LEARNING PATH · Advanced

Carbon Removal from Biomass

Evaluate biomass-based carbon removal from resource constraints and conversion yields to durability, additionality and system outcomes.

3.8 h8 lessonsAdvanced

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Evidence collage linking carbon cycles, soil core, material samples, time, life-cycle boundaries and alternative outcomes.

CRfResources → Outcomes

Prerequisites

Basic carbon accounting and conversion knowledge recommended.

Learning objectives

Construct a transparent carbon ledger and counterfactual.
Evaluate durability, leakage and additionality.
Connect soil, logistics, cost and uncertainty to removal claims.

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Lesson sequence

252 min

01Soil, land and nutrient constraintsIntermediate · 30 minResidue removal and dedicated biomass must be read through soil cover, organic matter, nutrients, erosion, water and land competition.02Pyrolysis, gasification and thermochemical routesIntermediate · 30 minHow temperature, heating, atmosphere and residence time distribute carbon among solids, liquids and gases.03Supply chains, transport and storageIntermediate · 30 minThe physical chain between dispersed resources and steady industrial demand shapes cost, losses, emissions and reliability.04Carbon accounting, boundaries and counterfactualsIntermediate · 32 minCarbon claims depend on what flows are counted, over what time, compared with which alternative and under whose attribution.05Carbon removal, additionality and durabilityAdvanced · 34 minRemoval requires atmospheric origin, additional net transfer into storage, quantified leakage and credible durability with reversal management.06Life-cycle assessmentIntermediate · 36 minLCA connects a decision question to a functional unit, system inventory, impact assessment and interpretation across a product life cycle.07Soil carbon and greenhouse-gas mitigationIntermediate · 32 minSoil outcomes depend on carbon inputs and decomposition together with nitrous oxide, methane, yields, nutrients, water and management history.08Scenario and sensitivity analysisIntermediate · 28 minSeparate alternative futures, influential assumptions and uncertain values.

TOOLS

Related tools

USDA NRCS / Colorado State University

COMET-Farm

A web tool for estimating farm-scale greenhouse-gas emissions and soil-carbon changes under management scenarios.

Use it when: How might a farm's current and alternative practices differ in GHG emissions and carbon sequestration?
Limits: Screening estimates depend on user inputs and model applicability; they do not replace project-specific measurement and verification.

Inputs, outputs & scope

Inputs: Location, soils, crops, livestock, energy use and detailed management histories or scenarios.
Outputs: Comparative farm GHG estimates and soil-carbon changes by scenario.
Typical applications: Management screening, farm carbon planning and contextualizing residue or soil-carbon decisions.

Explore the official tool ↗

Colorado State University

DayCent

A daily time-step ecosystem model for carbon and nitrogen flows among soil, vegetation and atmosphere.

Use it when: How do management and environmental conditions affect soil carbon and greenhouse-gas fluxes?
Limits: Parameterization and validation determine credibility; model structure cannot replace field evidence.

Inputs, outputs & scope

Inputs: Climate, soil properties, vegetation, land use and management schedules.
Outputs: Carbon and nitrogen pools, productivity, water states and trace-gas fluxes.
Typical applications: Soil-carbon baselines, residue-removal scenarios and agricultural GHG accounting.

Explore the official tool ↗

LLNL and partner institutions

Roads to Removal

A regionally explicit assessment of U.S. carbon-dioxide-removal opportunities, capacities and costs.

Use it when: Which removal options may fit particular regions and constraints?
Limits: It is an assessment, not a prescriptive local plan; community and project evidence remain necessary.

Inputs, outputs & scope

Inputs: Regional biomass, soils, geology, transport, energy and socioeconomic context.
Outputs: Regional capacity, cost, infrastructure and impact assessments.
Typical applications: BiCRS, soil carbon, transport networks and regional CDR portfolios.

Explore the official tool ↗

GreenDelta

openLCA

An open-source desktop platform for constructing life-cycle inventories and impact assessments.

Use it when: How can a product system, exchanges, allocation and impact methods be assembled and audited?
Limits: Software does not supply a defensible boundary or dataset license; modelling choices still require documentation and review.

Inputs, outputs & scope

Inputs: Process inventories, flows, databases, functional unit, system model and impact method.
Outputs: Inventory results, characterized impacts, contribution analysis and scenario comparisons.
Typical applications: Transparent teaching models, product LCA, hotspot analysis and critical-review packages.

Explore the official tool ↗

Brightway project

Brightway

An open-source Python framework for matrix-based LCA, scenario analysis and advanced computational workflows.

Use it when: How can reproducible LCA calculations be automated, parameterized and extended?
Limits: Requires programming and careful database management; computational flexibility can amplify undocumented assumptions.

Inputs, outputs & scope

Inputs: Technosphere and biosphere matrices, demand, characterization methods and scenario parameters.
Outputs: LCI/LCIA matrices, contribution tables, uncertainty and parameterized scenario results.
Typical applications: Research-grade reproducible LCA, Monte Carlo analysis and coupling with optimization or process models.

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SALib project

SALib

An open-source Python library for global sensitivity analysis, including Sobol, Morris and FAST methods.

Use it when: Which uncertain inputs drive model-output variation, interactions or screening priorities?
Limits: Method choice, sampling design, model cost and correlated inputs require deliberate treatment; rankings are conditional on specified ranges.

Inputs, outputs & scope

Inputs: A defined parameter problem, sampled input sets and corresponding model outputs.
Outputs: Method-specific sensitivity indices, confidence intervals and screening rankings.
Typical applications: Global sensitivity analysis for process, TEA, LCA and system models.

Explore the official tool ↗

CASE STUDIES

Examples from Wang Group

2021Conversion

Synergistic effects in the copyrolysis of municipal sewage sludge digestate and salix: Reaction mechanism, product characterization and char stability

Shows why co-pyrolysis synergy must be read together with product characterization and char stability.

DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.116687 ↗

2022Outcomes

Novel carbon-negative methane production via integrating anaerobic digestion and pyrolysis of organic fraction of municipal solid waste

Illustrates an integrated organic-waste pathway where process coupling and the counterfactual waste fate determine the carbon claim.

DOI: 10.1016/j.enconman.2021.115042 ↗GREET ↗

2022Outcomes

Pyrolysis of engineered beach-cast seaweed: Performances and life cycle assessment

A useful LCA case because engineered beach-cast seaweed makes collection, pretreatment and alternative management part of the boundary.

DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.118875 ↗GREET ↗