Biochar technology offers a method to store large amounts of carbon in a manner which is chemically stable for hundreds, if not thousands of years.  Furthermore, it has also been shown that biochar has the potential to improve soil fertility, and can therefore be important on both an economic and environmental level.  Biochar is normally created by one of two main pathways: hydrothermal conversion and slow pyrolysis.  Hydrothermal conversion entails heating biomass in a closed vessel at moderate to high temperatures, and high pressure, using subcritical or supercritical water as a solvent.  Pyrolysis involves heating biomass at high temperatures (usually between 400-700oC) under a flow of inert gas.  The paper will cover the synthesis of biochars from pine, peanut, and bamboo biomass produced via hydrothermal conversion and pyrolysis over a range of temperatures.  The physical properties of the biochars, such as cation exchange capacity, methylene blue absorption, Raman spectroscopy, and BET measurements, will be presented and discussed pertaining to their viability as soil amendments.

Comparative analysis of biochars produced via hydrothermal conversion and slow pyrolysis

246th National Meeting (2013)

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