News & Events

Quonset Soil Solutions

There is currently a pyrolysis facility operating at 31 Cross Park Avenue that converts wood chips into biochar.

Pyrolysis is the heating of organic material in the absence of oxygen. Without oxygen, combustion does not occur. The biomass thermally decomposes into recaptured gases and biochar- a solid, carbon-rich material. The biochar will then be bagged and likely used as a soil fertilizer. The equipment has pollution control systems, per their permit, and the facility is bound by emissions limits and controls.

Quonset Development Corporation staff have been out to the site several times to ensure that it is operating in compliance with the conditions that we have set for them.

The following permits have been issued for the Cross Park Avenue facility:

• RI DEM Freshwater Wetland Permit and General Permit for Stormwater Discharge During Construction Activities: April 2023

• RI DEM Minor Source Air Permit: May 2023

• QDC Technical Review Conditional Approval: May 2023

Note: Quonset Soil Solutions is a subsidiary of Green Development, a Rhode Island-based company.

QSS Biosolids, LLC

QSS Biosolids, LLC, (formerly Global Soil Solutions) an affiliated entity of the Cross Park Avenue facility, is exploring another use for pyrolysis at a site on All American Way.

Pyrolysis is the heating of organic material in the absence of oxygen. Without oxygen, combustion does not occur. The biomass thermally decomposes into recaptured gases and biochar- a solid, carbon-rich material.

Pyrolysis would be used to create biochar from the byproducts of the wastewater treatment process. The pyrolysis process would differ significantly from the wastewater treatment process that has unfolded at a facility in Woonsocket. Unlike the facility in Woonsocket, the proposed facility at Quonset will not be an incinerator. The facility will not handle or treat medical waste of any kind. The process that QSS Biosolids is exploring involves de-watering of the sludge at an off-site facility not located in North Kingstown. The resulting product – a “cake like” substance- would be used as feedstock for the biochar process, not unlike the wood chips are now for the system on Cross Park Avenue. Before QSS Biosolid, LLC would be allowed to open this type of facility, they are required to meet certain conditions and requirements established by Quonset Development Corporation.

Some of those conditions include:

• All required permits – including a RI DEM Minor Source Air Permit

• A demonstration of a biosolids biochar using wastewater processed material

• Confirmation that the manufacturing process can achieve the intended results

• A contract with the Narragansett Bay Commission to supply the facility with feed stock materials

• Other conditions related to the facility building, like lighting plans, building permits, fire protection, etc.

At the request of the Speaker of the House, Quonset agreed to an in-depth review of the pyrolysis proposal by a specially appointed legislative commission conducting a comprehensive statewide evaluation of waste management strategies. QDC supports this step which will allow for broad public input and help ensure all options are carefully considered.