scholarly journals Elemental Composition of Biochar Obtained from Agricultural Waste for Soil Amendment and Carbon Sequestration

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (19) ◽  
pp. 3980 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saowanee Wijitkosum ◽  
Preamsuda Jiwnok

For an agricultural country such as Thailand, converting agricultural waste into biochar offers a potential solution to manage massive quantities of crop residues following harvest. This research studied the structure and chemical composition of biochar obtained from cassava rhizomes, cassava stems and corncobs, produced using a patented locally-manufactured biochar kiln using low-cost appropriate technology designed to be fabricated locally by farmers. The research found that cassava stems yielded the highest number of Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area in the biochar product, while chemical analysis indicated that corncobs yielded the highest amount of C (81.35%). The amount of H in the corncob biochar was also the highest (2.42%). The study also showed biochar produced by slow pyrolysis was of a high quality, with stable C and low H/C ratio. Biochar’s high BET surface area and total pore volume makes it suitable for soil amendment, contributing to reduced soil density, higher soil moisture and aeration and reduced leaching of plant nutrients from the rhizosphere. Biochar also provides a conducive habitat for beneficial soil microorganisms. The findings indicate that soil incorporation of biochar produced from agricultural crop residues can enhance food security and mitigate the contribution of the agricultural sector to climate change impacts.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Ayodele ◽  
Victoria Ezeagwula ◽  
Precious Igbokwubiri

Abstract Bamboo trees are one of the fastest growing trees in tropical rainforests around the world, they have various uses ranging from construction to fly ash generation used in oil and gas cementing, to development of activated carbon which is one of the latest uses of bamboo trees. This paper focuses on development of activated carbon from bamboo trees for carbon capture and sequestration. The need for improved air quality becomes imperative as the SDG Goal 12 and SDG Goal13 implies. One of the major greenhouse gases is CO2 which accounts for over 80% of greenhouse gases in the environment. Eliminating the greenhouse gases without adding another pollutant to the environment is highly sought after in the 21st century. Bamboo trees are mostly seen as agricultural waste with the advent of scaffolding and other support systems being in the construction industry. Instead of burning bamboo trees or using them for cooking in the local communities which in turn generates CO2 and fly ash, an alternative was considered in this research work, which is the usage of bamboo trees to generate activated, moderately porous and high surface area carbon for extracting CO2 from various CO2 discharge sources atmosphere and for water purification. This paper focuses on the quality testing of activated carbon that can effectively absorb CO2. The porosity, pore volume, bulk volume, and BET surface area were measured. The porosity of the activated carbon is 27%, BET surface area as 1260m²/g. Fixed carbon was 11.7%, Volatility 73%, ash content 1.7%.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heman A. Smail ◽  
Kafia M. Shareef ◽  
Zainab H. Ramli

The adsorption of lead (Pb II) ion on different types of synthesized zeolite was investigated. The BET surface area, total pore volume & average pore size distribution of these synthesized zeolites were determined by adsorption isotherms for N2, the surface area & total pore volume of their sources were found by adsorption isothermN2.The adsorption equilibrium was measured after 24h at room temperature (RT) & concentration 10mg.L-1 of Pb (II) was used. The adsorption of heavy metal Pb (II) on four different prepared zeolites (LTA from Montmorillonite clay, FAU(Y)-B.H (G2) from Barley husk, Mordenite (G1) from Chert rock, FAU(X)-S.C (G3) from shale clay & modified Shale clay by oxalic acid (N1) & sodium hydroxide (N2)), were compared with the adsorption of their sources by using static batch experimental method. The major factors affecting the heavy metal ion sorption on different synthesized zeolites & their sources were investigated. The adsorption equilibrium capacity (Qm) of Pb (II) ion for different synthesized zeolites ordered from (N1>N2>LTA>G3>G2>G1&for their sources ordered Shale clay >Montmorilonite> Barley husk>Chert rock. The atomic absorption spectrometry was used for analysis of lead heavy metal ion, the obtained results in this study showed that the different synthesized zeolites were efficient ion exchanges for removing heavy metal, in particular, the modified zeolite from shale clay by oxalic acid.


