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Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage BiCRS

BiCRS is a family of methods that ties the carbon biomass took from the air to a store it will not return from: the biomass is either kept whole in conditions that halt decay, or processed so that its carbon moves into a geological or mineral store. Most of the durable carbon removal actually delivered today comes from this family: 96% of 2025 purchase volume and 91% of deliveries.

One of eight durable carbon removal pathways presented by CDR Türkiye, all intended to store carbon for centuries to millennia.

Overview

Open a heading to read the detail.

  1. What it does BiCRS uses biomass to move carbon rather than to make energy.

    The carbon a plant took from the air is either preserved as it stands, buried in oxygen-free clay or kept undecayed in dry bales, salt caverns or on the deep seabed, or it is processed: liquefied, slurried or converted to gas and sent underground. The routes below are the detail of those two branches.

  2. Weight in the market The family’s present weight is striking.

    It accounted for 96% of 2025 purchase volume and 91% of deliveries; Vaulted Deep delivered 53,833 tonnes, Graphyte 21,148 tonnes, and Charm Industrial has injected roughly 10,800 tonnes of bio-oil. While the field’s public argument runs through DAC and ERW, the tonnes come from here.

  3. The evidence gap The evidence lags that weight.

    Bio-oil injection has no peer-reviewed permanence study and durability claims trace back to supplier statements; in 2020 Charm projected 1 Mt/yr within about five years, and actual cumulative delivery is around 11,000 tonnes. On the preservation side the strongest finding is a 3,775-year-old buried log that retained roughly 95% of its carbon, in compact, oxygen-free clay.

  4. Türkiye today There is no BiCRS deployment in Türkiye.

    Biomass residue exists; what is missing is any chain connecting that residue to a storage site or formation, and any assessment of suitable sites.

CDR.fyi Charm Industrial, Stripe 2020 application Zeng et al., Science

Technologies and applications

Deployment routes

The different routes by which the carbon reaches a durable store.

  • Deployment route

    Buried wood Wood burial in anoxic clay

    Woody biomass held without decay by burying it in dense clay that lets little water through and turns oxygen-free once the cell is sealed.

    How it works
    1. Collection

      Waste wood or pruning residue is collected.

    2. Site selection

      A site with thick, compact clay that lets little water through, lying above the water table, is chosen.

    3. Burial

      Material is placed in a clay chamber and sealed under compaction.

    4. Monitoring

      The integrity of the seal and the absence of oxygen are monitored.

    Durability
    Measured

    Measured: 3,775 years

    In the one known case roughly 95% of the carbon survived 3,775 years; thousands of years under ideal conditions.

    What it rests on
    The basis is an archaeological finding: a buried log retained roughly 95% of its carbon after 3,775 years, and preservation required compact, oxygen-free clay that lets little water through. An honest note: that is one log under ideal conditions, not a demonstrated engineering standard.
    Zeng et al., Science

  • Deployment route

    Baled biomass storage in dry conditions

    Plant residue compressed into dense bales and held in conditions too dry for decay to proceed.

    How it works
    1. Baling

      Residue is compressed into dense bales and its moisture reduced.

    2. Dry site

      An extremely dry storage area is chosen where rain is rare, runoff can be diverted around it and groundwater lies deep.

    3. Covering

      Bales are placed under waterproof cover or inside covered cells.

    4. Monitoring

      Moisture, temperature and cover integrity are monitored.

    Durability
    Calculated

    Depends on staying dry

    Decay resumes once moisture returns.

    What it rests on
    What halts decay here is the absence of water rather than the absence of oxygen, so preserving the condition becomes a climatic and institutional commitment. Set-up is cheap and long-term custody is the heavy part; that is the weakest point of the durability claim.

  • Deployment route

    Deep-sea biomass sinking

    Woody or plant biomass lowered to the floor of a deep basin whose bottom water holds no oxygen.

    How it works
    1. Preparation

      Biomass is bundled and weighted so that it sinks.

    2. Transport

      It is carried by ship to a selected deep basin.

    3. Sinking

      The material is lowered to the seabed under control.

    4. Monitoring

      Decay at the seabed and environmental effects are monitored as far as possible.

