Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
ACI Avances en Ciencias e Ingenierías

SECTION C: ENGINEERING

Vol. 13 No. 2 (2021)

Fast Pyrolysis Biochar Flammability behavior for Handling and Storage

DOI
https://doi.org/10.18272/aci.v13i2.2314
Submitted
May 24, 2021
Published
2021-11-16

Abstract

Biochar is a fairly new material in the research arena with limited information on safety aspects related to transportation, storage, disposal or field application methods. The objective of this research was to assess the flammability characteristics of fast pyrolysis biochars with test methods EPA 1030 and ASTM 4982. Results indicated that biochar is a non-flammable substance when tested with EPA 1030 ignitability of solids. However, when tested with ASTM D4982, a fast screening method, biochars showed potential risks of flammability. However, the addition of 20-50% moisture reduced any flammability concern.

Fast pyrolysis biochar was more prone to be flammable than traditional charcoal and slow pyrolysis biochar tested in this study. Still, fast pyrolysis biochars presented lower flammability potential (ASTM 4982) in comparison to its precursor biomass. The flammability propagation measured with EPA 1030, had high correlations with oxygen content and surface area of the fast pyrolysis biochar. The combustion reaction of fast pyrolysis biochar is a flameless combustion process, with a slow burning rate, and most commonly exhibiting a hot ember smoldering propagation front.

This paper illustrates the necessity of performing recurring tests due to biochar"™s intrinsic variability stemming from the different modes of production and feedstock used.

viewed = 481 times

References

  1. International Biochar Initiative, (2012). Standardized product definition and product testing guidelines for biochar that is used in soil. IBI biochar standards. Recovered from http://www.biochar-international.org/sites/default/files/Guidelines_for_Biochar_That_Is_Used_in_Soil_Final.pdf
  2. Lehmann, J., & Joseph, S. (Eds.). (2015). Biochar for environmental management: science, technology and implementation. Routledge.
  3. Laird, D. A., Brown, R. C., Amonette, J. E., & Lehmann, J. (2009). Review of the pyrolysis platform for coproducing bio-oil and biochar. Biofuels, bioproduct and biorefining, 3(5), 547-562.
  4. Lehmann, J., Gaunt, J., & Rondon, M. (2006). Bio-char sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems-a review. Mitigation and adaptation strategies for global change, 11(2), 403-427.
  5. Jeffery, S., Verheijen, F. G., van der Velde, M., & Bastos, A. C. (2011). A quantitative review of the effects of biochar application to soils on crop productivity using meta-analysis. Agriculture, ecosystems & environment, 144(1), 175­187.
  6. Boateng, A. A., Garcia-Perez, M., Masek, O., Brown, R., & del Campo, B. (2015). Biochar production technology. In Biochar for environmental management (pp. 95-120). Routledge.
  7. Spokas, K. A. (2010). Review of the stability of biochar in soils: predictability of O: C molar ratios. Carbon Management, 1(2), 289-303.
  8. Mukome, F. N., & Parikh, S. J. (2015). Chemical, physical, and surface characterization of biochar (pp. 68). CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
  9. del-Campo, B. G., Morris, M. D., Laird, D. A., Kieffer, M. M., & Brown, R. C. (2015). Optimizing the production of activated carbon from fast pyrolysis char. Technology, 3(02n03), 104-113.
  10. Hawtin, P., Lewis, J. B., Moul, N., & Phillips, R. H. (1966). The heats of combustion of graphite, diamond and some non-graphitic carbons. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 261(1116), 67-95.
  11. Zhao, M. Y., Enders, A., & Lehmann, J. (2014). Short-and long-term flammability of biochars. biomass and bioenergy, 69, 183-191.
  12. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 49 FR Parts 100-199 (Transportation). Superintendent of Documents, US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 20402.
  13. United Nations. Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods. Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods: Manual of tests and criteria (Vol. 11). United Nations Publications, 2009.
  14. Joseph, G., & Team, C. H. I. (2007). Combustible dusts: A serious industrial hazard. Journal of hazardous materials, 142(3), 589-591.
  15. Cote, Arthur E. Fire protection Handbook. National Fire Protection Association, 19th edition volume I, 2002.
  16. Brown, T. R., Wright, M. M., & Brown,. C. (2011). Estimating profitability of two biochar production scenarios: slow pyrolysis vs fast pyrolysis. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, 5(1), 54-68.
  17. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “Test Method for the Evaluation of Solid Wastes”-Physical and Chemical Methods, Method 1030, Ignitability of Solids,” U.S. EPA Washington Solid Waste Website: https://www.epa.gov/hw-sw846/sw-846-test-method-1030-ignitability-solids
  18. American Society for Testing and Materials, ASTM D4982-07 Standard Test Method for Flammability Potential Screening Analysis of Waste, 2007.
  19. Brown, T. R., & Brown, R. C. (2013). Biorenewable resources: engineering new products from agriculture. John Wiley & Sons.