DE-FOA-0002554, DOE Topic 21f, "Enhanced Biochar for Soil Reclamation Co-Produced by a Drop-In Biofuels Process"

Bioochar is an ecofriendly sorbent that is produced from biomass and is utilized to improve soils and agricultural production while sequestering carbon. By absorbing carbon dioxide on biochar ahead of applying it to soils, minerals in the biochar are converted to carbonates that will increase the agricultural production from one hundred and seventeen million acres of farmland with acidic soils. While the agricultural and environmental benefits of biochar are attractive, the current high price of biochar is limiting the broad application of biochar to agricultural lands, domestically. The goal of the proposed project is to show technical and economic feasibility of a low-cost, energy efficient process to produce enhanced biochar. By increasing the effectiveness of the biochar, the cost to achieve the desired agricultural enhancement will be reduced. In addition, by generating a valuable renewable fuel co product when producing biochar, costs for agricultural production and carbon sequestration can be reduced, leading to the desired widespread application of biochar. During Phase I, the Proposer will design a full-scale enhanced biochar and biofuel plant. Lab scale tests will be performed to characterize the level of biochar enhancement and capture of carbon dioxide. Plant growth tests will then show the technical feasibility, and cost analyses will show the economic feasibility of the process. The enhanced biochar can be applied domestically to one hundred and seventeen million acres of acidic soils in mainly the Southeastern region. Sales of biochar could be up to nearly nine and a half billion dollars per year, with the co-production of sixteen billion gallons per year of renewable liquid fuel. Also, one hundred and fifty-six million tons of carbon dioxide per year will be offset by biochar use.