Engineering Commons^™

The Role Of Bio-Char As An Agro-Environmental Tool: Formation Mechanism And Potential For Control Water Release, Bacterial Retention And Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Waled Suliman, Manuel Garcia-Perez

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

In our poster we will present information on the relationship between biochar physico-chemical properties and its performance as a soil amendment. Experimental results will be presented to document how feedstock source and pyrolysis conditions influence biochar bulk and surface properties and what effects these properties have on greenhouse gas emissions, soil water retention and movement of bacteria in sandy soils. Three lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks (poplar wood, pine bark and pine wood) were used to produce biochars at six different pyrolysis temperatures (from 350 to 600 oC).

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Evaluation Of The Environmental Benefits Of Biochar Addition Into Concrete-Based Composites, Isabella Bianco, Mauro Giorcelli, Massimo Rovere, Alberto Tagliaferro, Gian Andrea Blengini, Silvia Bobba

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

Biochar is a carbon by-product obtained from a termochemical conversion of biomass. Currently, biochar is generally treated in biomass landfill, representing an economic and environmental cost.

Recent works focus their attention to the use of biochar as an alternative filler to produce more economic and environmental friendly composites. Some studies proved that the introduction of biochar as carbon filler can also increase mechanical [1] or electrical [2] properties. As a consequence, large scale production of composites containing biochar could have important effects both on the economic and environmental point of view.

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Carbon Sequestration Using Bio-Refinery Residues, Ondřej Mašek

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

Biomass consists of four main constituents, cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and minerals. The first two, are the key targets for various conversion processes producing biofuels and chemicals, leaving behind different forms of lignin, depending on extraction process used.

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Evaluating The Potential Of Biochar For Reducing Bioavailable Heavy Metal Fractions In Polluted Soil, Rosa I. Soria, Raisa Tjarinto, Stephen A. Rolfe, Steven F. Thornton

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

Previous studies have proposed biochar as a natural adsorbent material with potential to be used in the remediation of polluted soils. Its application for adsorption of pollutants may reduce the bioavailability of harmful compounds in the soil media by limiting its chemical distribution and reducing the risk of uptake by organisms. Therefore, biochar has been suggested for the attenuation of heavy metals (HMs) in soil, minimizing the possibility of accumulation through the trophic chain (Figure ).

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Agronomic Benefits And Detriments Of Using Biochar, Carlo Grignani, Raghunath Subedi, Chiara Bertora, Laura Zavattaro

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

The use of biochar, a secondary product of pyrolysis after syngas and bio-oil production for bioenergy, is promoted for agricultural purposes. Its potential for C sequestration and greenhouse gas emission reduction can help for mitigating climate change and potential adverse impacts to ecosystems. Additionally, it represents an alternative means for containing water and atmospheric pollution ascribed to large volumes of crop and animal wastes. As a soil amendment, biochar has received increased interest due to its role in enhancing nutrient- and water-use efficiencies.

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Biochar And Ash Amendment Effects On Mine Reclamation In The Boreal Forest, Jillian M.H. Bieser, Sean C. Thomas

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

Natural re-vegetation of gold mine tailings, the main waste products of ore processing for gold extraction consisting of crushed rock, is difficult due to their high bioavailability of heavy metals, low nutrient status and limited organic carbon 1-3. Charcoal produced from the burning of organic matter through controlled pyrolysis, hereafter referred to as ‘biochar’, has been utilized extensively in agriculture as a climate-friendly option to remediate nutrient-poor and contaminated soils 4,5. Biochar produced from wood is highly recalcitrant, has a large surface area due to its porous structure and can bind nutrients and water, improving soil fertility 5-7. Biochar can …

Biochar For Pollutant Removal From Aqueous Solutions, Hamid Trimech, Anastasia Colomba, Franco Berruti, Raffaella Ocone

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

Biochar can be utilised to transfer carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into soils. It can also be used for soil enhancement, due to its attitude to hold water and retain nutrients in soil by adsorbing NH4+ and PO43- ions. Due to its adsorbing capacity, biochar finds applications in removal of pollutants such as ammonia, mercury and organic compounds from waste water.

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Monolithic Biochar As Electrode In Supercapacitor, Charles Q. Jia, Johnathon N. Caguiat, Donald W. Kirk

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

Biochar produced from woody biomass can retain the characteristics of structural elements in the wood such as vessels and tracheids. In this study, we examined theses characteristics and explored the potential of hardwood-derived monolithic biochar as electrode material in supercapacitor. Also known as electrochemical double layer capacitor (EDLC), supercapacitor is a fast-charging, long-lasting electrical energy storage device that can be used to enhance the efficiency of alternative energy systems.

