Comparison of biochar properties from biomass residues produced by slow pyrolysis at 500 °C
TL;DR: In the biochar yield, the influence of the inert and lignin contents was significant, and PKS biochar had dense matrix with few large pores, while the elemental composition and pH of biochars were compared.
About: This article is published in Bioresource Technology.The article was published on 2013-11-01. It has received 464 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Biochar & Slash-and-char.
Citations
More filters
The Nature Conservancy1, James Madison University2, Woods Hole Research Center3, Ohio State University4, Institute of Ecosystem Studies5, Resources For The Future6, University of Aberdeen7, Cornell University8, Colorado State University9, World Resources Institute10, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences11, University of Minnesota12, University of Maryland, College Park13, University of Florida14, Wetlands International15, University of Vermont16
TL;DR: It is shown that NCS can provide over one-third of the cost-effective climate mitigation needed between now and 2030 to stabilize warming to below 2 °C.
Abstract: Better stewardship of land is needed to achieve the Paris Climate Agreement goal of holding warming to below 2 °C; however, confusion persists about the specific set of land stewardship options available and their mitigation potential. To address this, we identify and quantify "natural climate solutions" (NCS): 20 conservation, restoration, and improved land management actions that increase carbon storage and/or avoid greenhouse gas emissions across global forests, wetlands, grasslands, and agricultural lands. We find that the maximum potential of NCS-when constrained by food security, fiber security, and biodiversity conservation-is 23.8 petagrams of CO2 equivalent (PgCO2e) y-1 (95% CI 20.3-37.4). This is ≥30% higher than prior estimates, which did not include the full range of options and safeguards considered here. About half of this maximum (11.3 PgCO2e y-1) represents cost-effective climate mitigation, assuming the social cost of CO2 pollution is ≥100 USD MgCO2e-1 by 2030. Natural climate solutions can provide 37% of cost-effective CO2 mitigation needed through 2030 for a >66% chance of holding warming to below 2 °C. One-third of this cost-effective NCS mitigation can be delivered at or below 10 USD MgCO2-1 Most NCS actions-if effectively implemented-also offer water filtration, flood buffering, soil health, biodiversity habitat, and enhanced climate resilience. Work remains to better constrain uncertainty of NCS mitigation estimates. Nevertheless, existing knowledge reported here provides a robust basis for immediate global action to improve ecosystem stewardship as a major solution to climate change.
1,508 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a general summary of the properties of pyrolytic products and their analysis methods is given, as well as a review of the parameters that affect the process and a summary of current state of the art.
Abstract: Pyrolysis is one of the thermochemical technologies for converting biomass into energy and chemical products consisting of liquid bio-oil, solid biochar, and pyrolytic gas. Depending on the heating rate and residence time, biomass pyrolysis can be divided into three main categories slow (conventional), fast and flash pyrolysis mainly aiming at maximising either the bio-oil or biochar yields. Synthesis gas or hydrogen-rich gas can also be the target of biomass pyrolysis. Maximised gas rates can be achieved through the catalytic pyrolysis process, which is now increasingly being developed. Biomass pyrolysis generally follows a three-step mechanism comprising of dehydration, primary and secondary reactions. Dehydrogenation, depolymerisation, and fragmentation are the main competitive reactions during the primary decomposition of biomass. A number of parameters affect the biomass pyrolysis process, yields and properties of products. These include the biomass type, biomass pretreatment (physical, chemical, and biological), reaction atmosphere, temperature, heating rate and vapour residence time. This manuscript gives a general summary of the properties of the pyrolytic products and their analysis methods. Also provided are a review of the parameters that affect biomass pyrolysis and a summary of the state of industrial pyrolysis technologies.
1,379 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the impact of pyrolysis temperature and the type of biomass on the physicochemical characteristics of biochar and its impact on soil fertility is discussed, and a review succinctly presents the impact.
