Estimating GHG Emissions from the

Manufacturing of Field-Applied Biochar Pellets

Rick Bergman

Hongmei Gu

US Forest Service

Forest Products Laboratory

Madison, WI, USA

2016 Society of Wood Science and Technology, March 6-11, 2016 Curitiba, Brasil

Hanwen Zhang

Karl Englund

Washington State University

Composite Materials & Engineering Center

Pullman, WA, USA

Keith Windell

US Forest Service

Missoula Technology & Development Center

Missoula, MT, USA

United States has 304 million hectares of

forest and US Forest Service manages 20%

Estimating GHG Emissions from the Manufacturing of Field-Applied Biochar Pellets 2

US Forest Products

Laboratory

Presentation overview

A. Overall project

1. Feedstock development

2. Product development

3. Biofuels development analysis

1. Evaluate net life cycle greenhouse gas emissions and

energy balance of novel thermochemical conversion

B. Life cycle analysis subtask

1. Goal and scope of LCA

2. Method (collecting and modeling run data)

3. Results

4. Conclusions

3Estimating GHG Emissions from the Manufacturing of Field-Applied Biochar Pellets

Technical Area 3: Biofuels development analysis

1. Find GHG emissions and mass and energy balances

for the Tucker renewable natural gas (RNG) unit

2. Evaluate the impacts for forest biomass utilization

3. Develop financial models for biomass on economic

conditions in the US West

4. Develop an economic synthesis of modular gasification

at forest industry facilities

4

Background: BRDI project ----

Integration of Biofuels and Bioproducts Production

into Forest Products supply Chains using Modular

Biomass Gasification and Carbon Activation

Estimating GHG Emissions from the Manufacturing of Field-Applied Biochar Pellets

Reason for study

5

• Biomass as a sustainable feedstock for creating bioproducts

• Restoration treatments on western U.S. forests produce

large quantities of woody biomass

• Biochar application to forest soils

− direct benefits including carbon sequestration

− indirect benefits

• Biochar

− positive environmental climate benefits

− more stable when field-applied to forest soils than wood itself

• Categorizing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and carbon

sequestration profile

Estimating GHG Emissions from the Manufacturing of Field-Applied Biochar Pellets

Carbon sequestration by biochar

One metric ton of oven dry

building timber stores roughly

510 kg of carbon (species

dependent), corresponding to

1.8 metric ton of CO2;

One metric ton of biochar stores

roughly 890 kg of carbon,

corresponding to 3.3 metric ton

of CO2;

6Estimating GHG Emissions from the Manufacturing of Field-Applied Biochar Pellets

Life-cycle assessment (LCA)

ISO 14040 (2006): Clause

4.3. Features of an

attributional LCA

“LCA assesses, in a

systematic way, the

environmental aspects and

impacts of product systems,

from raw material extraction

to final disposal, in

accordance with the stated

goal and scope;”

Estimating GHG Emissions from the Manufacturing of Field-Applied Biochar Pellets 7

Another way to put it

LCA calculates all kinds

of environmental

impacts (carbon

footprint, energy, water,

acidity, toxicity, etc.) for

a product or service

across the entire life

cycle – from raw

material extraction, to

product making, to

distribution, use, and

end of life.

8Estimating GHG Emissions from the Manufacturing of Field-Applied Biochar Pellets

Scope of LCA project

• Unit process modeling

– Gate-to-gate

– Detailed mass and energy

balance

• Define the system

boundaries

– What flows in and out is

accounted for

• Select functional unit

– Per kg of field-applied

biochar pellets (OD kg)

Estimating GHG Emissions from the Manufacturing of Field-Applied Biochar Pellets 9

System boundary

Estimating GHG Emissions from the Manufacturing of Field-Applied Biochar Pellets 10

