Abstract
Replacement of fossil fuel based energy with biochar-based bioenergy production can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions while mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change and global warming. However, the production of biochar-based bioenergy depends on a sustainable supply of biomass. Although, Northwestern Ontario has a rich and sustainable supply of woody biomass, a comprehensive life cycle cost and economic assessment of biochar-based bioenergy production technology has not been done so far in the region. In this paper, we conducted a thorough life cycle cost assessment (LCCA) of biochar-based bioenergy production and its land application under four different scenarios: 1) biochar production with low feedstock availability; 2) biochar production with high feedstock availability; 3) biochar production with low feedstock availability and its land application; and 4) biochar production with high feedstock availability and its land application- using SimaPro®, EIOLCA® software and spreadsheet modeling. Based on the LCCA results, we further conducted an economic assessment for the break-even and viability of this technology over the project period. It was found that the economic viability of biochar-based bioenergy production system within the life cycle analysis system boundary based on study assumptions is directly dependent on costs of pyrolysis, feedstock processing (drying, grinding and pelletization) and collection on site and the value of total carbon offset provided by the system. Sensitivity analysis of transportation distance and different values of C offset showed that the system is profitable in case of high biomass availability within 200 km and when the cost of carbon sequestration exceeds CAD $60 per tonne of equivalent carbon (CO2e). Biochar-based bioenergy system is economically viable when life cycle costs and environmental assumptions are accounted for. This study provides a medium scale slow-pyrolysis plant scenario and we recommend similar experiments with large-scale plants in order to implement the technology at industrial scale.
Highlights
Replacement of fossil fuel based energy with biochar-based bioenergy production can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions while mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change and global warming
A 25 year average annual cost inventory of the biochar-based bioenergy system of 1 Megawatt hour (MWh) plant (Fig. 2) shows that cost of pyrolysis ($ 381,536 years−1) is the most expensive stage of production followed by storage/processing ($ 237,171 year−1) which includes pelletization
The average annual cost for the 1-MWh pyrolyzer in our study is slightly more than a similar half-capacity portable pyrolyzer (Coleman et al 2010), but is cheaper than bio-oil pyrolysis system used in the UK (Rogers and Brammer 2012)
Summary
Replacement of fossil fuel based energy with biochar-based bioenergy production can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions while mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change and global warming. The production of biochar-based bioenergy depends on a sustainable supply of biomass. Northwestern Ontario has a rich and sustainable supply of woody biomass, a comprehensive life cycle cost and economic assessment of biochar-based bioenergy production technology has not been done so far in the region. The Province of Ontario further targeted to reduce 37 % CO2 from 1990 levels by 2030 (Lyman 2015; MOECC 2015). As a forest resource rich province, Ontario has the best opportunity to utilize its forest-based biomass to reduce carbon emission by reducing its dependency towards much debated fossil fuel. A significant step towards this has already begun in Ontario as the province legally banned coal burning for the power generation
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