Agroindustrial processes are often burdened by the costs and difficulties of the management of waste biomass.  When not managed properly, the burden is on the environment and local communities. Valorization of waste is preferable to management, as it usually can at least cover its costs and additionally be environmentally and socially more coherent. One option for waste biomass is carbonization. The main product, charcoal, can have a variety of uses, ranging from energy vehicle to the revolutionary soil amendment named "biochar".  The market for charcoals is ever expanding.  Different charcoals are obtained from different feedstocks. In the same carbonization process, different biomassic materials may lead to significantly different yields and qualities.  Additionally, temperature and pressure variations lead to variations in yields and qualities from the same feedstock.  Nevertheless, in most processes ocurring in small scale production, pressures are near atmospheric and temperatures vary between 300°C and 600°C.  Under such conditions, different feedstocks typically yield between 20% and 40% m/m, and heat content preserved in the charcoal ranges between 67% and 13% of the original.  In the latter case, &gt;85% of the energy in the original material would be lost to the environment in the bonds of of air- or waterborne pollutants. A simple inexpensive method, potentially a reference method, is hereby proposed, for the purpose of determining expectable charcoal yields and qualities from any dried biomassic material. The method can be complemented by determination of heat content of the charcoal, in order to make a decision regarding its eventual carbonization as a means of valorizing it.  The test method requires only a balance and a furnace.  It was applied to a variety of biomassic materials in order to determine its reliability, with excellent results.  On 4 different biomasses, repeatability of the essay was determined with n &gt; 15, with variation coefficients below 5%.  Assay of true s yielded 1.1 % relative to the average.  Assay of 4 different biomasses with 6 &gt; n &gt; 4 yielded variation coefficients around 1%.  The essay was additionally carried out on 15 different biomasses with n =2 or n =3, with variation coefficients below 3%.  Heat content can subsequently be determined on the charcoal in order to assess its potential as an energy vehicle. A complementary case study, involving coffee husk, is presented as an example.<br/>

Carbonize it? Simple test method to see whether carbonization is a good valorization choice for a material

251st National Meeting (2016)

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