Biochar and district heating : The path to negative emissions

Sammanfattning: Uppsala Kommun is developing a new city district called Sydöstra staden (SÖS) as an innovative and transformative city district. A technical supply system that aligns with the district’s goals is pyrolysis. Pyrolysis is a process where biomass is heated without the supply of oxygen. This leads to carbonization where the energy is converted to biochar and heated gas that can be used for district heating. The biochar, which is considered as a carbon sink, could be the path for the municipality to achieve their climate goals for 2050. The aim of this project is to investigate the viability of providing district heating to SÖS through pyrolysis. Three scenarios based on biomass assets of garden waste, manure, and wooden chips will be evaluated from four perspectives: climate impact, economic feasibility, district heating coverage, and placement considerations. The method is a model constructed in python that simulates how much heat and biochar that can be produced including an income statement and how the price of biochar relates to the return of investment. The biochar price and biomass flow are two parameters that are examined in the sensitivity analysis. The model enables comparisons between the outcomes of the pyrolysis process and the heat energy demands in SÖS, the biochar usage in Uppsala and the municipality’s CO2 emissions. The results show profitable reactor alternatives in all three scenarios even without selling CORCs. However, the profitability is heavily reliant on maximizing the utilization of burned biomass. Furthermore, the first two scenarios had a negligible climate impact while the most profitable reactor in scenario 3 had a large impact on the municipality’s climate goals. Also, the coverage of district heating has been evaluated due to the asset of biomass as well as placement requirements have been stated.