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Approximately 65,000 tons of hazelnuts are processed per year in the state of Oregon, 10,000 tons of which are processed annually by Cascade Foods, LLC. While Cascade Foods currently sells their waste hazelnut shells to a livestock pellet producer for $7.50/ton, there are several opportunities for increasing the profitability of the waste hazelnut shells. Of these opportunities, the conversion of the waste hazelnut shells to biochar for use in agricultural applications is particularly promising. In 2019, the total US market for biochar was roughly $98M, with an expected compounded annual growth rate of 17% from 2020 to 2027. Agricultural applications accounted for 82% of the biochar consumption in the USA during 2019 and is only anticipated to grow due to increasing demands for improved soil fertility and water holding capacity. 

Pyrolysis, the process of heating a material in an inert atmosphere, is the main method used to convert biomass into biochar. Pyrolysis processes account for approximately 74% of the total biochar production market share as of 2019, proving it to be a viable and cost-effective biochar production method. The purpose of this project is to design an economical and high-yield pyrolysis reactor unit capable of converting 5100 tons of waste hazelnut shells to biochar over the months of September to April. The team proposes using a batch reactor heated by hot gases to effectively pyrolyze the hazelnut shells (see the overview video below for more information).