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Which Policy For Biochar Deployment In Southern Eu? An Integrated Approach Is Possible, David Chiaramonti

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

The scope of the present paper is to address possible policy schemes that could potentially enable widespread diffusion of biochar in the EU Mediterranean area. In fact, despite the rapid development of biochar technologies and processes, the actual exploitation is mostly dependent on the actual support scheme that is in place. However, one single support instrument will unlikely be sufficient to cover the costs connected to biochar production and use: moreover, developing totally new policy instruments is a very long and time consuming process. The approach of the present work is to investigate the possibility of combining different EU policies …

Biochar Quality Management, Ataullah Khan, Don Harfield, Bruce Hillen, Fabian Stenzel, Andreas Homung

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

Biochar is a structurally heterogeneous material, which can be obtained from a wide range of feedstocks including forestry, agricultural, livestock manure, and municipal residues. The availability of multiple feedstocks with different quality grades and the wide variation in process conditions employed in biochar production create a quality control challenge. Therefore it is apt to say that “Not All Biochars are Created Equal” through proper feedstock selection, pyrolysis process optimization, and selective post-treatment, the desired characteristics/properties can be tailored to suite a particular application of interest.

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Multi-Technique Characterization Of Biochar Formation, Anthony Dufour, Yann Le Brech, Luc Delmotte, Jésus Raya, Nicolas Brosse, Guillain Mauviel, Roger Gadiou

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

It is known that biomass forms an intermediate liquid before forming the solid “char” (figure 1) but the role of this intermediate liquid on the structure of char and on the mechanisms of pyrolysis is still poorly understood.

In this talk we will present how in-situ rheology and 1H NMR analysis [2] are interesting technique to understand the mechanism of biochar formation through an intermediate “visco-elastic” material. These techniques allow assessing the physical-chemistry of biomass conversion to char at real-time and high temperature conditions.

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Pyrolysis Of Cotton Stalks And Utilization Of Pyrolysis Char For Sustainable Soil Enhancement And Carbon Storage, Sebastian Schaffer, Tobias Pröll, Rafat Al Afif, Christoph Pfeifer

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

Worldwide, a large amount of biomass accumulates in the form of ligno-cellulosic agricultural by-products that can neither be efficiently used as animal feed nor as feedstock for anaerobic digestion. A clean and energy-efficient utilization in combustion plants is counter-indicated by high contents of elements like Cl, K and Na that decrease the ash-melting-point and lead to fouling and corrosion. Although this biomass is, therefore, not suitable for conventional combustion plants, a pyrolysis process can be applied that works at lower temperatures of 500-600°C.

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Analysis Of Product Distribution And Characteristics Of Bio-Oil And Bio-Char From Fast Pyrolysis Of Date Palm Tree Waste, Yassir Makkawi, Paul Nancarrow, Ahmed El Sharkawy, Tony Bridgwater, Scott Banks, Stuart Jones

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

According to recent reports, there are more than 120 million date palm trees worldwide, with the estimated Middle East and North Africa combined share of more than 80%. Date palm trees produce huge amounts of waste amounting to 15-35 kg per tree per year. This represents a challenging environmental problem, since disposal is so far mainly based on landfill and uncontrolled combustion.

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Physical Properties Of Charred Pellets After Two Months Of Storage, C.J. Lim, Shahab Sokhansanj, Sudhagar Mani

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

Six types of charred pellets: canola straw, willow, bagasse, wheat straw, switchgrass and miscanthus, were stored for a period of two months at room temperature 25±2 °C in sealed containers. The tests were part of off gassing experiment on charred and uncharred pellets. The following physical properties of the pellets were measured: bulk density, individual pellet density, Individual pellet dimensions were similar between samples but the pellet mass ranged from 0.79 g for switchgrass to 1.13 g for bagasse pellet.

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Lab-Scale Pyrolysis And Hydrothermal Carbonization Of Biomass Digestate: Characterization Of Solid Products, Edoardo Miliotti, David Casini, Matteo Prussi, Giulia Lotti, Lorenzo Bettucci, Andrea Maria Rizzo, David Chiaramonti

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

The aim of the present study is to investigate the production of biochar from anaerobic digestion (AD) digestate. Re-Cord selected digestate from real and representative (regarding the scale and the process technology) anaerobic digestion plant.

