Wood Carbon Research Articles

Fixed-bed column adsorption of methyl blue using carbon derived from axle-wood (<i>Anogeissus leiocarpus</i>) stem as adsorsent

Axle Wood Carbon (AWC) was used to study the removal of Methyl Blue (MB) from its aqueous solution in a fixed-bed column adsorption system. The adsorbent (AWC) was characterized using SEM and pH PZC . SEM revealed the surface morphology and from the pH PZC determination, it was found that at pH of 8.21 the adsorbent has a net surface charge of zero. The column adsorption parameters were optimized and the maximum percentage removal was achieved by setting the level of process variables at 100 mg/L initial MB dye concentration, 28cm bed height, and 3mL/min flow rate. The fixed-bed adsorption system was found to perform well with lower initial dye concentration, higher adsorbent bed height, and lower feed flow rate. The breakthrough curve obtained from the adsorption process was fitted into Adams-Bohart and Yoon-Nelson models. Yoon–Nelson model showed the time required to achieve 50% adsorbate breakthrough, (τ) agreed closely with the experimental data (τ50% exp.) whose value is 298. While Adams-Borhat model, gave 35.7885 as the volumetric sorption capacity of the bed (N 0 ). This implies that the column has reached first saturation level. As such AWC is effective for the removal of MB and the selected kinetic models can be used to explain the column behaviours for the removal of MB and also to predict the large scale industrial application of the process. Keywords: Axle wood Carbon, Breakthrough Curve, Column adsorption, Kinetic Model, Methyl Blue

Highly anisotropic, multichannel wood carbon with optimized heteroatom doping for supercapacitor and oxygen reduction reaction

Rational architectural design of highly active and stable electrochemical materials is desirable for sustainable energy technologies but remains great challenges. Herein, inspired by inherent anisotropic structure for high-efficient ions transport in natural wood, we use basswood as precursor and present a low-tortuosity, multichannel, mesoporous carbon framework for both supercapacitor and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) applications. With initial heteroatom embedment, followed by ammonia activation, surface functionalities, porous structures and specific surface areas of the wood carbons are simultaneously optimized. Accordingly, the as-prepared materials deliver much enhanced electrochemical performances as self-supported supercapacitor electrodes with remarkable specific capacitances and high energy/power density. Simultaneously, the resultant wood carbons also exhibit superior ORR performances with a half-wave potential of 0.86 V (vs. reversible hydrogen electrode) in alkaline media, in conjunction with superb methanol cross-over tolerance and long-term stability, which then served as suitable and durable air-cathode catalysts for Zn-air battery. The results of this work open up new avenues for facile and rational design of structure-featured carbon materials from earth-abundant biomass for practical energy storage and conversion utilizations.

Mapping of Wood Carbon Stocks in the Classified Forest of Wari-Maro in Benin Center (West Africa)

—The Emissions Reducing program related to Deforestation and Forest Degradation (Redd +) calls for the development of approaches to quantify and spatialize forest carbon in order to design more appropriate forest management policies. The mapping of carbon stocks was done in the Wari-Maro Forest Reserve. To achieve this, forest inventory data (in situ) and remotely sensed data (Landsat 8 image) were used to construct a wood carbon stock forecasting model. Simple linear regression was used to test the correlation between these two variables. In situ surveys indicate that 64% of carbon stocks are contributed by forest formations, 32.72% are provided by savannah formations and 3.27% are from anthropogenic formations. The quantitative relationship between NDVI and carbon in situ shows a very good correlation with a high coefficient of determination R² = 91%. The carbon map generated from the model identified fronts of deforestation through their low carbon content. This remote sensing approach indicates that forest formations sequester 60% of forest carbon. The savannah formations reserve 33%, the anthropic formations bring only 6% of the stocks. Mapping has further captured the spatial variability among land use types, thus providing arguments to fully meet the objectives of Redd +.

