Exploring the Quality of Biochar derived from Simarouba Seed Coat

Author: Aditya K.T., Raghu H.B., Umashankar N., M.N. Thimmegowda and M. Mahadevamurthy

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Abstract

The study was conducted to investigate the influence of pyrolysis temperature on quality parameters and recovery of biochar from Simarouba seed coat biomass waste. Fixed-bed (batch) slow pyrolysis reactor was used to produce biochars at three different pyrolysis temperatures- 300°C (BC300), 400°C (BC400), and 500°C (BC500) with 4 hours residence time per cycle. The biochar yield exhibited a significant decline, ranging from 78.15% at 300°C to 39.23% at 500°C. To unravel quality variations among the resulting biochars, proximate and nutrient analyses were conducted, coupled with an assessment of physiochemical properties such as bulk density (BD), maximum water holding capacity (MWHC), pH, and electrical conductivity (EC). With rising pyrolysis temperature, pH, EC, elemental carbon, and fixed carbon content showed consistent increase. BC500 significantly shows higher pH (8.67), EC (1.53 dS m-1), total carbon (70.46%) and fixed carbon content (81.47%) compared to BC300 and BC400. Whereas, BC500 showed the higher MWHC (270.79%) and lower BD (0.28 Mg m-3) indicative of enhanced porosity. BC500 also exhibited enriched concentrations of potassium (K) and calcium (Ca) (4.58% and 1.33% respectively), while nitrogen (N) concentration was lowest (1.12%). The high-temperature biochars with elevated pH, MWHC, and K-content could be beneficial for remediating acidic soils, enhancing water retention in sandy soils, and ameliorating K-deficient soils

Keywords

Biochar recovery, Quality parameters, Pyrolysis temperature, Simarouba biomass-waste, Nutrient content

Conclusion

The study shows that, there is significant reduction in the yield of Simarouba seed coat biochar with rise in pyrolysis temperature. Also, temperature change had a significant impact on the biochar quality parameters. When compared to biochar produced at lower temperature, biochar produced at higher temperature showed higher pH, maximum water holding capacity, and potassium content. These high temperature pyrolyzed biochars can be useful in acidic soil remediation, improving water holding capacity of sandy soils and for potassium deficient soils as a natural source of fertilizer.

References

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How to cite this article

Aditya K.T., Raghu H.B., Umashankar N., M.N. Thimmegowda and M. Mahadevamurthy (2024). Exploring the Quality of Biochar derived from Simarouba Seed Coat. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 16(5): 126-131.