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Growing Biomass Sorghum to Reduce Our Footprint
An innovative pilot project in Ohio is taking us one step closer to reaching our sustainability goals.
This article is about:
Engineer II, Kelsey Knizner, shares the details of an exciting pilot project that transformed underutilized land surrounding one of our facilities outside of Youngstown, Ohio into a field of biomass sorghum, which naturally captures carbon dioxide.
When Kelsey Knizner visited Ellsworth Station just outside of Youngstown, Ohio, stalks of biomass sorghum towered over her at 15 feet tall. The plants are a part of a pilot project and their growth was an exciting sight on this October day. They signal the next phase of the project would soon be here: harvest time.
Knizner, an engineer II based in Ohio, is the lead on a new project that will help us use underutilized land around our facilities to reduce carbon emissions. This project involves growing biomass sorghum to naturally capture carbon dioxide, then sequester it in the ground by spreading biochar made from the harvested plants.
“I get to be a part of these cutting-edge solutions that work to solve the challenges that we face here in our energy industry,” says Knizner, who has helped transition this project from an idea on paper to real-world application.
Innovative projects like this are integral as we pursue our Net Zero goal at Dominion Energy.
Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide. This happens naturally in a variety of ways, one being through plants. Approximately 25% of the world's carbon emissions have been captured by plants growing in forests, farms, and grasslands.
As plants complete photosynthesis to grow, they take in carbon dioxide and store it in their roots. As the roots die and begin to decompose, the carbon is trapped in the soil by microbes completing the decomposition process.
“We took such a simple solution and applied it to a complex problem – something that plants do every day. Your trees, your flowers, your grass; all these plants go through photosynthesis and they're all capturing carbon,” Knizner explains.
This project takes it a step further, using a new process to keep the carbon grounded. Without this process, it would otherwise be released back into the atmosphere.
We worked with AgriTech Producers to use their patented Combined Remediation and Biomass Bio Product Production Process, which allows us to come full circle with this project. Using this process, we turn the harvested biomass sorghum into a biochar, which is similar to charcoal. That biochar can then be reapplied to the same area we planted the biomass sorghum, permanently sequestering the captured carbon in the ground. Plus, the biochar improves soil health for the next round of planting.
Joe James, CEO of AgriTech Producers, has also connected us with professors and graduate students at West Virginia University and Central State University who have been critical to the success of the pilot project.
“By planting very large and fast-growing bio-crops, like biomass sorghum, we are cost-effectively capturing large amounts of carbon dioxide and are able to make various bio-products, like biochar, in which captured carbon is sequestered,” said James. “Through this collaborative effort, we're demonstrating the efficacy of this CRBBP Process.”
We expect that in just this project's 1.5 acres, approximately 12 tons of carbon dioxide will be abated – the equivalent of the emissions for an average passenger vehicle driving 30,000 miles. Through this project, we hope to learn more about the full impact of growing biomass sorghum on underutilized land around facilities throughout out footprint.
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