PARTNERSHIP: THE DARK SIDE OF BIOCHAR: ADDRESSING THE THREAT OF ORGANIC CONTAMINANT RESIDUES IN BIOREFINERY CHAR PRODUCTS

Biochar is an important biorefinery product with a large potential market and growing interest in its use as a soil amendment, biomaterial, and for carbon sequestration. However, biochar may contain harmful compounds, especially toxic organics such as Benzene, Hexane, Toluene, and other compounds that are produced as part of the biochar manufacturing process in a biorefinery. As a result, workers can be exposed to harmful conditions and the biochar can be a source of contamination, reducing its applicability and acceptability for widespread use.This project will characterize the emission of harmful organic compounds from biomass during conversion to biochar in a biorefinery, and its redeposition on the biochar (Task 1). Experiments will utilize model compounds and acutal biomass feedstocks, and will assess emission and redeposition processes (Task 2), and evaluate engineered treatment processes for contaminant removal and utilization (Tasks 3 and 4). Drawing on those foundational and applied findings, biorefinery TEA and LCA models will be employed to assess overall performance, and strategies will be developed for design and optimization of biorefineries that include biochar in their product mix (Task 5).The impact of this project will be that it enables biorefinery owners and biochar end users to minimize risk of harm from biochar production and utilization, and maximize the value and positive impact of their activities. This will enhance sustainability and circularity of biorefineries through improved engineering design and operation of these facilities. The project team is uniquely positioned to carry out this project, having significant expertise and ongoing experience in this topic area.