Krish Homagain;Chander Shahi;Nancy Luckai;Mahadev Sharm

Faculty of Natural Resources Management, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Canada;Ontario Forest Research Institute, Sault Ste. Marie, Canad

Woody biomass;Carbon sequestration;Environmental impact assessment;Greenhouse gas emissions;Life cycle analysis;Soil amendment;PYROLYSIS BIOCHAR;CARBON;SOIL;SEQUESTRATION;CHARCOAL;SYSTEMS;BIOGAS;SLO

Biochar-based bioenergy production and subsequent land application of biochar can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by fixing atmospheric carbon into the soil for a long period of time. A thorough life cycle assessment of biochar-based bioenergy production and biochar land application in Northwestern Ontario is conducted using SimaPro(A (R)) Ver. 8.1. The results of energy consumption and potential environmental impact of biochar-based bioenergy production system are compared with those of conventional coal-based system. Results show that biochar land application consumes 4847.61 MJ per tonne dry feedstock more energy than conventional system, but reduces the GHG emissions by 68.19 kg CO(2)e per tonne of dry feedstock in its life cycle. Biochar land application improves ecosystem quality by 18 %, reduces climate change by 15 %, and resource use by 13 % but may adversely impact on human health by increasing disability adjusted life years by 1.7 % if biomass availability is low to medium. Replacing fossil fuel with woody biomass has a positive impact on the environment, as one tonne of dry biomass feedstock when converted to biochar reduces up to 38 kg CO(2)e with biochar land application despite using more energy. These results will help understand a comprehensive picture of the new interventions in forestry businesses, which are promoting biochar-based bioenergy production.