USBI-NABC24-5_Seth_Kane-Sabbie_Miller-Predictive pyrolysis life cycle assessment tool

Climate and Carbon. -  Oral Presentation
A predictive pyrolysis life cycle assessment tool
Seth Kane
Sabbie A. Miller
University of California, Davis. Civil and Environmental Engineering Dept.


As the biochar industry expands, the prediction of biochar properties and environmental impacts or benefits from biochar production are of key interest to both researchers and industry. The product yields and properties of biochar, syngas, and bio-oil can vary depending on the feedstock used and pyrolysis conditions. These flows of feedstock and products are critical to determining the environmental impacts associated with the pyrolysis process and biochar. Namely, these parameters can establish the foundation for a life cycle inventory, the quantitative accounting of inputs and outputs used to conduct life cycle impact assessments. In this presentation, we demonstrate how pyrolysis outcomes and life-cycle inventory of lignocellulosic biomass can be predicted based on the cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin content of the biomass. This model is then applied in an optimization problem for an example pyrolysis facility, with multiple options for feedstock and pyrolysis conditions, to demonstrate how it can aid in the selection of feedstocks and conditions and inform tradeoffs such as feedstock transportation distance and pyrolysis energy yield.

Keywords: Carbon uptake,  Carbon sequestration