Techno-economic analysis of farmer-scale biochar production from agricultural residues in the U.S. Corn Belt: A comparison of three low-cost kiln architectures
Abstract
Decentralized, farmer-scale biochar production can valorize agricultural residues for soil amendment and carbon storage while avoiding the feedstock-transport burden of centralized pyrolysis. This study compared three low-capital, field-deployable kiln architectures for an on-farm self-supply user: an open flame-curtain Traditional Oregon Kiln (TOK, Type A), a Controlled-Draft Flame-Curtain Kiln (CDFC, Type B), and an Indirect-Heat Fine-Feedstock Retort (IHFRt, Type C). A unified techno-economic model was parameterized with experimental yields and charring times for corn cob, corn stalk, and sorghum stover (n=15 batches per kiln). At a 50kg batch, 100dyr-1 of operation, a wage of 16.50USDh-1, and a 7% discount rate over a 10-yr life, the estimated minimum selling prices (MSP, oven-dry basis) were 3.06USDkg-1 (Type A), 2.60USDkg-1 (Type B), and 1.74USDkg-1 (Type C). Capital cost was small (876-1416 USD, <3% of levelized cost), whereas labor contributed more than 95% and dominated sensitivity. Type C achieved the lowest MSP because its passive charring phase decoupled operator hours from conversion time, raising biochar output per labor hour by 80%. Against the 3USDkg-1 to 5USDkg-1 U.S. retail price for comparable specialty biochar, Type C undercut even the low end and Type A remained competitive at the upper end. A 10,000-draw Monte Carlo preserved the Type C < Type B < Type A ranking in 99.9% of draws. A paired life-cycle assessment of kiln emissions and the soil-organic-carbon foregone by residue removal is the necessary next step before net climate benefits can be claimed.
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Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Schmidt, 2014, Kon-Tiki flame curtain pyrolysis for the democratization of biochar production, Biochar J., 1, 14
Cited by
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- Authors
- Asare, F., Gazo, R., Mo, J., Haviarova, E., Quesada, H. J., Rahmani, S. R., Owusu, F. W., Saraugi, S. S., & Routray, W.
- Affiliations
- Purdue University West Lafayette (US)
- University of Washington (US)
- Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (GH)
- National Institute of Technology Rourkela (IN)
- Corresponding author
- Asare, Francis
- ORCID
- Venue
- Bioresource Technology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2027-01
- Volume
- 464
- Issue
- Pt A
- Pages
- 135686
- ISSN
- 0960-8524 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W7204551369
- Semantic Scholar
- 48ac872b9eaac61513c899089b58b284507da26f
- Cited by
- 0
- References
- 25
- FWCI
- 0.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Bioresource Technology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Thermochemical Biomass Conversion Processes
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › General Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Bioeconomy and Sustainability Development
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Mechanics of Materials › Forest Biomass Utilization and Management
- Keywords
- biochar production, kiln design, agricultural residues, corn cob, corn stalk, sorghum stover, techno-economic analysis, minimum selling price, labor costs, levelized cost, carbon storage, soil organic carbon, Corn Belt
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