## 3 Results and Discussion
### Policies and Standards Linked with the Energetic Use of Agricultural Waste in Ecuador
Furthermore, it is not clear if coffee husks generated during the threshing processes can be given value through pyrolysis in situ at the farmers' cooperatives or if they should be collected by environmental managers authorized by the municipalities and the Environmental and Water Ministry. Therefore, only these environmental managers could make use of these mechanical, thermal, and biological processes for the energetic conversion or recycling of the agricultural waste. One example is that large-scale agro-industries in Ecuador (e.g., the sugar cane or the palm oil sectors) already make use of their agricultural waste as a feedstock in thermal power plants within their facilities, to produce heat and electricity (i.e., cogeneration). With this precedent, the farmers' cooperatives could transform agricultural waste within their facilities, for example, by pyrolysis processes. Nonetheless, no clear statements about this were found in the regulations. The major policies and standards that regulate the energetic conversion of agricultural waste in Ecuador are linked to the production of electricity in large-scale facilities. In Ecuador, the second-largest renewable energy producer in terms of installed capacity is the sugar cane sector, which currently has 144.3 MW\({}_{e}\) of installed power [49], and existing environmental regulations are dedicated to controlling this activity. Considering the \"environmental technical standards for the prevention and control of environmental pollution for the infrastructure sectors: electric, telecommunications, and transportation (ports and airports)\", the energetic conversion of agricultural waste into process heat and electricity by combustion processes is regulated only in facilities with a thermal power higher than 3 MW\({}_{\text{th}}\). These facilities are subjected to environmental audits every 6 months [50]. Although the energetic conversion of agricultural waste in facilities up to 3 MWth is not subjected to environmental control, existing policies and standards state that their electricity production capacity should be registered in the Electricity Regulation and Control Agency (ARCONEL) to obtain an operating license. For those facilities that, rather than electricity, aim to produce other forms of energy, such as carbon-based products (e.g., biochar), which is the case of pyrolysis processes, the need for registration in ARCONEL should be considered at least ambiguous. According to the criteria for selection (Table 1), the pyrolysis gases generated during the carbonization process should be burned to prevent the direct release of harmful compounds to the environment in the form of flue gas and to provide the thermal energy required by the carbonization process supporting an energy-self-sufficient process. In this regard, the \"Standard for Emissions to the Air from Stationary Combustion Sources\" issued by the Environmental and Water Ministry [33] establishes emission limits of particulate matter, nitrogenous compounds (e.g., NOx, NOx), carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide within the flue gases. However, this refers to the biomass boilers in the sugar cane sector. In contrast to this type of cogeneration system, the fuel that is burned in pyrolysis facilities is in the gaseous phase (i.e., the pyrolysis gas). Therefore, it is unclear if the current emission standards [33] can be considered as a reference for facilities that burn gaseous fuels generated during the carbonization of agricultural waste. Furthermore, this regulation also regards cogeneration facilities with an installed thermal power higher than 3 MWth. According to the members of the farmer's cooperatives (Section 2.1), the quantity of agricultural waste generated per year in their processing centers does not exceed 1000 tons (as received basis). Therefore, the power of an energy conversion facility integrated within these processing centers would not surpass the threshold of 3 MWth.