PYROLIGNEOUS LIQUOR EFFECT ON IN AND EX VITRO PRODUTION OF Oeceoclades maculata (Lindl). Lindl.1

ABSTRACT Pyroligneous fraction from wood carbonization can be used for several purposes. In this sense, this study aimed to test a pyroligneous liquor extracted during carbonization of forest residues for the vegetative development of the orchid Oeceoclades maculata. The concentrations of pyroligneous liquor used in the treatments were T1 = 0 mL L−1, T2 = 1 mL L−1, T3 = 2 mL L−1, T4 = 3 mL L−1, T5 = 4 mL L−1, and T6 = 5 mL L−1. These treatments were tested together with and without activated charcoal for in vitro and ex vitro propagation. In vitro developed protocorms were assessed according to development or not, the presence of fungus, leaves, and roots. For ex vitro evaluations, leaf size, size, the number of roots, total plant height, and the number of buds were assessed. Possible differences between treatments were tested by means of analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey’s test at 5% significance. The use of pyroligneous liquor at low doses was significant in vegetative tissue development as well as for root and leaf formations in O. maculata seedlings since it presents all the essential mineral elements to the structural development of these plants.

Heavy Metal-Free Tannin from Bark for Sustainable Energy Storage.

A novel renewable cathode made from earth abundant, low-cost materials can contribute to the intermittent storage needs of renewable energy-based society. In this work, we report for the first-time tannin from Nature as a cathode material. Our approach exploits the charge storage mechanism of the redox active quinone moiety. Tannins extracted from tree bark using environmental friendly aqueous solvents have the highest phenol content (5.56 mol g-1) among all the natural phenolic biopolymers, 5000 times higher than lignin. Tannins coupled with a conductive polymer polypyrrole acquire high specific capacitance values of 370 F g-1 at 0.5 A g-1 as well as excellent rate performance of 196 F g-1 at 25 A g-1. Additionally, we employed carbonized wood as an electrode substrate to produce a sustainable electrochemical device with dramatically improved performance compared to conventional devices. The high surface area provided by the well-aligned, cellular porosity of wood-derived substrate combined with the high mobility of ions and electrons in the carbonized cell walls and deposited tannin can achieve an areal capacitance of 4.6 F cm-2 at 1 mA cm-2, which is 1.5 times higher than activated wood carbon.

PpNAC1, a main regulator of phenylalanine biosynthesis and utilization in maritime pine

SummaryThe transcriptional regulation of phenylalanine metabolism is particularly important in conifers, long‐lived species that use large amounts of carbon in wood. Here, we show that the Pinus pinaster transcription factor, PpNAC1, is a main regulator of phenylalanine biosynthesis and utilization. A phylogenetic analysis classified PpNAC1 in the NST proteins group and was selected for functional characterization. PpNAC1 is predominantly expressed in the secondary xylem and compression wood of adult trees. Silencing of PpNAC1 in P. pinaster results in the alteration of stem vascular radial patterning and the down‐regulation of several genes associated with cell wall biogenesis and secondary metabolism. Furthermore, transactivation and EMSA analyses showed that PpNAC1 is able to activate its own expression and PpMyb4 promoter, while PpMyb4 is able to activate PpMyb8, a transcriptional regulator of phenylalanine and lignin biosynthesis in maritime pine. Together, these results suggest that PpNAC1 is a functional ortholog of the Arabidopsis SND1 and NST1 genes and support the idea that key regulators governing secondary cell wall formation could be conserved between gymnosperms and angiosperms. Understanding the molecular switches controlling wood formation is of paramount importance for fundamental tree biology and paves the way for applications in conifer biotechnology.

