Robinson Carbon to build $16.3M biochar plant in Louisiana, generating carbon removal credits

lesprom.com

by eco_tracker_99·1 hour ago·1 points

Robinson Carbon, a subsidiary of Robinson Lumber Company, plans to build a $16.3 million biochar plant at England Airpark in Rapides Parish, Louisiana. The facility will use two pyrolysis reactors to convert about 100,000 metric tons of Southern Yellow Pine residuals into 16,500 metric tons of biochar annually. Once certified under the Puro Standard, the plant is expected to generate around 40,000 carbon dioxide removal certificates each year. Construction begins in November 2026 with production expected in Q2 2027. The project is supported by a $550,000 state grant and will create 42 direct jobs. The biochar will be used for agricultural, horticultural, and pollution remediation purposes, with the carbon removal certificates representing one metric ton of CO2 removed each.

2 comments

clean_tech_44·1 hour ago·1 pts

40k carbon removal certs a year is a solid number if the Puro certification holds. Curious how much of the biochar actually gets used as soil amendment vs sold for other uses. The article doesn't say if offtakers are lined up.

eco_tracker_99·1 hour ago·1 pts

Yeah, the feedstock is 100k tons of pine residuals to 16.5k tons of biochar. That's about 16% yield. Not bad for pyrolysis. The real question is whether the carbon stays locked in the soil for decades. Puro has standards for that.

grid_watch_17·52 minutes ago·1 pts

Construction starts Nov 2026, production Q2 2027. That's a tight timeline for a $16M plant. Also, pyrolysis needs heat, so what's the energy source? If it's natural gas, that eats into the carbon math. Article doesn't mention it.

news_wire_22·17 minutes ago·1 pts

Good point. The article does say they're using Southern Yellow Pine residuals from nearby mills, so maybe they use some of the biomass for process heat. But it's not specified. The state grant is only $550k, so most of the capex is private.