Exploratory study of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons occurrence and distribution in manure pyrolysis products

Abstract

The occurrence and distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) have been investigated in the products derived from the pyrolysis of pig manure at low temperatures (<550 °C) in a fixed bed reactor. The focus was on the sixteen PAH identified as priority pollutants by the US Environment Protection Agency (EPA). The pyrolysis does not generate a significant additional amount of EPA-PAH to that existing in the original pig manure, under the operational conditions studied (<550 °C). While the total EPA-PAH yield does not indicate a notable dependence on the pyrolysis temperature, the EPA-PAH distribution among the three pig manure pyrolysis products as well as the speciation changed significantly with the temperature. The proportion of heavy PAH species increased as the temperature increased. The initial EPA-PAH in the manure samples plays a significant role in both their concentration and speciation in the biochar. The relationship of the EPA-PAH concentration and speciation in the biochar with those of the raw material was corroborated with a cow manure sample and the biochars obtained from its pyrolysis. For this reason, feedstocks with low EPA-PAH concentrations are recommended in order to obtain biochars with concentrations below the maximum allowed threshold established for their use as a soil enhancer by the International Biochar Initiative (IBI) and in the European Biochar Certificate.