    Durability
    Not measured

    Not measured in the field

    The claimed durability rests on deep water being cold and low in oxygen.

    What it rests on
    The environment is known to slow decay, but preservation at the claimed magnitude has never been directly observed. Effects on seafloor ecosystems and the governance framework are also open: interventions in the ocean fall under international marine law.

  • Deployment route

    Salt cavern storage

    Processed biomass held in an underground cavern dissolved out of a salt formation with water.

    How it works
    1. Cavern creation

      A cavern is dissolved out of the salt layer by injecting water; current projects mostly reuse caverns first mined for gas storage.

    2. Preparation

      Organic waste is ground and mixed with brine into a pumpable slurry, or delivered as liquid bio-oil.

    3. Filling

      The slurry is pumped down the well, sinks below the brine and settles on the floor; the displaced brine is drawn off and injected into another formation, and the well is plugged once the cavern is full.

    4. Monitoring

      Cavern integrity and pressure are monitored.

    Durability
    Early stage

    Depends on the salt seal

    Storing biomass this way has not been shown in the field.

    What it rests on
    Salt caverns have long been used for gas storage and their sealing behaviour is known from that use. For solid biomass there is no demonstrated deployment, and the water needed to dissolve the cavern and the disposal of the brine are independent constraints.

  • Deployment route

    Encapsulated dry burial

    Dried biomass sealed inside a water- and oxygen-impermeable barrier and buried within an engineered structure.

    How it works
    1. Drying

      Moisture is reduced below the threshold at which decay proceeds.

    2. Compaction

      The material is pressed into blocks and its volume reduced.

    3. Encapsulation

      Blocks are sealed inside a water- and oxygen-impermeable barrier.

    4. Burial

      The capsules are placed inside an engineered structure and closed.

    5. Monitoring

      Barrier integrity and site conditions are monitored.

    Durability
    Early stage

    Depends on barrier integrity

    Field evidence for barrier lifetime is limited.

    What it rests on
    Commercial deployment exists: Graphyte has delivered 21,148 tonnes this way at $150/t. The evidence side is young: no peer-reviewed study demonstrates barrier integrity on a centuries scale, so the durability claim rests on material specification.
    CDR.fyi

  • Deployment route

    Bio-oil injection

    Liquid bio-oil from fast pyrolysis pumped down deep wells into a subsurface formation for storage.

    How it works
    1. Pyrolysis

      Biomass is converted to liquid bio-oil by fast pyrolysis.

    2. Transport

      The liquid is carried to the injection site by tanker truck or by rail.

    3. Injection

      Bio-oil is pumped down a deep well into a suitable formation.

    4. Monitoring

      Well integrity and injection pressure are monitored.

    Durability
    Not measured

    Not measured in the field

    The claim rests on supplier statements; no peer-reviewed permanence study exists.

    What it rests on
    This is the pathway’s clearest gap: no peer-reviewed work shows how the injected liquid behaves in the formation. The volume deployed, by contrast, is real: Charm Industrial has injected roughly 10,800 tonnes.
    CDR.fyi

  • Deployment route

    Slurried organic waste injection

    Sewage sludge and similar organic waste made pumpable and injected down deep wells into a confined formation.

    How it works
    1. Collection

      Organic waste and sewage sludge are collected.

    2. Slurry preparation

      The material is brought to a pumpable consistency.

    3. Injection

      The slurry is pumped into a deep formation beneath a confining layer.

    4. Monitoring

      The injection zone and well integrity are monitored.

    Durability
    Calculated

    Depends on the confining layer

    The claim rests on the confining layer staying impermeable and on established geological monitoring practice.

    What it rests on
    The largest share of delivered volume sits here: Vaulted Deep has delivered 53,833 tonnes. The method derives from deep-well injection as practised in waste disposal, and the removal claim rests on the waste carbon being biogenic and staying in the formation.
    CDR.fyi

  • Deployment route

    Biomass carbonisation with geological storage

    Biomass carbonised without oxygen; the released gas is burned for process heat, and the CO2 captured from the exhaust is stored geologically.

    How it works
    1. Carbonisation

      Biomass is heated without oxygen and splits into char, vapours and gas.

