2021

Biochar-enhanced Construction Materials for Sustainable Waste Management and Decarbonisation

In order to promote sustainable waste management in Hong Kong, Environmental Protection Department has developed the first Pilot Biochar Production Plant in the EcoPark for recycling woody waste into biochar with distinctive properties. In this project, Prof. Tsang Chiu-Wa Daniel and his team develops innovative designs and manufacturing technologies for the cutting-edge production of biochar-enhanced construction materials, which are impactful for scalable applications in the local industry. Their pioneer products include biochar partition block and biochar porous paver. The superior performance of such biochar-enhanced construction materials are verified against the local/international standard requirements and compared with commercial alternatives on the market.

The project scrutinises the physicochemical properties and interfacial reactions of biochar that play a key role in enhancing the performance of biochar-enhanced construction materials and perform pilot-scale production and field-scale testbed demonstration of to prove their technical performance, environmental improvement, and durability in field-relevant settings. The team quantifies and justifies the life-cycle environmental benefits, resource savings, material/energy flow, and cost effectiveness for the optimised technology. This project forecasts that the industrial-scale adoption of the locally developed technologies will significantly contribute to landfill diversion of woody waste and reduction of carbon emissions each year.

This project was awarded a grant of over HK$8.7 million from the Green Tech Fund.