(87b) The Bright Prospect of Biochar in Manufacturing

An opportunity is investigated to co-manufacture biochar with process heat and power in a sugarcane ethanol plant or any biofuel plant using lignocellulosic feedstock. The biochar technology is essentially pyrolysis of biomass under elevated temperatures. The yield of biochar can be tailored by varying the pyrolysis temperature and time. The biomass is converted into three products: syngas, bio-oil vapor and solid char. The syngas and bio-oil are further combusted to produce heat and power for the manufacturing site while the biochar can be returned to the soil as a fertilizer. A few different scenarios are evaluated in this presentation with the conclusions drawn on the applicability of biochar. It is shown that this technology solution could potentially reduce the carbon intensity of biofuels as well as providing a significant carbon sequestration option.