Carbon stocks and productivity of mangrove forests in Tanzania

Mangroves offer a number of ecosystem goods and services, including carbon (C) storage. As a carbon pool, mangroves could be a source of CO2 emissions as a result of human activities such as deforestation and forest degradation. Conversely, mangroves may act as a CO2 sink through biomass accumulation. This study aimed to determine carbon stocks, harvest removals and productivity of mangrove forests of mainland Tanzania. Nine species were recorded in mainland Tanzania, among them Avicennia marina (Forssk.) Vierh., Rhizophora mucronata Lam. (31%) and Ceriops tagal (Perr.) C.B.Rob. (20%) were dominant. The aboveground, dead wood, belowground and total carbon were 33.5 ± 5.8 Mg C ha−1, 1.2 ± 1.1 (2% of total carbon), 30.0 ± 4.5 Mg C ha−1 (46% of total carbon) and 64.7 ± 8.4 Mg C ha−1 at 95% confidence level, respectively. Carbon harvest removals accounted for loss of about 4% of standing total carbon stocks annually. Results on the productivity of mangrove forests (using data from permanent sample plots monitored for four years [1995-1998]) showed an overall carbon increment of 5.6 Mg C ha−1 y−1 (aboveground carbon), 4.1 C ha−1 y−1 (belowground carbon) and 9.7 C ha−1 y−1 (total carbon) at 23%, 32% and 27% levels of uncertainty, respectively. Both natural death and tree cutting/harvest removals resulted in significant decline of annual carbon productivity. Findings from this study demonstrate that mangroves store large quantities of carbon and are more productive than other dominant forest formations in southern Africa. Both their deforestation and forest degradation, therefore, is likely to contribute to large quantities of emission and loss of carbon sink functionality. Therefore, mangroves need to be managed sustainably.

Development of an ultra-small biomass gasification and power generation system: Part 1. A novel carbonization process and optimization of pelletization of carbonized wood char

Small-scale, distributed and low cost biomass power generation technologies are highly required in the modern society. The biomass pretreatment process, that is, a combination of carbonization and pelletization processes of cedar wood were explored in this study. For the carbonization process, a novel carbonizer composed of one carbonization chamber and one combustion chamber was tested, and the mass and energy balances during cedar wood carbonization at 400–500°C were analyzed, respectively. During the initial heating stage, about 22kg of wood with dry basis should be supplied into the combustion chamber through several batches. When the temperature in the carbonization chamber reached to the range of 200–220°C, the combustion chamber could be self-heated by burning the pyrolysis gas (tar vapor, CH4, H2, CO) sent from the carbonization chamber. The specific wood consumption for producing 1kg of wood char was within 3.6–4.4kg, which presented an increase trend with increasing the carbonization temperature. Moreover, this carbonization system can deal with different kinds of biomass with various water contents and shapes. For the pelletization process, effects of adding amount of the binder (poval solution), water and the carbonization temperature on the pellet quality were studied so as to explore the optimal condition for making high quality pellets from the crushed wood char. The results indicated that there was an optimal ratio among char, added water, and the binder for making high quality pellets. Considering the energy transfer efficiency and pellet quality, the mass ratio of 0.93:0.32:0.10 for 450°C-char in the dry basis: added water plus water in char: poval solution was the optimal condition for making high quality pellets.

Sengon wood (Paraserianthes falcataria (L.) Nielsen) carbon as supporting material for electrochemical double layer capasitor

A microstructure carbon electrodes was potentially developed into energy storage device, i.e electrochemical double layer capacitor (EDLC) or super capacitor. The structure has a large surface that able to increased the capacitance of electrodes. Sengon Wood Carbon (SWC) was one of microstructure carbon which mainly has honeycomb structure. SWC was prepared hydrothermally along with microwave heating. SWC has 202 m2g−1 of surface area, 14,4 S.cm−1 of conductivity and crystalline carbon peak at 29.55° with honeycomb structure. Mixtures of honeycomb sengon carbon and graphite were casted it into thin layer electrode (TLE). The electrodes are fabricated into EDLC along with aluminum foil, and their performance are tested by using Galvanostatic and capacitance meter. TLE had 2.984 to 3.547 μF/g of capacitance, initial voltage of EDLC ranged from 0.67 to 0.42 V. Capacitance of 3 cm x 4 cm EDLC ranged from 30.6 to 60 μF. Galvanostatic Charge-Discharge (GCD) indicated that SWC suitable for EDLC application.

