Simple Method for Ficus Trees Trimming Biowaste Reuse in Production of Biochar as Soil Improvement Material for Drylands

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-4944782/v1

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Simple Method for Ficus Trees Trimming Biowaste Reuse in Production of Biochar as Soil Improvement Material for Drylands

https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4944782/v1

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Biochar was created using a simple low-cost kiln that was designed to process any biowaste. The kiln consisted of an inside cylindrical chamber of total capacity 0.272 m³. The temperature of pyrolysis may be raised to 550°C at a rate of 5°C per minute. We looked at five residence times (2,2.5,3,4, and 5 hours) to see how temperature affected the quality of the biochars.

The surfaces of the generated biochars were measured for elemental compositions, chemical and physical characteristics, and elemental analysis.

The production of trimmings from Ficus trees dropped as the pyrolysis temperature increased from 500°C.

As the temperature of pyrolysis increased, the output of volatile matter also dropped. As the pyrolysis temperature rose, so did the ash content and fixed C in biochar from Ficus trees trimmings.

Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences

Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences

Earth and environmental sciences/Hydrology

Biochar, which belongs to the class of materials known as black carbon and contains substances of properties such as slightly charred biomass, charcoal, and soot, is the solid product that remains after biomass is heated to temperatures typically between 300°C and 700°C under total or partial absence of oxygen [1,2].

Worldwide, there are still a lot of old-fashioned biochar practices being found. The most well-known examples now are the ancient Asian practice of adding rice husk charcoal to agricultural soils [3]. and the formation of the Amazonian soils known as dark earths, which are rich in organic matter and extremely fertile in comparison to the nearby native soils.

Research into new evidence for these ancient practices is becoming more and more popular, as seen in the hunt for African dark earths [4].

Agricultural wastes, rice husks, paper products, animal manures, and even urban green waste can all be used as feedstock to produce biochar [5].

It is important to understand how different production conditions can lead to different types of biochar, and how these charcoals interact with different types of soil.

This understanding is a key element for designing any successful biochar system. The International Bio-Coal Initiative (IBI) is leading an ongoing effort to develop a standard for describing biochar [5].

There are many ways to produce biochar, ranging from home-based cookstoves to large-scale industrial pyrolysis plants that produce both bioenergy and biochar.

The size and requirements of the system will ultimately determine its impact [6,7].

According to [8]. systems that create biochar are categorized as either gasifiers or pyrolizers.

Depending on the technique employed, these systems generate three distinct products: solid biochar, gaseous syngas, and liquid by-product called bio-oil.

Utilizing kilns or retorts, pyrolysis systems keep oxygen out while enabling the pyrolysis gasses to escape and be collected for burning.

Additionally, pyrolysis systems can be categorized as slow, rapid, or flash. rapid pyrolysis yields more oils and liquids, whilst slow pyrolysis often produces more syngas.

Flash pyrolysis, on the other hand, primarily produces charcoal. In general, gasification systems provide less biochar than pyrolysis since they are primarily designed to create gas, not oil or biochar.

Numerous studies have reported on the possible impacts of biochar on agricultural production and soil fertility [9,10].

According to [11,12]. research, putting biochar to soil as a substitute for burning fossil fuels can cut greenhouse gas emissions by two to five times.

Applying biochar to soil would be the obvious choice for its final use if the producer's goal was to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Furthermore, while applying biochar to soil, there are two important factors to take into account: choosing the right biochar type for the limitations of the soil and the actual application techniques.

This conclusion is expanded upon by the global model used by Woolf et al. (2010) to quantify the entire impact of sustainable biochar to climate change mitigation.

It finds that, when applied to soil, biochar has more promise for mitigation than as an energy source—but only if it increases soil productivity or lowers soil emissions of greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide.

According to [13], there will probably be two different kinds of biochar production systems: more complex and significantly more expensive pyrolysis reactors that produce syngas, biochar, and bio-oils for additional energy conversion, as well as a basic kiln or retort type of pyrolysis unit for producing biochar only.

