Pyrolysis’s Aqueous-Phase Liquid (APL) upgrade through Hydrothermal- Carbonization pre-treatment

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Application of ATR-far-infrared spectroscopy to the analysis of natural resins

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Analysis of total organic carbon in soil-biochar systems

Amending agricultural soils with biochar can contribute to negative carbon strategies when the resistance to oxidation of soil carbon is improved (avoided CO2 emission) and plant growth is promoted (increased CO2 fixation). The environmental stability and sequestering capacity of biochar is dependent on the chemical form of carbon and its physical location in the carbonaceous matrix. The addition of biochar in soil increases noticeably the stable carbon pool, while the effect on labile carbon, including polyaromatic structures, is less marked.1 The fertilizing action can be lost if biochar is removed from the cultivated area due to physical processes (vertical transport, lateral export, slacking). Assessing the fate of carbon in the soil requires the use of suitable analytical methods that should be validated for the presence of biochar. Please click on the file below for full content of the abstract

At-line characterisation of compounds evolved during biomass pyrolysis by solid-phase microextraction SPME-GC-MS

At-line sampling by solid phase microextraction (SPME) followed by GC-MS analysis was investigated as a fast analytical method to identify and quantify the compounds evolved during intermediate pyrolysis of biomass. A 75 \u3bcm carboxen/polidimethylsiloxane (CAR/PDMS) coated fiber in retracted configuration was inserted at-line during pyrolysis at 500 \ub0C with a bench scale fixed bed pyrolyzer of different biomass substrates, lignocellulosic feedstock, agricultural wastes, animal residues and algal biomass. The molecular composition resulting from SPME sampling was compared to the chemical composition of collected pyrolysis liquid, which included the aqueous and organic phase (bio-oil). The storage capacity of the SPME fiber was tested 48 and 96 h after sampling under air atmosphere and vacuum-packed plastic bags. The SPME-GC-MS profiles could be utilized to gather information on the characteristics of pyrolysis process, such as the efficiency of vapor condensation

Biochar from gasification in cultivated soils and riparian buffer zones: Chemical characterization

During rain events, pollutants in agricultural soils can be transported from fields to surface and/or groundwater resulting in contamination of streams and rivers. Researchers and farmers must work together to find solutions to ensure the preservation of crop production without jeopardizing water quality or the health of the ecosystem. Establishment of riparian zones may reduce the effects of diffuse discharges of pollutants into waterways. The addition of biochar to soils, particularly in a riparian zones, can reduce the mobility of contaminants and improve removal efficiency due its sorptive capacity. Please click on the file below for full content of the abstract

Conversion of Pyrolysis Products into Volatile Fatty Acids with a Biochar-Packed Anaerobic Bioreactor

The coupling of pyrolysis and acidogenic fermentation was here proposed as a new hybrid thermochemical-biological method to circumvent the hydrolysis bottleneck within lignocellulose valorization schemes. Pyrolysis products of fir sawdust, that is, the water-soluble (WS) fraction together with CO-rich syngas, were tested as feedstock for volatile fatty acid (VFA) production. WS/syngas conversion to VFA was particularly challenging due to the combined effect of the substrate (WS/syngas) and product (VFA) inhibition. To solve such an issue, a new type of bioreactor, based on packed biochar and a new acclimatization/bioaugmentation procedure consisting of co-feeding WS/syngas and glucose were developed and tested. The gradual switch from glucose to WS was monitored through various analytical techniques, observing the transition toward a “pyrotrophic” microbial mixed culture able to convert WS/syngas into VFA. Even without selective inhibition of methanogens, the main fermentation products were VFA (mainly acetic, butyric, and caproic acid), whose profile was a function of the WS/glucose ratio. Although the achieved volumetric productivity was lower (<0.6 gCOD L–1 d–1) than that observed in sugar fermentation, bioaugmented pyrotrophs could convert headspace CO, most of GC–MS detectable compounds (e.g., anhydrosugars), and a significant portion of non-GC–MS detectable compounds of WS (e.g., oligomers with MW < 1.45 kDa)

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