methane’s outsized impact on climate change, there is increased urgency to reduce these drastically and rapidly.

 

Recent projects in the US have demonstrated that biochar can be used to both cap wells and remediate toxins that often contaminate ecosystems around wells. Wells provide a safe, beneficial, long-term sequestration opportunity for biochar. Using biochar to cap wells can also significantly reduce the amount of concrete, the traditional material of choice for capping, thereby further reducing greenhouse gas emissions related to the production of concrete. Using a material such as biochar may also provide a more resilient cap that is less susceptible to degradation caused by seismic activity.

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Biochar offers an extremely cost-effective solution to bind toxins and prevent their leaching into surface and ground water. And, as a bonus, the once sterile soil can now support plant growth. By sequestering the heavy metals in the soil surrounding abandoned mines, biochar prevents these contaminants from leaching into local water supplies. Secondarily, biochar quickly facilitates the reestablishment of vegetation on this typically sterile ground with improved soil fertility and reduced erosion. Moreover, biochar can accomplish mine reclamation quickly and at a mere fraction of the cost of removing tailings to hazardous waste landfills.