Biomass Controls – Pyrolysis System

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Biomass Controls – Pyrolysis System

About the Company:

Biomass Controls provides decentralized rapid nutrient recovery and treatment for green resources including: manure, textiles, food, and excreta. Biomass Controls patents are based on protecting the environment and returning nutrients to the soil. Their Biogenic Refinery provides thermochemical treatment of high moisture materials such as manures, human excreta, agriculture residues, and food waste. Their services provide Design, Technology Adoption Support, and Impact Measurement.

Biomass Controls strives to offer control technologies and innovations to enable rapid refinement of sanitation, agricultural, and food outputs to treat pathogens, reduce greenhouse gasses, sequester carbon, and improve soil health.

About the Solution:

Biomass Controls’ pyrolysis technology utilizes high temperatures, typically ranging from 400-1,500 °F, to heat dairy manure solids in a sealed, anaerobic chamber. Without the presence of oxygen, the solids do not combust but instead the chemical compounds in the manure decompose into combustible gases and charcoal. This charcoal is known as biochar, a valuable soil amendment rich in nutrients and high in carbon.

Biomass Controls has partnered with Cornell University’s Lehmann Lab to develop a pyrolysis system at Spruce Haven Farm in New York that will use the thermal energy from the biochar process to dry the incoming separated manure solids.

Benefits of Biochar:

  • A valuable soil amendment through improved retention of nutrients and water
  • Lower's farm's manure storage/hauling costs by reducing the mass and volume of manure waste
  • Transforms carbon into a persistent form
  • Integrates with manure digestion and solids separation systems, which provide bedding and manure storage/hauling savings to the farm and carbon emission reductions by lowering manure storage methane emissions and retention of carbon in soil

Biomass Controls PBC Woodstock, Connecticut USA +1 (860) 315-5735 Visit Company Website

Solution Type

  • Pyrolysis

Vendor

  • Equipment Vendor

Product

  • Concentrated Nutrients
  • Energy

Problem

  • GHG
  • Odor
  • Pathogens
  • Phosphorous
  • Storage

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Solution Strengths, Weaknesses and Critical Indicators

Pyrolysis:

  • May produce a soil amendment in the form of biochar or ash
  • Biochar does not yet have an established, stable commercial market
  • There is significant variation in energy use and recovery depending on feedstock
  • There is significant variation of operational intensity by site and by technology, many technologies require pairing with other technologies to offer a comprehensive manure management solution
  • There is significant variation of cost depending on site and by technology
  • Proven technology for phosphorous recovery, storage reduction, GHG reduction, odor control and pathogen reduction
  • This technology loses nitrogen to the atmosphere

Newtrient Comments/Opinions:

Biomass Controls PBC has recently been added to the Newtrient catalog. Newtrient will continue to work with Biomass Controls PBC to further refine the cost and performance information on their solution. Newtrient will update this entry as more information becomes available and as new commercial dairy installations come online.

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