Using basic kiln and/or retort type pyrolyzers is probably the quickest approach to manufacture significant quantities of biochar in the near term.

Fast pyrolysis can produce 75% liquid, 12% char, and 13% gas on a dry yield basis [14].

A feedstock with a moisture level of less than 10% must be sufficiently dry in order to avoid having too much water in the final bio-oil product.

The temperature range for rapid pyrolysis is 10-200 K/s; however, due to mass and heat transmission constraints, only tiny particles may be employed [15].

Thus, the primary objective of this project is to develop a cost-effective improved flash biochar pyrolyser for agronomic systems and small-scale production.

This research was made at Sanitary laboratory field pilots, Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.

The design made using the suitable size for one community. Unit sizing according to design was as followed:

Inner part steel tank (40*68) cm at a height of 20 cm.

Outer part steel tank (60*88) cm.

Two copper valve (2) in.

One copper valve (3/4) in.

Quench steel tank (30*30) cm, surrounded by cooling pipes (1/8) inch.

Bio-oil steel tank (30*30) cm.

Water tank (30*30) cm. with pump to complete quench system.

Using 4 m of Galvanized Steel pipes with diameter 2 inch

Figure (1) Dimensions and engineering drawing of biochar production unit

Operating the pilot several runs with different operating periods from 2 to 5 hours with intervals 0.5–1.0 hr with fixed preparation time 15 minutes using raw biowaste ficus trees trimming to guarantee result.

Samples of biochar were taken and analyzed for its characteristics. The following measurements were made for each sample at the laboratory of dry land institute, ASU, Cairo, Egypt.

Burning Time (hr.)

Weight of Raw (kg)

Biochar Weight (kg)

Biochar yield (%)

Moisture content (%)

Volatile Matter (%)

Ash Content (%)

Fixed Carbone

O.M %

O.C %

11. Total Nitrogen %

12. Total phosphorus %

13. Total Potassium %

The analysis of the resulted biochar is presented in table (1)

Table (1) Resulted Biochar analysis

Burning Time (hr.)	2 (hr.)	2.5 (hr.)	3 (hr.)	4 (hr.)	5 (hr.)
Weight of Raw (kg)	3	3	3	3	3
Biochar Weight (kg)	1.83	1.75	1.50	1.20	0.96
Biochar yield (%)	61.00	58.33	50.00	40.00	32.00
Moisture content(%)	3.74	2.39	1.31	1.01	0.55
Volatile Matter (%)	23.30	22.92	21.06	20.00	17.53
Ash Content (%)	29.40	30.16	30.50	30.79	31.00
Fixed Carbone	43.56	44.53	47.13	48.20	50.92
O.M %	2.75	4.13	12.04	12.38	1.03
O.C %	1.60	2.40	7.00	7.20	0.60
Total Nitrogen %	0.58	0.57	0.43	0.46	0.67
Total phosphorus %	0.25	0.17	0.11	0.03	0.34
Total Potassium %	2.69	2.3	2.14	0.34	1.93

The Organic Matter in Biochar is continually increasing until the burning time 3 hrs. and then gradually decrease as a percent. With the increase in temperature and time in the pyrolysis process in isolation from oxygen, leading to a change in the primary properties of biochar, such as infectious content as well as the percentage of organic matter, with the increase in the time that the raw material is spent in the pyrolysis chamber, the proportion of organic matter is increased to a certain limit and then continues to decline because all organic matter in the raw material is gradually burned and biochar gradually turns into ash. and the ideal situation at 3 hours and 34 min.

The Organic Carbon in Biochar is continually increasing until the burning time 3 hrs. and then gradually decrease, as a percent. As time increases in the pyrolysis process by isolating it from oxygen, it changes the percentage of organic carbon, and with a further increase in the time that the raw material spends in the pyrolysis chamber, the percentage of organic carbon increases to a certain extent, as all organic materials are burned, including the organic carbon in the Raw material. and the ideal situation at 3 hours and 34 min.

