developments in the preparation and use of bio-char

8/9/2019 Developments in the Preparation and Use of Bio-Char

1/29

DevelopmentsinthePreparation

andUse

of

Bio

Char

RayChrisman,Universityof

Washington,

USA


2/29

Direct

measurement

ofcarbon

dioxide

indicatesthat

thelevelhas

definitely

been

rising

forthelast50

yearsthough

variationsin

concentration

areanatural

event.


3/29

Naturalfluxesofcarbondioxidearevery

largebutdataindicatesthatthecurrent

increaseis

related

to

fossil

fuel

consumption


4/29

Carbondioxideis

themostabundant

greenhousegas

but

emissionsofother

gasesare

significant

contributorsandanyreductionin

theiremissionswill

behelpful


5/29


6/29

Sequestration

side

of

the

CO2

issue

StabilizingCO2

at400ppmrequires

approximately35GTCO2(~10GTcarbon)

to

bewithdrawn

from

the

atmosphere

by

2030

http://www.vattenfall.com/www/ccc/ccc/577730downl/index.jsp

Thequestionishowcanitbedoneandwhere

canweputit? Inthewaterorontheland?
http://www.vattenfall.com/www/ccc/ccc/577730downl/index.jsphttp://www.vattenfall.com/www/ccc/ccc/577730downl/index.jsp


7/29

Production and use of biochar can be asignificant component of a CO2

sequestration program

AgricharTM productis

derivedfrom

Slow

Pyrolysis

whichinvolvesheatingbiomassintheabsence(or

reduced

supply)

of

air

AgricharTM productdeliverssignificantagriculturalandenvironmentalbenefits

whilstsequesteringcarboninsoil


8/29

HowBioChar

canenhancethelifetimeofland

sequestrationof

carbon

100

50

10

1 32

Bio-char

Un-charred organic matter

4 5

Years

Carbonremaining(%)

Lehmannetal.,2006,MitigationandAdaptationStrategiesforGlobalChange


9/29

TerraPreta:Evidenceoflongevityinthesoil

5007000yearsold Amazon Extremeenvironmentforfastorganics

turnover

10%TotalCarbon,35%ofwhichisBlackCarbon.Char 3.5%oftotalsoil.


10/29

Photos:JulieMajor,CornellUniversity

The terra preta example of improvedplant growth

Itcan

reduce

soil

release

of

nitrous

oxide

by

80%

and

completelysuppresssoilreleaseofmethane


11/29

Thusthegoodnewsisthattheuse

ofbiochar notonlysequesterscarbon,italsoreducesother

greenhousegas

emissions

and

it

improvesplantgrowth

Evenbetter,thebiochar processisaco

product

process

for

energy

and

biochar


12/29

Biochar a Gigaton response

Source:Lehmann,2007,Nature

-20

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

G

t

C

arb

o

n

Annualpotentialforbiochar

sequestration

Hypothetical

(40%biomass

to

biochar)

High

Low

Gauntunpublished


13/29

Biochar appearstohavepositiveenvironmentalfeatures

However,

if

we

are

going

to

put

billionsoftonsofthismaterialinthesoilwehadbetterhaveagood

understandingof

the

potential

impact


14/29

Bulkcompositionofatypicalbiomassmaterial. Dependingon

heatingratethecellulosecrosslinks

ordepolymerizes. Final

temp(low)

aliphatic

rings

or

(high)

aromatic

rings


15/29

Biomassalsohasthefollowingcomponents

Extractables suchasresins,starches,waxes,lipids,hydrocarbonsandvariousphenolics whichintotalareonlyabout15%onadrybasis.

WaterAshwhichisthemetalionsandsilica.Ashcan

varyfrom

0.5%

for

most

woods

to

over

20%

in

cerealgrains. Cancauseprocessandproduct

problems

IBIconference9/08


16/29

Almostanytimebiomassis

burnedin

nature

both

pyrolysis andoxidationoccurs

Oftenbothprocessesoccursuchthatoxidation

(burning)

is

on

the

outside

and

provides

the

heat

forpyrolysis whichisgoingoninside. Thebiochar thatfirstformsisthenburnedwhenoxygencanfinallyreachit.

