RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Scaling-Up of the Production of Biochar from Olive Tree Pruning for Agricultural Use: Evaluation of Biochar Characteristics and Phytotoxicity
A1 Crespo Barreiro, Andrea
A1 Gómez Marín, Natalia
A1 Ortiz Liébana, Noemí
A1 González Arias, Judith
A1 González Andrés, Fernando
A1 Cara Jiménez, Jorge
A2 Produccion Vegetal
K1 Ingeniería agrícola
K1 Biochar
K1 Phytotoxicity
K1 Upscaling
K1 Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
K1 Carbon sink
K1 Pyrolysis
AB [EN] Due to the large acreage of olive trees in the Mediterranean basin, the biochar from olive tree pruning may become an important resource as part of circular economy strategies. However, so far, there is not much knowledge on whether the same characteristics are repeated in biochar once production is up-scaled to an industrial level. Accordingly, this study aimed to scale up the production of olive tree pruning biochar with three reactors (semi-pilot, pilot and industrial) to ascertain the production parameters that determine the characteristics of the obtained biochar and its possible toxicity to use in agriculture or environmental applications. First, the production conditions in the semi-pilot reactor were optimised by testing three temperatures (400, 500 and 600 °C), with the result that 600 °C was the optimal production temperature because of a high carbon content (70.88%), moderate pH (8.1), good carbon sink (R50 > 0.5) and low contents of PAHs (<6 mg/kg) and heavy metals, resulting in a phytostimulanting effect for all the crops studied. Then, the production was upscaled, using 600 °C as pyrolysing temperature. At the industrial scale, accurate temperature control is essential because when temperatures above 650 °C were reached, the biochar showed a pH above 11, resulting in severe phytotoxicity. The longer retention time of the material in the industrial pyrolysers improved the carbon stability and, therefore, the biochar’s role as a carbon sink. Consequently, it was proven that it is possible to produce olive tree pruning biochar adequate for agriculture and environmental applications with large-scale equipment, and the two most important factors needing control are the temperature and retention time.
PB MDPI
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10612/18899
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10612/18899
NO Crespo-Barreiro, A., Gómez, N., González-Arias, J., Ortiz-Liébana, N., González-Andrés, F., & Cara-Jiménez, J. (2023). Scaling-Up of the Production of Biochar from Olive Tree Pruning for Agricultural Use: Evaluation of Biochar Characteristics and Phytotoxicity. Agriculture (Switzerland), 13(5), 1064-. https://doi.org/10.3390/AGRICULTURE13051064
DS BULERIA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de León
RD 27-jun-2024