Abstract: Biochar is a pyrogenous, organic material synthesized through pyrolysis of different biomass (plant or animal waste). The potential biochar applications include: (1) pollution remediation due to high CEC and specific surface area; (2) soil fertility improvement on the way of liming effect, enrichment in volatile matter and increase of pore volume, (3) carbon sequestration due to carbon and ash content, etc. Biochar properties are affected by several technological parameters, mainly pyrolysis temperature and feedstock kind, which differentiation can lead to products with a wide range of values of pH, specific surface area, pore volume, CEC, volatile matter, ash and carbon content. High pyrolysis temperature promotes the production of biochar with a strongly developed specific surface area, high porosity, pH as well as content of ash and carbon, but with low values of CEC and content of volatile matter. This is most likely due to significant degree of organic matter decomposition. Biochars produced from animal litter and solid waste feedstocks exhibit lower surface areas, carbon content, volatile matter and high CEC compared to biochars produced from crop residue and wood biomass, even at higher pyrolysis temperatures. The reason for this difference is considerable variation in lignin and cellulose content as well as in moisture content of biomass. The physicochemical properties of biochar determine application of this biomaterial as an additive to improve soil quality. This review succinctly presents the impact of pyrolysis temperature and the type of biomass on the physicochemical characteristics of biochar and its impact on soil fertility.
849 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a meta-analysis revealed that slow pyrolyzed biochars produced from various feedstocks at temperatures from 300°C to 600°C consistently increased some physico-chemical properties (i.e., pH, cation exchange capacity and aggregation) and microbial parameters (e.g., abundance and community structure of microorganisms) in a vast number of soils during short (≤90 days) laboratory incubations and longer (1-3 years) field studies.
842 citations
Cites background from "Comparison of biochar properties fr..."
...In a study with biochars produced from five feedstocks at 500 C, Lee et al. (2013) reported that in 600 500 mm SEM image, sugarcane bagasse, paddy straw and umbrella tree wood biochars had mostly 10–50 mm, 20–100 mm and 50–70 mm diameter pore sizes, occupying 70%, 80% and 30% of biochar surface,…...
[...]
TL;DR: In this paper, researches on biochar are discussed in terms of production method and application, and different processes for biochar production, such as pyrolysis, gasification, hydrothermal carbonization, etc.
809 citations
References
More filters
TL;DR: In this article, the pyrolysis characteristics of three main components (hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin) of biomass were investigated using, respectively, a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) detector and a pack bed.
5,859 citations
"Comparison of biochar properties fr..." refers background in this paper
...For the two distinct peaks, the first peak corresponded to the decomposition of hemicellulose and the second to cellulose (Yang et al., 2007; Cagnon et al., 2009)....
[...]
TL;DR: A review of the recent developments in the wood pyrolysis and reports the characteristics of the resulting bio-oils, which are the main products of fast wood pyrotechnics, can be found in this paper.
Abstract: Fast pyrolysis utilizes biomass to produce a product that is used both as an energy source and a feedstock for chemical production. Considerable efforts have been made to convert wood biomass to liquid fuels and chemicals since the oil crisis in mid-1970s. This review focuses on the recent developments in the wood pyrolysis and reports the characteristics of the resulting bio-oils, which are the main products of fast wood pyrolysis. Virtually any form of biomass can be considered for fast pyrolysis. Most work has been performed on wood, because of its consistency and comparability between tests. However, nearly 100 types of biomass have been tested, ranging from agricultural wastes such as straw, olive pits, and nut shells to energy crops such as miscanthus and sorghum. Forestry wastes such as bark and thinnings and other solid wastes, including sewage sludge and leather wastes, have also been studied. In this review, the main (although not exclusive) emphasis has been given to wood. The literature on woo...
4,988 citations
"Comparison of biochar properties fr..." refers background in this paper
...Pyrolysis conditions can also be adjusted to maximize the release of condensable vapors to produce bio-oil, which is referred to as fast pyrolysis (Mohan et al., 2006)....
[...]
TL;DR: The application of bio-char (charcoal or biomass-derived black carbon (C)) to soil is pro- posed as a novel approach to establish a significant, long-term, sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide in terrestrial ecosystems.
