Slow Pyrolysis as a Method of Treating Household Biowaste for Biochar Production
The amount of waste generated by society is constantly increasing. Consequently, there is a need to develop new and better methods of treating it. A significant part of municipal waste is biowaste, which can be treated as a source of valuable resources such as nutrients, organic matter, and energy....
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | Applied Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/14/7858 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849406800768532480 |
|---|---|
| author | Agnieszka Bezuszko Marcin Landrat Krzysztof Pikoń Ana F. Ferreira Abel Rodrigues Gabor Olejarz Max Lewandowski |
| author_facet | Agnieszka Bezuszko Marcin Landrat Krzysztof Pikoń Ana F. Ferreira Abel Rodrigues Gabor Olejarz Max Lewandowski |
| author_sort | Agnieszka Bezuszko |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The amount of waste generated by society is constantly increasing. Consequently, there is a need to develop new and better methods of treating it. A significant part of municipal waste is biowaste, which can be treated as a source of valuable resources such as nutrients, organic matter, and energy. The present work aims to determine the properties of the tested household biowaste and the possibility of using it as feedstock in slow pyrolysis to obtain biochar. The slow pyrolysis process of the biowaste was carried out in an electrically heated Horizontal Tube Furnace (HTF) at temperatures of 400 °C, 500 °C, and 600 °C in a nitrogen atmosphere. The analysis showed that depending on the type and composition of the biowaste, its properties are different. All the biowaste tested has a high moisture content (between 63.51% and 81.53%), which means that the biowaste needs to be dried before the slow pyrolysis process. The characteristics of kitchen biowaste are similar to those of food waste studied by other researchers in different regions of the world. In addition, the properties of kitchen biowaste are similar to those of the typical biomasses used to produce biochar via slow pyrolysis, such as wood, almond shells, and rice husks. Both kinds of garden biowaste tested may have been contaminated (soil, rocks) during collection, which affected the high ash content of spring (17.75%) and autumn (43.83%) biowaste. This, in turn, affected all the properties of the garden biowaste, which differed significantly from both the literature data of other garden wastes and from the properties of typical biomass feedstocks used to produce biochar in slow pyrolysis. For all biowaste tested, it was shown that as the pyrolysis temperature increases, the yield of biochar decreases. The maximum mass yield of biochar for kitchen, spring garden, and autumn garden biowaste was 36.64%, 66.53%, and 66.99%, respectively. Comparing the characteristics of biowaste before slow pyrolysis, biochar obtained from kitchen biowaste had a high carbon content, fixed carbon, and a higher HHV. In contrast, biochar obtained from garden biowaste had a lower carbon content and a lower HHV. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b5c1944da0b345608b9534b84952e103 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-b5c1944da0b345608b9534b84952e1032025-08-20T03:36:15ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-07-011514785810.3390/app15147858Slow Pyrolysis as a Method of Treating Household Biowaste for Biochar ProductionAgnieszka Bezuszko0Marcin Landrat1Krzysztof Pikoń2Ana F. Ferreira3Abel Rodrigues4Gabor Olejarz5Max Lewandowski6Department of Technologies and Installations for Waste Management, Silesian University of Technology, 40-100 Gliwice, PolandDepartment of Technologies and Installations for Waste Management, Silesian University of Technology, 40-100 Gliwice, PolandDepartment of Technologies and Installations for Waste Management, Silesian University of Technology, 40-100 Gliwice, PolandIDMEC, Mechanical Engineering Department, Instituto Superior Técnico, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, PortugalIDMEC, Mechanical Engineering Department, Instituto Superior Técnico, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, PortugalDepartment of Technologies and Installations for Waste Management, Silesian University of Technology, 40-100 Gliwice, PolandDepartment of Technologies and Installations for Waste Management, Silesian University of Technology, 40-100 Gliwice, PolandThe amount of waste generated by society is constantly increasing. Consequently, there is a need to develop new and better methods of treating it. A significant part of municipal waste is biowaste, which can be treated as a source of valuable resources such as nutrients, organic matter, and energy. The present work aims to determine the properties of the tested household biowaste and the possibility of using it as feedstock in slow pyrolysis to obtain biochar. The slow pyrolysis process of the biowaste was carried out in an electrically heated Horizontal Tube Furnace (HTF) at temperatures of 400 °C, 500 °C, and 600 °C in a nitrogen atmosphere. The analysis showed that depending on the type and composition of the biowaste, its properties are different. All the biowaste tested has a high moisture content (between 63.51% and 81.53%), which means that the biowaste needs to be dried before the slow pyrolysis process. The characteristics of kitchen biowaste are similar to those of food waste studied by other researchers in different regions of the world. In addition, the properties of kitchen biowaste are similar to those of the typical biomasses used to produce biochar via slow pyrolysis, such as wood, almond shells, and rice husks. Both kinds of garden biowaste tested may have been contaminated (soil, rocks) during collection, which affected the high ash content of spring (17.75%) and autumn (43.83%) biowaste. This, in turn, affected all the properties of the garden biowaste, which differed significantly from both the literature data of other garden wastes and from the properties of typical biomass feedstocks used to produce biochar in slow pyrolysis. For all biowaste tested, it was shown that as the pyrolysis temperature increases, the yield of biochar decreases. The maximum mass yield of biochar for kitchen, spring garden, and autumn garden biowaste was 36.64%, 66.53%, and 66.99%, respectively. Comparing the characteristics of biowaste before slow pyrolysis, biochar obtained from kitchen biowaste had a high carbon content, fixed carbon, and a higher HHV. In contrast, biochar obtained from garden biowaste had a lower carbon content and a lower HHV.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/14/7858household biowastepyrolysisbiocharbiomasswastegarden waste |
| spellingShingle | Agnieszka Bezuszko Marcin Landrat Krzysztof Pikoń Ana F. Ferreira Abel Rodrigues Gabor Olejarz Max Lewandowski Slow Pyrolysis as a Method of Treating Household Biowaste for Biochar Production Applied Sciences household biowaste pyrolysis biochar biomass waste garden waste |
| title | Slow Pyrolysis as a Method of Treating Household Biowaste for Biochar Production |
| title_full | Slow Pyrolysis as a Method of Treating Household Biowaste for Biochar Production |
| title_fullStr | Slow Pyrolysis as a Method of Treating Household Biowaste for Biochar Production |
| title_full_unstemmed | Slow Pyrolysis as a Method of Treating Household Biowaste for Biochar Production |
| title_short | Slow Pyrolysis as a Method of Treating Household Biowaste for Biochar Production |
| title_sort | slow pyrolysis as a method of treating household biowaste for biochar production |
| topic | household biowaste pyrolysis biochar biomass waste garden waste |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/14/7858 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT agnieszkabezuszko slowpyrolysisasamethodoftreatinghouseholdbiowasteforbiocharproduction AT marcinlandrat slowpyrolysisasamethodoftreatinghouseholdbiowasteforbiocharproduction AT krzysztofpikon slowpyrolysisasamethodoftreatinghouseholdbiowasteforbiocharproduction AT anafferreira slowpyrolysisasamethodoftreatinghouseholdbiowasteforbiocharproduction AT abelrodrigues slowpyrolysisasamethodoftreatinghouseholdbiowasteforbiocharproduction AT gaborolejarz slowpyrolysisasamethodoftreatinghouseholdbiowasteforbiocharproduction AT maxlewandowski slowpyrolysisasamethodoftreatinghouseholdbiowasteforbiocharproduction |