Process Design and Operation of a Wood Charcoal Retort

An efficient approach for the development of a compact integrated wood charcoal retort was designed. The key fundamental requirements to guarantee efficiency and productivity are initially investigated via CFD simulations to identify the temperature and velocity profiles inside the unit. The final compact design is comprised of a double vessel arrangement where the wood to be carbonized is placed in the central vessel (i.e. carbonizer). A flue-gas recycle line leaves the outer vessel (i.e. combustion furnace) to preheat the wood in the carbonizer during startup. This design allows the syngas/methane leaving the carbonizer to be re-circulated into the combustion furnace to provide the necessary energy. The integrated compact retort system is further tested experimentally; only 2–3 h were needed to achieve complete carbonization of oak wood. Various temperatures are achieved during operation, the maximum of which is at 900 °C. The charcoal yield ranged between 37 and 46% on a dry basis, and the charcoal carbon contents were between 73 and 87%.

RESPONSIVENESS OF SOIL ORIBATID MITES TOWARD KILN EMISSIONS

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of field wood carbonization (kiln) emissions on soil oribatid mites. A completely randomized design was used. Five kiln sites at Qaranshu village, Al-Gharbiya Governorate, Egypt, were chosen. From each site, a number of soil samples were taken at four distances (5, 10, 15 and 20m) and three depths (0-5, 5-10 and 10-15 cm) on both sides of the kiln, viz, windward and leeward. Soil oribatid mites were extracted from each soil sample using modified paper funnel extractor (Berlese funnel). Species richness, species diversity and vertical distribution of soil oribatid mites were determined. The present data showed that kiln emissions had a marked effect on species richness, diversity and vertical distribution of soil oribatid mites.

The selection of suitable sites for traditional charcoal production: ideas and practice in southern Switzerland

In the valleys of the southernmost canton of Switzerland there are numerous charcoal production sites (CPS) where, in the past, charcoal burners produced wood charcoal which was mainly exported to the urban centres of Lombardy. Through a complete field survey in three study areas totaling 16.4 km2, 1070 sites were mapped, inventoried and their position analyzed with respect to land surface curvature. Generally, wood carbonization was carried out far from the top of ridges, suggesting a preference for concave sites. In this paper we investigate the reasons behind this distribution pattern. Scientific literature and ethnographic accounts were reviewed to find site characteristics that charcoal burners took into consideration. We then analysed the correspondence between these written sources and evidence of charcoal production sites through a spatial analysis and an experimental approach focusing on the inventoried sites. In particular, we used a new GIS tool to extract elevation profiles from a high-resolution elevation model to calculate the impact of terrain curvature on wood transport. In agreement with the contemporary literature, we explain the higher density of CPS in proximity to the bottom of runoff channels in terms of ease of transport of wood, water availability, wind protection and soil thickness. Observed differences among the study areas may be partially explained by the inverse relationship between the density of carbonization platforms along runoff channels and the average slope of the channels. Finally, by taking into account the distribution of CPS in other regions of the world, we summarize the influence of environmental factors on the relationship between CPS and the stream network.

The increase in the yield of charcoal from saw dust of birch waste

The implementation of new processes for the gasification of solid biomass on an industrial scale is hampered by the need to decompose tars. To solve this problem, it is proposed to use a preliminary process of carbonization of solid biomass into charcoal with a calorific value of 25-30 MJ/kg. By the example of carbonization of birch sawdust wastes, the possibility of increasing the yield of charcoal by 12.8-20.9% is shown due to preliminary impregnation of the original wood with aqueous solutions of H<sub>3</sub>PO<sub>4</sub> and FeCl<sub>3</sub>. After preliminary impregnation, the share of fixed carbon in the original wood increased by 6.6-13.2%, which, along with the choice of optimal conversion modes, had a decisive effect on increasing the efficiency of the wood carbonization process by 1.6-1.8 times

Features of electrical properties of BE-C(Fe) biocarbons carbonized in the presence of an Fe-containing catalyst