Abstract: The application of bio-char (charcoal or biomass-derived black carbon (C)) to soil is pro- posed as a novel approach to establish a significant, long-term, sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide in terrestrial ecosystems. Apart from positive effects in both reducing emissions and increasing the sequestration of greenhouse gases, the production of bio-char and its application to soil will deliver im- mediate benefits through improved soil fertility and increased crop production. Conversion of biomass C to bio-char C leads to sequestration of about 50% of the initial C compared to the low amounts retained after burning (3%) and biological decomposition (<10-20% after 5-10 years), therefore yielding more stable soil C than burning or direct land application of biomass. This efficiency of C conversion of biomass to bio-char is highly dependent on the type of feedstock, but is not significantly affected by the pyrolysis temperature (within 350-500 ◦ C common for pyrolysis). Existing slash-and- burn systems cause significant degradation of soil and release of greenhouse gases and opportunies may exist to enhance this system by conversion to slash-and-char systems. Our global analysis revealed that up to 12% of the total anthropogenic C emissions by land use change (0.21 Pg C) can be off-set annually in soil, if slash-and-burn is replaced by slash-and-char. Agricultural and forestry wastes such as forest residues, mill residues, field crop residues, or urban wastes add a conservatively estimated 0.16 Pg C yr −1 . Biofuel production using modern biomass can produce a bio-char by-product through pyrolysis which results in 30.6 kg C sequestration for each GJ of energy produced. Using published projections of the use of renewable fuels in the year 2100, bio-char sequestration could amount to 5.5-9.5 Pg C yr −1 if this demand for energy was met through pyrolysis, which would exceed current emissions from fossil fuels (5.4 Pg C yr −1 ). Bio-char soil management systems can deliver tradable C emissions reduction, and C sequestered is easily accountable, and verifiable.
2,553 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors reviewed the available information about the physical and chemical properties of charcoal as affected by different combustion procedures, and the effects of its application in agricultural fields on nutrient retention and crop production.
Abstract: Rapid turnover of organic matter leads to a low efficiency of organic fertilizers applied to increase and sequester C in soils of the humid tropics. Charcoal was reported to be responsible for high soil organic matter contents and soil fertility of anthropogenic soils (Terra Preta) found in central Amazonia. Therefore, we reviewed the available information about the physical and chemical properties of charcoal as affected by different combustion procedures, and the effects of its application in agricultural fields on nutrient retention and crop production. Higher nutrient retention and nutrient availability were found after charcoal additions to soil, related to higher exchange capacity, surface area and direct nutrient additions. Higher charring temperatures generally improved exchange properties and surface area of the charcoal. Additionally, charcoal is relatively recalcitrant and can therefore be used as a long-term sink for atmospheric CO2. Several aspects of a charcoal management system remain unclear, such as the role of microorganisms in oxidizing charcoal surfaces and releasing nutrients and the possibilities to improve charcoal properties during production under field conditions. Several research needs were identified, such as field testing of charcoal production in tropical agroecosystems, the investigation of surface properties of the carbonized materials in the soil environment, and the evaluation of the agronomic and economic effectiveness of soil management with charcoal.
2,514 citations
"Comparison of biochar properties fr..." refers background in this paper
...In general, biochar needs to have high adsorption and cation exchange capacities, and a small amount of mobile compounds such as tar (Glaser et al., 2002; Liang et al., 2008)....
[...]
TL;DR: The maximum sustainable technical potential of biochar to mitigate climate change is estimated, which shows that it has a larger climate-change mitigation potential than combustion of the same sustainably procured biomass for bioenergy, except when fertile soils are amended while coal is the fuel being offset.
Abstract: Production of biochar (the carbon (C)-rich solid formed by pyrolysis of biomass) and its storage in soils have been suggested as a means of abating climate change by sequestering carbon, while simultaneously providing energy and increasing crop yields. Substantial uncertainties exist, however, regarding the impact, capacity and sustainability of biochar at the global level. In this paper we estimate the maximum sustainable technical potential of biochar to mitigate climate change. Annual net emissions of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane and nitrous oxide could be reduced by a maximum of 1.8 Pg CO 2 -C equivalent (CO 2 -C e ) per year (12 % of current anthropogenic CO 2 -C e emissions; 1 Pg = 1 Gt), and total net emissions over the course of a century by 130 Pg CO 2 -C e , without endangering food security, habitat or soil conservation. Biochar has a larger climate-change mitigation potential than combustion of the same sustainably procured biomass for bioenergy, except when fertile soils are amended while coal is the fuel being offset.
1,893 citations
"Comparison of biochar properties fr..." refers background in this paper
...This can achieve a maximum of 12 % reduction in current anthropogenic CO2 emission without endangering food security, habitat or soil conservation (Woolf et al., 2010)....
[...]
...Recently, the application of biochar to soil is drawing greater attention for sustainable soil quality improvement and carbon sequestration (Lehmann et al., 2006; Woolf et al., 2010; Sohi, 2012)....
[...]