Characteristics of Biochars Derived from the Pyrolysis and Co-Pyrolysis of Rubberwood Sawdust and Sewage Sludge for Further Applications

Liaqat Ali, Arkom Palamanit, Kuaanan Techato, Asad Ullah, Md. Shahariar Chowdhury and Khamphe Phoungthong
Additional contact information
Liaqat Ali: Environmental Assessment and Technology for Hazardous Waste Management Research Center, Faculty of Environmental Management, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla 90112, Thailand
Arkom Palamanit: Energy Technology Program, Department of Specialized Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai 90110, Thailand
Kuaanan Techato: Environmental Assessment and Technology for Hazardous Waste Management Research Center, Faculty of Environmental Management, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla 90112, Thailand
Asad Ullah: Department of Chemical Engineering, Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences, Quetta 87300, Pakistan
Md. Shahariar Chowdhury: Environmental Assessment and Technology for Hazardous Waste Management Research Center, Faculty of Environmental Management, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla 90112, Thailand
Khamphe Phoungthong: Environmental Assessment and Technology for Hazardous Waste Management Research Center, Faculty of Environmental Management, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla 90112, Thailand

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 7, 1-21

Abstract: This study investigated the characteristics of biochars derived from the pyrolysis of rubberwood sawdust (RWS) and sewage sludge (SS) and their co-pyrolysis at mixing ratios of 50:50 and 75:25. Biochars were produced at 550 °C through slow pyrolysis in a moving bed reactor and then characterized. Results showed that the rubberwood sawdust biochar (RWSB) had high carbon content (86.70 wt%) and low oxygen content (7.89 wt%). By contrast, the sewage sludge biochar (SSB) had high ash content (65.61 wt%) and low carbon content (24.27 wt%). The blending of RWS with SS at the mentioned ratios helped enhance the gross and element contents of the biochar samples. The elemental analysis of the biochars was also reported in the form of atomic ratios (H/C and O/C). The functional groups of biochars were observed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) revealed that the biochar from SS contained a high content of inorganic elements, such as Si, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, P, and Zn. The pH of the biochars ranged from 8.41 to 10.02. Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that RWSB had a lower surface area and larger pore diameter than the other biochars. The water holding capacity (WHC) and water releasing ability (WRA) of the biochars were in the range of 1.01–3.08 mL/g and 1.19–52.42 wt%, respectively. These results will be the guideline for further application and study of biochar from RWS, SS, and blended samples.

Keywords: biomass; biochar; bio-economy; biochar properties; organic wastes; soil improvement; bio-fertilizer (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/7/3829/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/7/3829/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:7:p:3829-:d:778514

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().