Harvesting Clean Energy

Biochar As A
Pyrolysis Byproduct
Hal Collins, USDA-ARS
Vegetable and Forage Crops Unit
24106 N. Bunn Rd.
Prosser WA 99350

Harvesting Clean Energy Conference, Portrland, OR, January 29, 2008

Total U.S. Land base: 2,268 million acres*

Table 1. Acres by land category.

Area M acres %
Forests 747 33
Grasslands/range 588 26
Cropland 458 20
Urban/Swamps/desert 294 13
Public 181 8
*Includes 369 million acres of Alaska and Hawaii.

from Vesterby and Krupa, 2001; Alig et al., 2003

Total U.S. Cropland: 458 million acres
Table 2. Acres planted.
Increase/
Crop 2005 2006 2007 decrease
---- Million acres ---- %
Corn (grain) 81.8 78.3 93.6 +20
Soybeans 72.0 75.5 63.6 -16
Wheat 57.2 57.3 60.4 +5
Hay/alfalfa 61.7 61.0 63.0 +3
Pasture 60.6 63.0 67.0 +6
CRP 35.0 36.0 37.0 +3
All other 89.7 87.0 72.0 -17

www.nass.usda.gov, 2008.
Biochar
Peanut hull biochar
What is Biochar?
- carbon-rich solid a byproduct
of low-temperature pyrolysis
of biomass.
- also known as charcoal,
biomass derived black
carbon, Agrichar.
- formed under complete or
partial exclusion of oxygen
at low temperatures between
about 400 and 500º C.
- Origins - has been used for centuries
- Cooking, health, water purification, etc
Active research into soil benefits was renewed by Johannes Lehmann at Cornell
University in about 1998 resulting from studies of Terra preta soils of the Amazon.
Characteristics of biochar

Figure 5. The properties of biochar greatly depend upon the production

procedure. Temperature effects on C recovery, CEC, pH and surface area.
from Lehmann (2007), Front. Ecol. Environ. 5:381-387.
Potential feedstocks of biochar
Any source of biomass:
• Rice husks
• Nut shells (groundnut, hazelnut, macadamia nut,
walnut, chestnut, coconut)
• Bagasse from sugar cane production
• Olive or tobacco waste
• Wood chips, sawdust, bark, etc
• Animal manure
• Peanut hull
• Grasses and corn stover
• Other – sewage sludge tires, peat, lignite, coal
* Not all organic biomass is suitable for producing biochar
Household, municipal and industrial waste may contain
heavy metals or organic pollutants which could cause
environmental contamination by land application of the
resulting biochar.
What we know: Terra Preta
Terra preta do indio or the “black earth of the Amazons”
• fine dark loamy soil
- up to 9% carbon, (adjacent soil 0.5% C)
- high nutrient content and high fertility
- 3 times the phosphorous and nitrogen

• developed over thousands of years by human

habitation correspond to ancient settlements

• results from long-term mulching of charcoal

production from hearths and bone fragments
with soil application
• persistents in soil, recalcitrant, resistant to
decomposition.
• forest fires and slash-and-burn
contribute
very low amounts of charcoal (~3%)
Marris. 2006. Nature 442: 624-626; Lehmann, et al., 2003. Plant Soil 249: 343-357; Lehmann,
et al., 2003. Kluwer Academic Publishers. 105-124.
What we know: Terra Preta

Figure 3. Biochar particles in a dark earth from the Amazon,

with dimensions of several tens of microns to submicrons. Upper
left side shows a quartz grain, inset shows separated biochar
particles. Note the coatings of biochar particles with minerals in
their natural assemblage.
from Lehmann, (2007), Front. Ecol. Environ. 5:381-387.
Low temperature pyrolysis with biochar C sequestration

from Lehmann, (2007), Front. Ecol. Environ. 5:381-387.

C Sequestration Potential of Biochar

<10-20%

Figure 1. Schematics for biomass or bio-char remaining after charring

and decomposition in soil. from Lehmann et al., 2006. Mitigation Adap.
Strat. Glob. Change 11: 403–427.
Long-term:What are the sources of biochar?
• Forest Resources
- logging debris – 67 M dry T y-1
60% recovery
Converted to biochar = 10 M T Carbon
- forest thinning – 60 M dry T y-1
at most 30% collected 18 MT
Converted to biochar = 4.5 M T Carbon
- Primary wood processing mills – 91 M dry T y-1
bark, saw mill slabs, edgings, sawdust, etc.
< 2 million dry tons available
Converted to biochar = 0.4 M T Carbon
- Secondary wood processing mills – 16 M dry T y-1
millwork, containers, pallets, etc.
recovered from urban MSW
DOE Billion Ton Report, 2005
Long-term:What are the sources of biochar?
• Available Urban Wood residues 63 M dry T y-1
Recovered/
Material Generated Un-useable Available
Construction 11.6 3.0 8.6
Demolition 27.7 16.1 11.7
Woody yard 9.8 8.0 1.7
Wood (MSW) 13.2 7.3 6.0
Total 62.3 34.4 28.0
Expected to increase 30%. (McKeever, 2004)

Converted to biochar = 7 M T Carbon

• Total Forest resources available for biochar production
~ 88 M dry T y-1 of 296 M dry T y-1 inventoried. (30%)
Total biochar produced = 22 M T Carbon y-1
Land Application @ 10 T acre-1 = 2.2 million acres
Long-term:What are the sources of biochar?
• Crop residues (corn stover, small grain residues)
- DOE estimated 428 M dry T of residues. (2006)
- 28% (120 M dry T) will be available for conversion
- ignore ethanol industry, convert by pyrolysis
Converted to biochar = 27 M T Carbon
• Dedicated crops (perennial, switchgrass, poplars, etc.)
- DOE reports potential production for 377 M dry T
- Yields range from 5-10 T acre-1
- Acreage needed: 38 - 75 M acres
- ignore ethanol industry, convert by pyrolysis
Converted to biochar = 85 M T Carbon