Inputs and outputs

Estimating GHG Emissions from

the Manufacturing of Field-Applied

Biochar Pellets

11

Energy source Unit

Pelletizingbiochar

Biochar pellettransporting

Field applyingbiochar pellets Total

Diesel L 0.00 0.00 3.37 3.37Gasoline L 0.00 0.00 2.20 2.20Electricity kWh 61.47 0.0 0.0 61.5Diesel truck tkm 0 205 0 205

Results

Estimating GHG Emissions from the Manufacturing of Field-Applied Biochar Pellets 12

GHG emission gate-to-gate manufacturing performance of field-applied biochar pellets

Units

Pelletized

biochar, at

mill

Pelletized

biochar, at

forest landing

Pelletized

biochar, field

applied

Total

manufacturing

emissions

kg CO2eq/OD t 19.6 40.8 16.2 76.6

Percentage 25.5% 53.3% 21.1% 100.0%

Results

Estimating GHG Emissions from the Manufacturing of Field-Applied Biochar Pellets 13

Stability and decay of field-applied biochar (biogenic) carbon

UnitsLabile

carbona

Recalcitrant

carbonb

Recalcitrant

carbonc

Total

carbon

kg CO2eq/OD t 330 538 2432 3300

Percentage 10.0% 16.3% 73.7% 100.0%

a Decayed away after 1 year (labile carbon)

b Decayed away after 100 years

c Intact after 100 years

Amount of C sequestered in biochar

Amount of manufacturing GHG emissions=

2432

76.6~ 32 times

Conclusions

• Sequestered C far

outweighs manufacturing

GHG emissions

• Sequestering biochar

largely reduces decay but

does not necessarily stop

decay

• Is biochar part of the

natural carbon cycle?

Estimating GHG Emissions from the Manufacturing of Field-Applied Biochar Pellets 14

Other literature

USDA FS RMRS (2016) Burgeoning biomass: Creating efficient and sustainable forest bioenergy

technologies in the Rockies, Part II. Science You Can Use Bulletin. January/February 2016 | Issue 17.

Rocky Mountain Research Station. 11 pp.

http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs_journals/2015/rmrs_2015_miller_s002.pdf

Bergman R, Gu H (2014) Life-cycle inventory analysis of bio-products from a modular advanced

biomass pyrolysis system. In: Proceedings, Society of Wood Science and Technology 57th

International Convention. June 23-27, 2014. Zvolen, Slovakia: 405-415.

Gu H, Bergman R (2015) Life-cycle GHG emissions of electricity from syngas by pyrolyzing woody

biomass. In: Proceedings, Society of Wood Science and Technology 58th International Convention.

June 7-12, 2015. Jackson Hole, Wyoming: 376-389.

Bergman R, Gu H, Page-Dumroese DS, Anderson N (2016) Chapter 3: Life cycle analysis of biochar.

Biochar: A regional supply chain approach in view of climate change mitigation. Cambridge University

Press. Cambridge, United Kingdom (in printing)

Gu H, Bergman R (2016) Life-cycle assessment of a distributed-scale thermochemical bioenergy

conversion system. (Submitted to Wood and Fiber Science)

Gu H, Bergman R. 2016. Life-cycle assessment of activated carbon and electricity derived from a

novel woody biomass thermo-conversion system with a comparison to commercially available

alternatives. General Technical Report FPL-GTR-xxx. Madison, WI: U.S. Department of Agriculture,

Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory. xx p. (in draft)

Estimating GHG Emissions from the Manufacturing of Field-Applied Biochar Pellets 15

Acknowledgement

“This project was supported by the Agriculture

and Food Research Initiative, Biomass Research

and Development Initiative, Competitive Grant

no. 2010-05325 from the USDA National Institute

of Food and Agriculture”.

16Estimating GHG Emissions from the Manufacturing of Field-Applied Biochar Pellets

Questions?

Rick Bergman

rbergman@fs.fed.us

(608) 231-9477

17Estimating GHG Emissions from the Manufacturing of Field-Applied Biochar Pellets