The effect of partial graphitization on electrical and galvanomagnetic properties of BE-C(Fe) biomorphic carbons produced by beech wood carbonization at temperatures of 850–1600°C in the presence of an iron-containing catalyst is studied. The use of an Fe catalyst at Т carb ≥ 1000°C leads to the formation of nanoscale graphite-phase inclusions; its total volume and nanocrystallite sizes increase with Т carb. The data on the carrier concentration and mobility are obtained. It was shown that partially graphitized BE-C(Fe) carbons with Т carb ≥ 1000°C in the conductivity type and magnetoresistance features relate to highly disordered metal systems whose conductivity can be described taking into account the contribution of quantum corrections, mainly the correction caused by the electron–electron interaction. It is shown that nonmonotonic dependences of the Hall constant R on the magnetic field are characteristic of BE-C(Fe) samples with 1000 ≤ Т carb < 1600°C, which is most probably caused by the contribution of various carrier groups, i.e., electrons and holes. In BE-C(Fe) samples with Т carb = 1600°C, the Hall coefficient corresponds to the metal state, which is associated with conducting medium homogenization resulting from the formation of a significant graphite phase volume.

Fault detection and improvement design of temperature sensor in wood carbonization furnace

Fault detection and improvement design of temperature sensor in wood carbonization furnace

Forest succession where trees become smaller and wood carbon stocks reduce

As Tasmania’s wet forests transition from mixed forest (eucalypt overstory with a rainforest understory) to rainforest they can be expected to lose more than half their total (live+dead, standing+downed) bole wood volume and biomass. On average rainforest sites contained 205MgCha−1, or 708m3ha−1 less wood (live+dead, standing+downed) than mixed forests. This occurs as smaller dimension rainforest trees replace the larger eucalypts. On the fertile study sites, the largest rainforest trees were 20m shorter and 113cm smaller in breast height diameter than the mature eucalypts in mixed forests. Tasmanian wet forests do not attain the highest site level C-stocks possible in late succession, as is expected for many other forests. Rather, the maxima is attained for a short period several centuries after disturbance and regeneration of a eucalypt cohort. Hence, the maintenance of the highest C-density stands in the landscape, and potentially that largest landscape level C-stocks among Tasmania’s wet forests ironically requires the periodic killing of all, or part, of the large C-dense eucalypt overstory by intense wildfire to allow these large eucalypts to regenerate and persist on these sites. This creates challenges when modeling forest carbon in Tasmanian wet forests, as not only is the area of forest that has progressed sufficiently toward rainforest to be emitting C is unknown, but the rate of C emission and the amount that will be lost over time across the various site fertility types is also unknown. Certainly, setting aside Tasmanian wet eucalypt forest to store C will not deliver the usual long term C accumulation benefits common to forests elsewhere. Maximizing landscape level C-stocks is likely to require periodic disturbance to maintain the C-dense eucalypts in the landscape.

4-4.松くい虫被害材の炭化(Session(4)バイオマス)

4-4.松くい虫被害材の炭化(Session(4)バイオマス)

3-22.機能性炭素と流体燃料の併産を目的とする木材のニッケル触媒炭化((6)炭化等2,Session 3 バイオマス等)

3-22.機能性炭素と流体燃料の併産を目的とする木材のニッケル触媒炭化((6)炭化等2,Session 3 バイオマス等)

3-19 木材のニッケル触媒炭化による機能性炭素と流体燃料の同時生産 : ニッケル触媒の機能と役割((4)ガス化4,Session 3 バイオマス等)

3-19 木材のニッケル触媒炭化による機能性炭素と流体燃料の同時生産 : ニッケル触媒の機能と役割((4)ガス化4,Session 3 バイオマス等)

WITHDRAWN: Dataset of woody debris wood density and carbon concentration across decay classes in tropical Taiwan

Wood density and carbon concentration are the two major parameters needed for carbon pool estimation. However, the two parameters are rarely measured in tropical forests. In this dataset, physical properties (wood density) and chemical properties (i.e. carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen concentration) of woody debris across decay classes in tropical Taiwan were presented. The decay classes of woody debris were subjectively classified into five classes. Based on the dataset, a more precise estimation of carbon stocks in woody debris across decay classes can be obtained. For further description, interpretation and discussion about the dataset please refer to Chao et al. (submitted).