Properties of Biochar from Anaerobically Digested Food Waste and Its Potential Use in Phosphorus Recovery and Soil Amendment

Shakib Alghashm, Shiying Qian, Yinfeng Hua, Jian Wu, Haitao Zhang, Weihua Chen and Guoqing Shen
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Shakib Alghashm: School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
Shiying Qian: School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
Yinfeng Hua: Shanghai Liming Resources Reuse Co. Ltd., Shanghai 201209, China
Jian Wu: Shanghai Liming Resources Reuse Co. Ltd., Shanghai 201209, China
Haitao Zhang: Shanghai Liming Resources Reuse Co. Ltd., Shanghai 201209, China
Weihua Chen: Shanghai Liming Resources Reuse Co. Ltd., Shanghai 201209, China
Guoqing Shen: School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 12, 1-11

Abstract: The disposal of a large amount of biogas residue from anaerobically digested food waste is a burden for biogas production. The aim of this work was to investigate biogas residue as a potential feedstock, by preparing biochar at a broad pyrolysis temperature range of 400–900 °C. The properties required for phosphorus recovery and soil amendment application were evaluated. Biogas residue collected from an urban food waste treatment plant was pyrolyzed in a laboratory scale reactor. It was found that by increasing the pyrolysis temperature, the yield of biochar decreased and the pH, electrical conductivity and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area increased. The amount of phosphorus adsorbed onto the biogas residue-derived biochar (BRB) at 900 °C was larger than that of other kinds of biochar. The kinetics of phosphorus (P) adsorption on BRB could be described by the pseudo-second-order equation. The pot experiments showed that the resulting biochar is beneficial for the growth of cabbage. Overall, turning solid residue from the anaerobic digestion of food waste for biogas production into biochar shows good prospects as a means of solving the disposal problem, while creating new markets for food waste biogas residue.

Keywords: pyrolysis temperature; biogas residue; adsorption; pseudo-second-order equation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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