1997 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 465-476 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.A. El-Shobaky ◽  
A.M. Ghozza ◽  
G.M. Mohamed

Two samples of Cr2O3/Al2O3 were prepared by mixing a known mass of finely powdered Al(OH)3 with a calculated amount of CrO3 solid followed by drying at 120°C and calcination at 400°C. The amounts of chromium oxide employed were 5.66 and 20 mol% Cr2O3, respectively. The calcined solid specimens were then treated with different doses of γ-rays (20–160 Mrad). The surface and catalytic properties of the different irradiated solids were investigated using nitrogen adsorption at −196°C and the catalysis of CO oxidation by O2 at 300–400°C. The results revealed that γ-rays brought about a slight decrease in the BET surface area, SBET (15%), and in the total pore volume, Vp (20%), of the adsorbent containing 5.66 mol% Cr2O3. The same treatment increased the total pore volume, Vp (36%), and the mean pore radius, r̄ (43%), of the other adsorbent sample without changing its BET surface area. The catalytic activities of both catalyst samples were found to increase as a function of dose, reaching a maximum value at 80–160 Mrad and 40 Mrad for the solids containing 5.66 and 20 mol% Cr2O3, respectively. The maximum increase in the catalytic activity measured at 300°C was 59% and 100% for the first and second catalyst samples, respectively. The induced effect of γ-irradiation on the catalytic activity was an increase in the concentration of catalytically active sites taking part in chemisorption and in the catalysis of CO oxidation by O2 without changing their energetic nature. This was achieved by a progressive removal of surface hydroxy groups during the irradiation process.


Agriculture ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen-Tien Tsai ◽  
Chien-Hung Hsu ◽  
Yu-Quan Lin

The use of biochar in the horticulture and crop fields is a recent method to improve soil fertility due to its porous features and rich nutrients. In the present study, dairy manure (DM) was used as a biomass precursor in the preparation of highly porous biochar (DM-BC) produced at specific conditions. Based on N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations, the resulting biochar featured its microporous/mesoporous textures with a BET surface area of about 300 m2/g and total pore volume of 0.185 cm3/g, which could be a low-cost biosorbent for the effective removal of methylene blue (MB) from the aqueous solution. As observed by the energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), the primary inorganic nutrients on the surface of DM-BC included calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), phosphorus (P), silicon (Si), sulfur (S), sodium (Na) and aluminum (Al). Furthermore, the resulting biochar was investigated in duplicate for its biosorption performance of cationic compound (i.e., methylene blue, MB) from the aqueous solution with various initial MB concentrations and DM-BC dosages at 25 °C. The findings showed that the biosorption kinetic parameters fitted by the pseudo-second order rate model with high correlations were consistent with its porous features. These experimental results suggested that the porous DM-based biochar could be reused as a biosorbent, biofertilizer, or soil amendments due to the high porosity and the abundance in nutrient minerals.


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 450-463
Author(s):  
Xiya Li ◽  
Jieqiong Qiu ◽  
Yiqi Hu ◽  
Xiaoyuan Ren ◽  
Lu He ◽  
...  

The production of low-cost biologically activated carbons (BACs) is urgent need of environmental protection and ecological sustainability. Hence, walnut shells were treated by traditional pyrolysis, direct KOH impregnation and combined activation composed of hydrothermal carbonization and two-step H3PO4- and pyrolysis-activation process to obtain porous carbon with high adsorption capacity. It was found that the best adsorption capacity for iodine and organic dye methylene blue (MB) can be obtained using the KOH impregnation at impregnation ratio of 1:1 or combined activation comprising of 2 h H3PO4 activation and 1 h pyrolysis activation at 1000°C. The produced KOH, H3PO4/pyrolysis activated BACs at the optimum conditions are superior to that of commercial ACs, 9.4 and 1.3 times for MB removal, 4 and 4.5 times for iodine number respectively. Characterization results demonstrated their porous structure with very good textural properties such as high BET surface area (1689.1 m2/g, 1545.3 m2/g) and high total pore volume (0.94 cm3/g, 0.96 cm3/g). The N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm of H3PO4/pyrolysis activated hydrochar suggested the co-existence of micro and meso-pores. Moreover, they are more effective for the removal of Fe(III) and Cr(VI) from aqueous solution than the commercial AC, suggesting a promising application in the field of water treatment.


