Wood Vaults is a project developed by the Carbon Containment Lab (CC Lab) (https://carboncontainmentlab.org/) with the intention of reducing industrial emissions and scaling up carbon removal to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. The CC Lab designs, tests, and develops novel methods of greenhouse gas capture, storage, and abatement that are low-cost, quantifiable, and durable. The CC Lab’s goal is to support the containment of 1000 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent (MTCO2e) by 2050. 200 million of that amount is focused on biologic carbon and includes projects that target the carbon found in woody biomass.
The following “common sense” studies were completed as initial scoping for CC Lab’s Wood Vaults project, which is aimed at stalling the decomposition of left over wood from forestry operations. Wood vaults are simple mound or shed structures designed to protect large wood piles from fire exposure. In areas prone to severe wildfire, the practice of pro-active, controlled burning of forestry residuals is standard because it is considered the least expensive method of ensuring that downed wood does not fuel severe forest fires. However, pile burning is not ideal because it releases carbon into the atmosphere and eliminates the possibility that wood residuals from forestry operations could be used in the future as a feedstock for bioenergy technology.