Total biochar produced = 112 M T Carbon y-1

Land Application @ 10 T acre-1 = 11.2 million acres
Washington State
Forest Resources
logging debris – 1.9 M T y-1
forest thinning – 0.5 M T y-1
mill residues - 5.2 M T y-1 @10% = 0.5 M T y-1
urban wood – 0.8 M T y-1
3.7 M T y-1
Converted to biochar = 0.8 M T Carbon
Crop Residues - 2.2 M T y-1 @ 20% = 0.4 M T y-1

Converted to biochar = 0.1 M T Carbon

Total biochar produced = 0.9 M T Carbon y-1

Land Application @ 10 T acre-1 = 90,000 acres
WA State, Biomass Inventory and Bioenergy Assessment, 2005
Agronomic Applications
Richard Haard
Four Corner Nurseries
Bellingham, WA

Potting soil

Brazil

Lehmann et al., Cornell University

Characteristics of biochar

Figure 5. The properties of biochar greatly depend upon the production

procedure. Temperature effects on C recovery, CEC, pH and surface area.
from Lehmann (2007), Front. Ecol. Environ. 5:381-387.
Adsorption of phosphate to biochar

Figure 4. Adsorption of phosphate to biochar (produced from

Robinia pseudoacacia L at 350°C for 16 hours). from Lehmann
(2007) Front. Ecol. Environ. 5:381-387.
Nutrient Content of Biochar
• C-content - 75-85% largely unavailable to
decomposition; ∆ microbial activity?
• C/N ratio – 12-40 100 lbs biochar has ~8-10 lbs N
net mineralization is low, due to physical
protection. Tends to NH4 form.
• P content – 0.08%

Other nutrients (S, Mg, Ca, micronutrients)?

USDA-ARS Integrated Cropping Systems
Research Field Station, Paterson, WA
Switchgrass Trials
Why the interest in Biochar?
COMPOSITION OF U.S. DEMOLITION WASTE
(Source: Chatterjee-U.S. Army, as cited in SPARK, 1991)
Long-term:Where will the acres come from?
• Dedicated perennial biomass crops
- DOE reports potential production for 377 M dry t.
- Yields of switchgrass range from 5-10 t acre-1
- Acreage needed: 38 - 75 M acres
- Potential ethanol – 75 M acres = 30 billion gals
• Sources of “new” acres
- Probably not from corn, soybean, wheat acreage.
- CRP lands – 37 million acres nation wide.
· 7 M acres converted to corn production.
· 20 M acres converted to switchgrass.
@ 5T DM/acre yields 8 billion gals ethanol
- Other marginal croplands (pastures, hay/alfalfa).
· 130 M – acreage available?
Corn Stover Biomass
Table 5. Average export of nutrients from soil with removal of corn
stover and wheat residues.
Nutrient Corn (lbs/A) Wheat (lbs/A)
N 115.00 (grain 136) 27.20
P2O5 40.00 6.80
K2O 167.00 47.60
Ca 30.00 8.16
Mg 23.00 4.08
S 16.00 6.80
Cu 0.06 0.01
Mn 1.72 0.22
Zn 0.34 0.20
from Hatfield, 2008, Fluid Journal

As with switchgrass nutrients would be delivered to the refinery,

potential for nutrient recovery and reuse.
 Switchgrass: Nutrient Removal
Estimate of nutrient removal based on 2006 production levels.
Biomass yield: 10.1 T acre-1 (Kanlow cultivar)
Planted: 24,750 acres (to support 20 gal facility)
Total Biomass Harvested: 250,000 T
Nutrient % lbs acre-1 T*

y ?
er 375
Nitrogen 1.22 245 3,050
Phosphorus
o
0.15
c v 31
Potassium
Re1.51 305 3,775
Calcium
e n t 0.27 54 675
Magnesium
tr i 0.24 48 600
Sulfur
Nu
Other (Fe, B, Mn, Cu, Zn)
0.05
<0.04
10
8
125
100
*Tons of nutrient delivered to ethanol facility.

Lignin - ~15% = 37,500 T ---- Burned for energy, other products,

biochar? And sequestered.
Using pyrolysis under controlled conditions, carbon in the organic biomass
is captured in the biochar (roughly 50%) and bioenergy co-products such
as biofuels (roughly 50%).

Pyrolysis produces optimum biochar in the absence of oxygen and most

often with an external heat source. Gasification systems produce biochar
in smaller quantities in a directly heated reaction vessel with the addition of
air.

The efficiency of carbon conversion from biomass to biochar is related to

the type of plant matter used.

Production of biochar could sequester approximately 50% more initial

carbon than that retained after burning or direct application (with biological
decomposition) of biomass.
Adsorption capacity depends on
a) physical and chemical characteristics of the
adsorbent (carbon);
b) physical and chemical characteristics of the
adsorbate (the food or beverage);
c) concentration of the adsorbate in liquid
solution;
d) characteristics of the liquid phase (e.g. pH,
temperature)
e) amount of time the adsorbate is in contact with
the adsorbent (residence time).
Comparison to Activated Charcoal
Activated charcoal is charcoal that has been
made from wood or other materials that have
been exposed to very high temperatures in an
airless environment.
Treated with oxygen, opens up
millions of tiny pores between the
carbon atoms.

The use of special manufacturing

techniques results in highly porous charcoals
that have surface areas of 300-2,000 m2 g-1.
Are widely used to adsorb odorous or colored
substances from gases or liquids.