The Total Nitrogen of Biochar continues to decrease until the burning time 3 hrs. And then gradually increase as a percent increased. The behavior of the N content did not alter continuously; it climbed up to 450°C and then started to drop at 650°C. The acquired data exhibited a strong trend in agreement with data produced [16, 17]. demonstrating the formation of highly condensed components at higher temperatures. However, as demonstrated [18] same production conditions of biochar from rice straw at the same temperature and residence time produced greater values. The disparity in outcomes could potentially stem from variations in pyrolysis techniques. and the ideal situation at 3 hours and 15 min., and The Maximum of the curve at 5 hours.

The Total Potassium in Biochar is continually decreasing until the burning time 4 hrs and then gradually as a percent. The Minimum value at 4 hours, and the ideal value at 2 hours increase until the burning time 1.5 hrs. And then continues to decrease until the burning time 2 hrs. gradually increase as a percent.

Ficus trees trimming biowaste were successfully treated using the newly designed biochar’s pyrolysis method to generate biochar’s. The biochar production process yielded results that were in line with earlier studies. The temperature variation of 500 c during pyrolysis resulted in the most notable modifications to the biochar output, volatile matter, ash content, and fixed C. The fact that volatile matter reduced as the pyrolysis temperature rose may indicate that a greater temperature has an impact on the process' stability. Because of its high ash content, rice straw biochar has the potential to be used as an extra source of fertilizer. The concentrations of N, P, and K in the biochar varied dramatically during the course of the five pyrolysis times.

Biochar made from Ficus trees trimming has several uses; it may be used as an adsorbent, an ion exchange resin, briquettes, ceramics, concrete, catalyst, and even help in the creation of biofuel and CO2 capture. Because of its adaptability, SCB biochar presents itself as a viable resource for addressing the world's energy demands while fostering environmental and financial sustainability. This study explores the use of SCB biochar in soil amendment, water and air purification, and catalysis by delving into several pyrolysis processes. Activation methods are used for improvement because physical and surface features, such as surface area and functional groups, have a substantial impact on its appropriateness for a variety of applications. Biochar is a scalable wastewater treatment option because it is more effective than other techniques in removing pollutants from aqueous solutions. Although there are several examples of successful implementation, broader acceptance will require enhanced life cycle analysis and cost assessments, bolstering the argument for Ficus trees trimming biochar as a sustainable feedstock for novel product creation.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Not Applicable

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to acknowledge the following individuals and organizations for their contributions to this research project. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my research supervisors, Dr. Mohamed El-Hosseiny, Dr. Mahmoud Mohamed, and Dr. Amira Mohamed for their guidance, support, and encouragement throughout this study.

Funding: The authors have not received any funding concerning this article.

Competing interests: There are no competing interests in this study.

Ethics approval and consent to participate: In this specific research project, it does not apply since it is not considered that there are ethical conflicts.

Consent to participate All authors consent to participate in the research project.

Consent for publication All authors consent to publish the article in question.

Availability of data and material: Enquiries about data availability should be directed to the authors

Mohamed El-Hosseiny, [email protected]

Mahmoud Mohamed, [email protected]

Nany Aly Hassan1^,[email protected]

Mohamed kamal, [email protected]

Authors’ contributions:

MKG (Mohamed Kamal Genedy): participate by 35% by doing the experimental work of this research.

MH (Mohamed El-Hosseiny ElNadi): participate by 25% by suggesting the research idea, and the general supervision.

MM (Mahmoud Mohamed Abdelmomen): participate by 35% by analysis of results, and revising this manuscript.

NAH (Nany Aly Hassan): participate by 5% by analysis of results, and writing and editing of the manuscript.

All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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No competing interests reported.

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You are reading this latest preprint version

Simple Method for Ficus Trees Trimming Biowaste Reuse in Production of Biochar as Soil Improvement Material for Drylands

Status:

Version 1

Abstract

Figures

1. INTRODUCTION

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

3. OPERATION PROGRAM

11. Total Nitrogen %

12. Total phosphorus %

13. Total Potassium %

4. FIELD RESULTS

5. DISCUSSION

6. CONCLUSION

Declarations

References

Additional Declarations

Status:

Version 1