2016 ◽  
Vol 857 ◽  
pp. 475-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.S. Mohammed Yahya ◽  
Jeyashelly Andas ◽  
Ghani Zaidi Ab

In this work, mesoporous activated carbon with high surface area was synthesized from swamp taro stalk by single step ZnCl2 activation. The synthesized activated carbon was characterized by Na2S2O3 volumetric method, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and N2 adsorption-desorption analyses. Under the single step ZnCl2 activation, the registered iodine number, BET surface area, total pore volume and pore diameter were 1087.57 mgg-1, 1242.26 m2g-1, 0.73cm3g-1 and 3.72 nm respectively with yield of 25.34%. SEM analysis evidenced the well-formation of porous structure. Type IV isotherm with H2 loops obtained from N2-sorption studies indicates the ink bottles shape mesoporous network structure. This research proved the successful conversion of plant waste into high grade activated carbon.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guotao Zhao ◽  
Zhenxiao Zhao ◽  
Junliang Wu ◽  
Daiqi Ye

Fluorine-containing hydrophobic mesoporous material (MFS) with high surface area is successfully synthesized with hydrothermal synthesis method by using a perfluorinated surfactant SURFLON S-386 template. The adsorption properties of water vapor on the synthesized MFS are also investigated by using gravimetric method. Results show that SEM image of the MFS depicted roundish morphology with the average crystal size of 1-2 μm. The BET surface area and total pore volume of the MFS are 865.4 m2 g−1and 0.74 cm3 g−1with a narrow pore size distribution at 4.9 nm. The amount of water vapor on the MFS is about 0.41 mmol g−1at 303 K, which is only 52.6% and 55.4% of MCM-41 and SBA-15 under the similar conditions, separately. The isosteric adsorption heat of water on the MFS is gradually about 27.0–19.8 kJ mol−1, which decreases as the absorbed water vapor amount increases. The value is much smaller than that on MCM-41 and SBA-15. Therefore, the MFS shows more hydrophobic surface properties than the MCM-41 and SBA-15. It may be a kind of good candidate for adsorption of large molecule and catalyst carrier with high moisture resistance.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-16
Author(s):  
FS Nworie ◽  
EC Oroke ◽  
II Ikelle ◽  
JS Nworu

AbstractStudies on the adsorption of Pb(II) on plantain peels biochar (PPB) was conducted. The carbonized and activated, biochar was characterized using Braunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area and x-ray diffraction crystallography (XRD). BET analysis of the PPB indicated that the pore size (cc/g) and pore surface area (m2/g) was 8.79 and 16.69 respectively. Result of the XRD evaluated through Debye-Scherrer equation, showed a nanostructure with crystallite size of 14.56 nm. Effects of initial metal ion concentration, pH, and contact time were studied in a batch reaction process. Results showed that the adsorption of lead from aqueous solution increased with an increase in pH and initial concentration. Equilibrium modeling studies suggested that the data fitted mainly to the Langmuir isotherm. Adsorption kinetic data tested using various kinetic models fitted the Weber and Morris intraparticle diffusion model implicating pore diffusion as the main rate limiting step. The sorption studies indicated the potential of plantain peel biochar as an effective, efficient and low cost adsorbent for remediating lead (II) ions contaminated environment.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashok Kumar ◽  
Kaman Singh ◽  
Rayees Ahamad Bhat

Adsorption is an important technique that significances the characteristics of porous solid materials and fine powders. The importance of porous solid materials and fine powders has been recognized when porous coal used for various applications such as catalysis, separation, isolation, sensors, chromatography, etc. Herein, the synthesis of mesoporous activated carbon derived from agricultural waste using TiO2. The TiO2-modified carbon was characterized employing scanning electron microscope (SEM), attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (pXRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area analyzer and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The obtained results suggested that the TiO2-modified carbon could be a potential material for various application like dye removal, metal removal and allied areas. This book chapter describes the commonly used classifications of porous bulk materials and also reported here the characterization of porous solid materials and fine powders with special reference to the evaluation of the surface area, pore size distribution and thermodynamic parameters of the different mesoporous material, at various scales of resolution using relevant techniques. These materials comprise several levels of structures that of the mesopores, micropores as well as macropores. The apparent topography analysis of these materials, of various pore diameters, synthesized in our laboratory has been determined at various scales with the help of various characterization techniques.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 1205-1209
Author(s):  
Hasan Sayğılı

The influence of carbonization temperature (CT) on pore properties of the prepared activated carbon using lentil processing waste product (LWP) impregnated with potassium carbonate was studied. Activated carbons (ACs) were obtained by impregnation with 3:1 ratio (w/w) K2CO3/LWP under different carbonization temperatures at 600, 700, 800 and 900 oC for 1h. Activation at low temperature represented that micropores were developed first and then mesoporosity developed, enhanced up to 800 oC and then started to decrease due to possible shrinking of pores. The optimum temperature for LWP was found to be around 800 oC on the basis of total pore volume and the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area. The optimum LWPAC sample was found with a CT of 800 oC, which gives the highest BET surface area and pore volume of 1875 m2/g and 0.995 cm3/g, respectively.


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