By Arne Landsberg
The Umatilla Chemical Depot, an Army installation in Morrow County is winding down its mission of destroying chemical weapons, the only items still stored at the depot.
Considerable experience, knowledge, and equipment have been developed at the depot during years of operation. These assets should not be wasted. The procedures used to destroy the chemical weapons have the potential of being adapted to producing biochar.
Biochar is a soil enhancing product produced by partial oxidation of waste organic materials, such as forest trimmings, straw, wood chips, corn stalks, etc. This oxidation procedure has the goal of simultaneously sequestering carbon as biochar and producing energy from waste material, both of which are important to controlling climate change.
Developing a promising project seems to be a swords to plowshares mission worth taking on.