Design and Development of a Pyrolysis Reactor to Produce Biochar at Industrial Scale

Abstract

A pyrolysis reactor, operating at medium pyrolysis conditions (at 5500C temperature and 2 hrs of residence time) to continuously produce biochar was developed. The interruption caused by routine loading and unloading is eliminated by a screw mechanism that allows mechanized loading and unloading. Biochar as a bio fertilizer could be well matched with the current Sri Lankan agro community’s expectations on conserving the soil and its quality. The proposed design is capable of producing biochar at a rate of 100 g/min. A scaled-down 10 g/min prototype was built to measure and validate required temperature levels, continuous production, and the complete conversion of the biomass into biochar. Readily available cinnamon sticks and corncobs were utilized as biomass to create separate biochar samples. The biochar yields were measured as approximately 32% for cinnamon and 28% for corncobs. Further testing of biochar samples for their structural morphology displayed a significant number of pores ranging from micro to macro scale (good porosity). These porous morphologies would enable capturing diffusive substance and trap them, while acting as mass transfer channels. Due to these unique qualities, biochar can act as an effective fertilizer for soil, facilitating fast adsorption, retention, and slow diffusion of nutrient agents. So, this could well fit in to serve the purpose of using this product as a biofertilizer to remedy the loss of soil fertility due to the extensive use of chemical fertilizers.