Hardin County
Located between Texas Highway 326 and the Big Thicket National Preserve, our property in Hardin County is our first full-scale biomass pit development, which commenced construction in Summer 2022.
Currently about 15 of our 45 acres have been converted into our first all natural carbon sequestration vaults. The biomass already buried represents 1,250 tons of potential carbon dioxide and methane that will not be released into the atmosphere.
Why Hardin County?
Our main project, CSI - Hardin, situated north of Beaumont, Texas, has buried over 5,000 tCO2e equivalent of wood debris in 2023!
The debris would otherwise be destined for burning. CSI has secured 10,400 tCO2e of additional wood waste for the upcoming six months.
The Hardin site lies within the Lissie Formation, which boasts geotechnical, soil, hydrological, and sourcing suitability.
Soils in the Lissie Formation come from an ancient river delta environment. The clays are very “fat” and clump together easily. This clay was chosen for high plasticity, density, and readiness to compact, making it the perfect material to protect biomass from oxygen and water. It appears white to the naked eye.
Its low hydraulic conductivity allows us to bury material up to 25' deep, with a 6'-15’ clay cap preventing water infiltration.
CEO and founder Chris Knop stands on a 17 foot mound of excavated clays, ready to cover tons of biomass.
Soil Horizons
The composition of the Hardin County soil is important to our process. The top soil is very thin here (evidenced in picture 1) but the clay layer is more than sufficient to hold the biomass we bury in water-tight vaults.
This clay is important for keeping our vaults water proof and oxygen free, but it is also how we can keep human made materials like plastic liners out of our projects. No plastic equals a big win for the planet!
Roads to the Future
Getting to biomass isn’t always easy. Creating roads to access biomass is sometimes necessary, but CSI utilizes temporary roads to let Nature get back to doing what it does best after we’re gone - being wild and beautiful.