    2. Gas separation

      The gas and vapours are burned for process heat, and a solvent separates the CO2 from the exhaust.

    3. Compression

      The separated CO2 is compressed for transport.

    4. Storage

      It is injected into a geological formation.

    5. Monitoring

      The storage site is monitored.

    Durability
    Modelled

    >1,000 years

    Applies only once the CO2 is stored geologically.

    What it rests on
    The storage step rests on the same geological basis as BECCS and direct air capture; the difference is that the heat produced is used in the process itself rather than sold. The char holds 12 to 25 percent of the biomass carbon and counts only if it is stored durably, for example as biochar. The net removal question again turns on the carbon debt of the feedstock; no operating plant was found.
    IPCC AR6 WG3, Ch. 12

  • Deployment route

    Mineralization of biomass-derived CO2

    CO2 from biomass processing reacted with reactive rock to become solid carbonate rather than stored as a gas.

    How it works
    1. Biogenic CO2

      The CO2 stream from biomass processing is collected.

    2. Dissolution

      The CO2 is dissolved in water.

    3. Injection

      The solution is injected into reactive basaltic formation.

    4. Carbonation

      CO2 reacts with calcium and magnesium in the rock to form solid carbonate.

    Durability
    Measured

    Mineral carbonate

    More than 95% of the injected CO2 becomes carbonate in under two years.

    What it rests on
    The conversion was measured, not modelled, by tagging the CO2 with a traceable marker, and once carbonate has formed, release requires temperatures above 600°C or strong acid. What makes this mineralization a removal is the biogenic origin of the CO2.
    Matter et al., Science

  • Deployment route

    Biomass-to-hydrogen with CO2 storage

    A route in which biomass is converted to hydrogen and the biogenic CO2 separated in the process is stored geologically.

    How it works
    1. Gasification

      Biomass is converted to synthesis gas under restricted oxygen.

    2. Steam reaction

      The synthesis gas is reacted with steam, releasing hydrogen and CO2.

    3. Separation

      Hydrogen is taken as product and the CO2 stream is separated.

    4. Storage

      The separated CO2 is compressed and injected into a geological formation.

    Durability
    Modelled

    >1,000 years

    Applies only once the CO2 is stored geologically.

    What it rests on
    The storage step rests on the same basis as the other geological routes. What distinguishes it is that two outputs are produced together: hydrogen is a saleable product and the removal is the second output of the same process, which makes the claim sensitive to how costs are allocated.
    IPCC AR6 WG3, Ch. 12

Frequently asked questions

What is BiCRS?

BiCRS is a family of methods that ties the carbon biomass took from the air to a durable store. The biomass is either preserved in conditions that halt decay, or processed so that its carbon is transferred into a geological formation or a mineral.

Aren’t biochar and BECCS also BiCRS?

In the broad definition they are: biochar and BECCS each store carbon that biomass took from the air. CDR Türkiye treats them as separate categories because the technology types and applications of each are varied enough to need their own page. This page covers the remaining routes: burying or storing biomass, bio-oil injection and biogenic mineralization.

Which pathway delivers most removal tonnes today?

BiCRS by a wide margin: 96% of 2025 purchase volume and 91% of deliveries. Vaulted Deep delivered 53,833 tonnes, Graphyte 21,148 tonnes, and Charm Industrial has injected roughly 10,800 tonnes of bio-oil.

Has bio-oil injection permanence been verified?

It has not. Bio-oil injection has no peer-reviewed permanence study and all durability claims trace back to supplier statements. This is the clearest gap between the category’s market share and its evidence base.

Does buried biomass really last thousands of years?

The strongest known finding is a 3,775-year-old buried log that retained roughly 95% of its carbon. Preservation required compact, oxygen-free clay that lets little water through. That is a single example under ideal conditions, not a demonstrated engineering standard.

Do biochar, BECCS and BiCRS compete for the same residue?

They do. All three want the same agricultural and forest residue; a tonne of residue is used once, and which pathway it enters changes both the quantity removed and what the durability rests on. The choice usually turns on logistics rather than technology: where the residue is collected, how far it travels, and whether storage access exists nearby. The pathway that is right in one region can be the wrong one in another.