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Mobile Organic Compounds In Biochar. Relationships With Carbonization Degree And Bio-Oil Composition, Daniele Fabbri, Michele Ghidotti

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

During biochar production, pyrolysis vapors released from biomass can interact with the porous aromatic biochar structure. Given the complex chemical composition of pyrolysis vapors, a wide range of organic compounds with different polarities and molecular mass can be retained in biochar with the potential to be released into the environment. The presence of these species will ultimately influence biochar quality and safety for soil applications. While our knowledge on the production, occurrence and fate of priority contaminants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, is increasing and led to the definition of threshold values, the relevance of non-regulated organic compounds has been …

Hydrous Pyrolysis Of Digestate As Alternative To Post Composting In A Biowaste Anaerobic Digestion Facility, Maria Laura Mastellone, Roberta Lotito

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

Abstract is not available.

Hydrothermal Carbonization Of Sewage Sludge: Char Characterization And Reference To International Legislations, Fabio Merzari, Gianni Andreottola, Maurizio Volpe, Fabio Valentinuzzi, Tanja Mimmo, Stefano Cesco, Luca Fiori

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

The aim of this work is to apply Hydrothermal Carbonisation (HTC) to different kinds of sludge such as thickened sludge, digested sludge and dewatered sludge, and compare the composition of the solid produced by the process, i.e. hydrochar, with soil and biosolid legislations: Table 1. For the purpose, experimental tests were performed at different operating conditions, namely three temperatures (190, 220 and 250 °C) and two reaction times (30 and 60 minutes).

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Biochar Characterization And Eu27 Law Harmonization: Refertil Results, Edward Someus, Massimo Pugliese

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

The FP7 REFERRIL biochar applied research and economical industrialization project (EU contract no 289785, 2011-2015) developed a strong policy support for the European Commission Fertilizer Regulation revision biochar case. Wide range of different biochar types characterized, including relationships among feedstock, production technology in viable industrial scale and characteristics, which results, summarized in this presentation, reflected to economical industrial scenarios under market competitive conditions, for the interests and benefits of the SME farmers. Environmental and ecological impacts and risks considered.

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Biochar From Gasification In Cultivated Soils And Riparian Buffer Zones: Chemical Characterization, Ivano Vassura, Elisa Venturini, Alessandro G. Rombolà, Daniele Fabbri, Cristian Torri, Marco Errani, Roberto Reggiani

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

During rain events, pollutants in agricultural soils can be transported from fields to surface and/or groundwater resulting in contamination of streams and rivers. Researchers and farmers must work together to find solutions to ensure the preservation of crop production without jeopardizing water quality or the health of the ecosystem. Establishment of riparian zones may reduce the effects of diffuse discharges of pollutants into waterways. The addition of biochar to soils, particularly in a riparian zones, can reduce the mobility of contaminants and improve removal efficiency due its sorptive capacity.

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Changes In Carbon Structure Distribution And Nanostructure Of Functionalized Biochars, Elsa Weiss-Hortala, Marion Ducousso, Maxime Hervy, Sarah Berhanu, Doan Pham Minh, Anthony Chesnaud, Alain Thorel, Ange Nzihou

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

Energetic vectors produced from the thermochemical conversion of biomass and waste is considered as environmental-friendly energy. The syngas composed of CO and H2 at convenient ratio, could be used for various subsequent uses. However the industrial development is hold back by the production of unwanted by-products: tars and biochar/ash (aromatic hydrocarbons and solid residues respectively) which decrease the global efficiency yield and require very costly treatments. Some recent studies investigated potential applications to use these biochars for catalytic or sorbent applications, such as catalytic tar cracking or pollutants removal [1]. Biochars are cheap candidates and their functionalization is an opportunity …

Off-Gassing Of Charred Pellets During Storage, Shahab Sokhansanj, C. J. Lim, Sudhagar Mani

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

The off-gassing tests for six types of charred pellets: canola straw, willow, bagasse, wheat straw, switchgrass and miscanthus, were conducted at room temperature 25±2 °C in sealed storage containers. Pairs of 2-litre sealable glass containers were filled with 800 g of each sample to approximately 75% of the container volume. One container contained charred pelles. The other container contained uncharred (untreated pellets). The two glass containers were sampled in alternate weeks for CO2, CO, O2, and CH4.