Forexample,theburningofcigarettes

Howdowegetjustbiochar?


17/29

Therearemanyvariationsinpyrolysis

for

theproduction

of

energy

and

biochar


18/29

Theenergycoproductisderived

fromthe

smoke.

Careful

processing

canbeusedtoproduceenough

energyto

help

reduce

the

need

to

burnfossilfuels

Withoutprocessingthesmokeisa

source

of

gases

that

have

a

higher

greenhouseeffectthanCO2


19/29

Thepyrolysis

processestypicallyproducethree

generalproduct

types

based

on

physical

state

Agasthatismostlysyngas(H2andCO)withsomelighthydrocarbons

Acomplexhydrocarbonliquid(biooil)andwater

Asolidchar(primaryandsecondary)andash

Therelativeyieldsandcompositionoftheseproductsareafunctionofprocessconditions

andstarting

materials.


20/29

Theseliquidsneedtobecapturedandnotallowedtocondenseon thechar


21/29

Propertiesofbiochar areafunctionofprocessingtemperature

and

starting

material


22/29

BESTs AustralianDemofacility

Fullycontinuouswith

Integrateddrying

Handles

biomass

with

up

to

50%moisture

Canprocesshighandlowash

biomass

Syngas

producedruns300

kWe

internalcombustion

engine

Approx.35%yieldbyweight

Canbescaledtoprocess48

&

96

dry

ton/dayIBIconference 9/08


23/29

Theintegratedcontinuousprocesscanaltertheratio

betweenbiochar

andenergyproduction


24/29

WhatisAgrichar TM biochar?

AgricharTM productisderivedfromSlowPyrolysis

andisa

primarycharwhichmeansit

maintainsmuch

of

its

originalphysicalstructure.

Thisstructureseemstosupportenhancedmicrobialgrowth,

aid

in

water

retentionandenhancedsoilstructure.

ThematerialhasgoodCECandhasalonglifetimeinthesoil.

The

material

has

no

odor

and

lowresiduals.IBIconference 9/08

Th i f i k h UN i i


25/29

The waterretentionfeatureisakeyreasontheUNispromotingtheuseofbiochar tocombatdesertification


26/29

Distributedmanufacturingmodelfor

biochar fromdairymanureDrymanureto50%solidsbeforetransporttofacility;freshis

165lb/day/cow,12%

solids.

Reduces

methane

emissions

from

currentstorageapproach

Collectmanurefromdairies,260sitesindentifiedinUSwiththeneeded12,700cowswithin3050kmofapotentialfacility

Operate96tpd

drybasisfeedtocoproduceenergyand

biochar

Exportenergytolocaluser;graindryer,milkprocessor,etc.,

potentially47

trillion

BTU/year

for

rural

use

Sellbiochar,750millionpounds

2530%internalrateofreturndependingonproductmix

The project was supported by the Small Business Innovation Research program ofthe U.S. Department of Agriculture, grant number 2008-33610-18876


27/29

Thereareasignificantnumberofusesforbiochar dependingonperformancepropertiesofmaterialproduced

The project was supported by the Small Business Innovation Research programof the U.S. Department of Agriculture, grant number 2008-33610-18876


28/29

Additionalpotential

Environmental

benefitsfrombiochar

usage

Biochar

hasbeendemonstratedto

capture

metals

(Lima,

USDA).

Potential

to

filterwaterfromminetailings

Aprogrambeingdevelopedtoclean

farmrunoff

to

reduce

nitrates,

phosphatesandherbicides(Allred,USDA)


29/29

Summaryofpotentialbenefits

of thebiochar processSequester

Carbon

Dioxide

Generateenergy

Solvesome

waste

management

issues

like

disposalofmanure

Improvesoilquality

Thisprogramisnowherenearthe1gigaton rangeneededtohaveasignificantimpactonCO2emissions

but

it

could

be

acost

effective

start

developments in the preparation and use of bio-char

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