On Site Tierra Prieta

Context

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Tierra Prieta is a biochar facility located in Parras de la Fuente, close to Monterrey in Mexico. The operation is run by two brothers, Andrés and Alejandro Chapa.

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Operationally, they had a PLC system in place, but no system that made production conditions easy to monitor and visualize for day-to-day decision making. And because the facility operates in a rural area, reliable fast internet cannot be assumed.

Challenge

Dynamic emissions tracking tied to individual production units

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For Tierra Prieta, the constraint wasn’t “collect more data.”

It was allocating the right production emissions to the right production units in a way that holds up under external scrutiny.

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Meeting Puro’s MRV requirements required dynamic emissions allocation. In practice, this means tracking production-related emissions, such as LPG used during plant startup and facility electricity consumption and automatically allocating them to inventory based on the exact time windows in which biochar was produced.

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The result is a unit-specific emissions profile: emissions traceability at the level that is actually issued, shipped, and audited.

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Doing this manually would have been too cumbersome for a small onsite team.

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At the same time, while PLC data existed, there was no accessible layer that allowed operators to monitor and interpret production conditions in real time. Combined with limited connectivity, the requirements were clear:

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• Dynamic emissions tracking without manual assignment
• A workflow that works with slow or no internet
• A clean, direct line from operational data to Puro-ready audit evidence

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This created a narrow path: build an MRV and operations workflow robust enough for audit-grade scrutiny, while remaining lightweight enough for a small team to run day to day.

Journey

Integrating the Cula Stack On-Site

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Tierra Prieta onboarded with hands-on, on-site support from Cula.

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Jonas Noack from Cula visited the facility in Parras de la Fuente to work directly with the team during onboarding. The focus was clear from the start: set up dynamic emissions tracking in a way that fits real production, not spreadsheets.

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Together, the teams configured emissions calculation for the key sources that matter during daily operations. This included periodic propane emissions during plant startup and facility electricity consumption, both tied directly to production timelines so emissions could be assigned automatically to the biochar produced during those periods.

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In parallel, Cula configured the MRV system to connect directly to Puro via API, ensuring that operational data, calculations, and audit evidence are aligned from day one, rather than reconciled manually later.

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Goal

Automated quality control tied to real production conditions

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Beyond emissions, Tierra Prieta needed an operational workflow that makes production conditions visible and usable, rather than locked inside the pyrolysis control system, a challenge that many facilities struggle with.

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A core part of the post-onboarding setup is that the facility now has real-time sensor data streaming for quality assurance, paired with a system that onsite operators can use day-to-day, without requiring technical skills from the user.

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This matters because “having PLC data” and “using production data operationally” are different states. The goal was to move from raw signals to an operator-usable workflow, without requiring constant connectivity.

Audit

Building Audit-Ready Compliance

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The compliance path required more than dashboards. It required audit-grade evidence tied to the methodology.

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Instead of relying on manual LCA work, Tierra Prieta’s operational data flows directly into a Puro-compliant MRV structure. Inventory data, emissions calculations, and supporting evidence are generated automatically as part of the production workflow.

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Outcome

Real-time data streaming with dynamic emissions tracking

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Tierra Prieta now operates on a system that supports:

• Accurate inventory management
• Dynamic emissions tracking
• Real-time sensor data streaming for quality assurance
• Offline/low-connectivity operation, so work continues uninterrupted by internet conditions
• A dedicated warehouse instance that allows their US trading partner Wonderchar to monitor biochar distribution

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On the emissions side, propane and electricity emissions are tracked based on kWh and liters consumed, and are automatically assigned to production periods and their respective production units.

Emissions allocation

Before: Manual assignment would be too cumbersome for a small team

After: Automatic assignment of propane (liters) + electricity (kWh) to production periods and production units

Production visibility

Before: PLC present, but no accessible monitoring/visualization

After: Real-time sensor data streaming used for quality assurance

Connectivity

Before: Rural site with limited internet, digital data tracking was not possible

After: Digital logging and operations continue with slow or no internet connection

Partner visibility

Before: US trader needed distribution visibility

After: Dedicated warehouse instance for partner to monitor distribution

Learnings‍

In carbon removal operations, MRV has to work under real constraints: small teams, rural connectivity, and audit-grade expectations that don’t get simpler because the site is remote.

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Tierra Prieta’s setup highlights a practical lesson: if emissions allocation is required for due diligence, it has to be built into the operational workflow. Otherwise the process becomes a manual reconciliation job that competes with production.