The process was modeled using a comprehensive decision-making framework, incorporating a detailed techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA). The framework, developed in a spreadsheet environment, allows for the variation of key assumptions, including feedstock type (Red Oak, Clean Pine, Tulip Poplar, Hybrid Poplar, Corn Stover, Switchgrass, Oriented Strand Board), transportation distances, and operating conditions. The TEA accounts for the capital, raw material, utilities, labor, logistic, and other costs. The facility capital and operational costs are estimated using BioSTEAM, which employs capital costs primarily from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) reports and other public sources [4], while the LCA, utilizing OpenLCA and the Ecoinvent database, assessed lifecycle emissions.
The baseline scenario, using corn stover feedstock priced at $30/tonne, revealed a minimum carbon abatement cost (MCAC) of $197.13/ton CO₂. The total bio-oil production cost of the plant was estimated at $234.50/ton oil, with a net carbon sequestration rate of 3866.1 tons/year over a 20-year period. The LCA showed lifecycle emissions of $0.5 kg CO₂e per kg of oil processed. Sensitivity analysis indicated that feedstock cost and transportation distances significantly influence the MCAC and environmental footprint.
Three case studies—Colorado (Clean Pine), Louisiana (Switchgrass), and Iowa (Corn Stover)— highlighted the impact of regional variations on process economics and emissions, with Iowa achieving the lowest MCAC ($200.74/tonne CO₂) and highest net CO₂ sequestration (1.67 CO2/kg oil) due to favorable feedstock logistics and shorter transport distances. Scale up analysis has shown that the MCAC could be as low as $83.6 per ton of CO2, or $152 per ton of CO2 if biochar carbon sequestration is excluded. The study demonstrates the potential of pyrolysis oil wells for cost-effective carbon sequestration, with the ability to tailor the process to specific regional conditions. Future work will focus on optimizing the process design and exploring advanced sequestration techniques to further reduce costs and emissions. The framework’s interactive interface enables stakeholders to simulate site-specific scenarios, bridging critical gaps between laboratory-scale research and commercial deployment of pyrolysis-based carbon management technologies.
References
[1] J. F. Peters, D. Iribarren, J. Dufour, “Biomass Pyrolysis for Biochar or Energy Applications? A Life Cycle Assessment,” ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 3, 3, 349–368 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.6b00362
[2] T. Li, J. Zhang, X. Wang, et al., “Advances in Biomass Pyrolysis: Production of Bio-Oil and Biochar for Sustainable Carbon Sequestration,” ACS Omega 4, 16, 1646–1655 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.4c01646
[3] Charm Industrial, “Pyrolysis Oil Wells Framework for Carbon Capture and Sequestration.” https://charmindustrial.com
[4] M. Biddy, A. Mary, A. Dutta, S. Jones, A. Meyer, In-situ catalytic fast pyrolysis technology pathway (No. PNNL-22320; NREL/TP-5100-58056). National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States) (2013).