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Production Of Biochar And Development Of Predictive Methods For Determining Performance In Value-Added Composite Materials, Douglas Cuthbertson, Franco Berruti, Cedric Briens

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

Current pyrolysis technologies are used for the production of liquid bio-oil, solid biochar, and gases, at temperatures in the range of 400-600 °C in the presence of little or no oxygen. Typically, pyrolysis processes have been investigated with the aim of producing the oil and char for their potential value as sustainable sources of energy and chemicals. Biochar, or biocarbon, the carbonaceous residue remaining after the volatile components have exited the biomass material, has typically been used in low value applications such as soil amendment. However, for pyrolysis technology to become fully established, it remains necessary to extract as much …

Novel Bio-Char Characterization Strategies And Their Use To Study The Chemical And Morphological Evolution Of Material Derived From Xylan, Cellulose And Lignin, Matthew W. Smith, Manuel Garcia-Perez

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

In our poster we will present the deconvolution of Raman, X-ray Photoelectron, and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectra of bio-chars. To support this work, spectra calculated for a wide variety of polyaromatic structures have been examined using density functional theory. Based on the modeling results a new fitting and interpretation procedure for Raman spectra of chars has been proposed. This method identifies out of plane deformation, 5 membered ring systems, 7 + membered ring systems and heteroatom inclusions, in addition to monitoring the cluster size of aromatic domains.

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Characterization Of Biochar Pore Structure With X-Ray Tomography, Jari Hyväluoma, Jaakko Heikkinen, Sampo Kulju, Markus Hannula, Hanne Wikberg, Anssi Källi, Kimmo Rasa

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

Biochar use as soil amendment can influence both physical and chemical properties of soil. The effects of biochar depend on the raw material from which biochar is derived as well as on the used processing technology and process conditions. One commonly highlighted benefit of biochar application is improved water retention properties of soil. Biochar may affect water retention in direct or direct way. In direct mechanism water is stored and held in the biochar pores while in indirect mechanisms biochar contributes to the soil structural development (aggregation).

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How To Produce A Potential High Value Bio-Char From The Worst Invasive Plant In Canada, Chiara Barbiero, Franco Berruti, Cedric Briens

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

Phragmites Australis is a perennial plant, native to Eurasia, which is spreading worldwide, increasing fire hazards, and causing damage to wildlife and its surrounding habitat. Phragmites is classified as Canada’s worst invasive plant due to the difficulty of achieving its full eradication. Phragmites plants are fast growing and can spread quickly through seeds or rhizomes. They must be processed locally to destroy seeds and rhizomes. For these reasons, mobile pyrolysis was selected as a destruction method that provides valuable bio-char. The aim of this work is to study the effect of different pre-treatment and post-treatment strategies on bio-char characteristics, such …

Biochar: Product Development In Remote Regions From Mixed Residues, Kelly Hawboldt, Stephanie Macquarrie, Hanieh Bamdad

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

Biochar is a particularly interesting pyrolysis product in regions where there is an abundance of waste biomass to convert but limited ability to effectively turn the waste into a product due to distance to market, lack of infrastructure (e.g. pipelines for gas), and the heterogeneous nature of the biomass (e.g. forestry residues, fishery by-product etc.). Biochar is a more homogeneous material (compared to waste biomass) expanding possible applications, is a less dense solid (making transport less costly), and could be used to sustainably develop an industry/product in these regions.

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Biochar Production And Application In The Intermountain West, Darren Mcavoy

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

The Utah Biomass Resources Group (UBRG) has focused on biochar production and application since 2011. We partner with Amaron Energy of Salt Lake City and have developed mobile pyrolysis technology for in-situ biochar production. We have also initiated field trials of biochar application in mining and agricultural settings.

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Biocharfx: Production With Carbonfx Technology, Characterization And Applications In Potting Soil Related To Plant Production, Sébastien Lange, Sylvain Bertrand

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

Airex Energy started its R&D activities on torrefaction technology in 2010 and has been operating the first and only commercial-scale biocoal plant in Canada since 2015. The company has developed the patented CarbonFXTM process for biomass torrefaction. The biochar produced from this technology can be used for different applications, one of them being as a soil amendment. The biochar produced by Airex Energy is called BiocharFXTM. In Canada, the use of biochar as a soil amendment for agriculture, horticulture or mixed with other porous media, requires a certification from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

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Activation And Mild Oxidation Of Vacuum Pyrolysis Biochar, Serge Kaliaguine, Raoof Bardestani

BIO-CHAR: Production, Characterization and Applications

A biochar produced using the Pyrovac vacuum pyrolysis process for a 80% pine-20% spruce + fir biomass feedstock (moisture content of 10% w/w). The pyrolysis was run at a temperature of 475 oC under 100 kPa total pressure with a chips feed flow rate of 14 kg/h. The pyrolysis yield was 25% on a wet basis (Sample 1)

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