Biochar Production From Plastic‐Contaminated Biomass
ABSTRACT Anaerobic digestion and composting of biowastes are vital pathways to recycle carbon and nutrients for agriculture. However, plastic contamination of soil amendments and fertilizers made from biowastes is a relevant source of (micro‐) plastics in (agricultural) ecosystems. To avoid this con...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2024-11-01
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| Series: | GCB Bioenergy |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.70005 |
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| author | Isabel Hilber Nikolas Hagemann José María de laRosa Heike Knicker Thomas D. Bucheli Hans‐Peter Schmidt |
| author_facet | Isabel Hilber Nikolas Hagemann José María de laRosa Heike Knicker Thomas D. Bucheli Hans‐Peter Schmidt |
| author_sort | Isabel Hilber |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Anaerobic digestion and composting of biowastes are vital pathways to recycle carbon and nutrients for agriculture. However, plastic contamination of soil amendments and fertilizers made from biowastes is a relevant source of (micro‐) plastics in (agricultural) ecosystems. To avoid this contamination, plastic containing biowastes could be pyrolyzed to eliminate the plastic, recycle most of the nutrients, and create carbon sinks when the resulting biochar is applied to soil. Literature suggests plastic elimination mainly by devolatilization at co‐pyrolysis temperatures of > 520°C. However, it is uncertain if the presence of plastic during biomass pyrolysis induces the formation of organic contaminants or has any other adverse effects on biochar properties. Here, we produced biochar from wood residues (WR) obtained from sieving of biowaste derived digestate. The plastic content was artificially enriched to 10%, and this mixture was pyrolyzed at 450°C and 600°C. Beech wood (BW) chips and the purified, that is, (macro‐) plastic‐free WR served as controls. All biochars produced were below limit values of the European Biochar Certificate (EBC) regarding trace element content and organic contaminants. Under study conditions, pyrolysis of biowaste, even when contaminated with plastic, can produce a biochar suitable for agricultural use. However, thermogravimetric and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic analysis of the WR + 10% plastics biochar suggested the presence of plastic residues at pyrolysis temperatures of 450°C. More research is needed to define minimum requirements for the pyrolysis of plastic containing biowaste and to cope with the automated identification and determination of plastic types in biowaste at large scales. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d0cd04d355fe412ebcb8677f7016d6cc |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1757-1693 1757-1707 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | GCB Bioenergy |
| spelling | doaj-art-d0cd04d355fe412ebcb8677f7016d6cc2025-08-20T02:12:10ZengWileyGCB Bioenergy1757-16931757-17072024-11-011611n/an/a10.1111/gcbb.70005Biochar Production From Plastic‐Contaminated BiomassIsabel Hilber0Nikolas Hagemann1José María de laRosa2Heike Knicker3Thomas D. Bucheli4Hans‐Peter Schmidt5Environmental Analytics Agroscope Zürich SwitzerlandEnvironmental Analytics Agroscope Zürich SwitzerlandInstituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla (IRNAS‐CSIC) Seville SpainInstituto de la Grasa Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas IG‐CSIC Seville SpainInstituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla (IRNAS‐CSIC) Seville SpainIthaka Institute Arbaz SwitzerlandABSTRACT Anaerobic digestion and composting of biowastes are vital pathways to recycle carbon and nutrients for agriculture. However, plastic contamination of soil amendments and fertilizers made from biowastes is a relevant source of (micro‐) plastics in (agricultural) ecosystems. To avoid this contamination, plastic containing biowastes could be pyrolyzed to eliminate the plastic, recycle most of the nutrients, and create carbon sinks when the resulting biochar is applied to soil. Literature suggests plastic elimination mainly by devolatilization at co‐pyrolysis temperatures of > 520°C. However, it is uncertain if the presence of plastic during biomass pyrolysis induces the formation of organic contaminants or has any other adverse effects on biochar properties. Here, we produced biochar from wood residues (WR) obtained from sieving of biowaste derived digestate. The plastic content was artificially enriched to 10%, and this mixture was pyrolyzed at 450°C and 600°C. Beech wood (BW) chips and the purified, that is, (macro‐) plastic‐free WR served as controls. All biochars produced were below limit values of the European Biochar Certificate (EBC) regarding trace element content and organic contaminants. Under study conditions, pyrolysis of biowaste, even when contaminated with plastic, can produce a biochar suitable for agricultural use. However, thermogravimetric and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic analysis of the WR + 10% plastics biochar suggested the presence of plastic residues at pyrolysis temperatures of 450°C. More research is needed to define minimum requirements for the pyrolysis of plastic containing biowaste and to cope with the automated identification and determination of plastic types in biowaste at large scales.https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.70005biocharNMRPAHPCDD/Fpolymerpyrolysis |
| spellingShingle | Isabel Hilber Nikolas Hagemann José María de laRosa Heike Knicker Thomas D. Bucheli Hans‐Peter Schmidt Biochar Production From Plastic‐Contaminated Biomass GCB Bioenergy biochar NMR PAH PCDD/F polymer pyrolysis |
| title | Biochar Production From Plastic‐Contaminated Biomass |
| title_full | Biochar Production From Plastic‐Contaminated Biomass |
| title_fullStr | Biochar Production From Plastic‐Contaminated Biomass |
| title_full_unstemmed | Biochar Production From Plastic‐Contaminated Biomass |
| title_short | Biochar Production From Plastic‐Contaminated Biomass |
| title_sort | biochar production from plastic contaminated biomass |
| topic | biochar NMR PAH PCDD/F polymer pyrolysis |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.70005 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT isabelhilber biocharproductionfromplasticcontaminatedbiomass AT nikolashagemann biocharproductionfromplasticcontaminatedbiomass AT josemariadelarosa biocharproductionfromplasticcontaminatedbiomass AT heikeknicker biocharproductionfromplasticcontaminatedbiomass AT thomasdbucheli biocharproductionfromplasticcontaminatedbiomass AT hanspeterschmidt biocharproductionfromplasticcontaminatedbiomass |