(625c) Biocarbon Production through Slow Pyrolysis of Chicken Feathers and Spent Coffee Ground Bio-Oil and Physicochemical Characterization of the Resulting Biocarbon | AIChE

(625c) Biocarbon Production through Slow Pyrolysis of Chicken Feathers and Spent Coffee Ground Bio-Oil and Physicochemical Characterization of the Resulting Biocarbon

Authors 

Mishra, R. - Presenter, University of Guelph
Mohanty, A. K., University of Guelph
Misra, M., University of Guelph
Pyrolysis of organic matter is a promising technique for recovering the value-added chemicals and energy from waste, as such it has encouraged extensive research within the last few decades. Energy obtained from biomass is considered carbon neutral, sustainable, clean and low-cost. The present study demonstrates the process of turning bio-oil (chicken feathers and spent coffee ground) into value-added biocarbon through slow pyrolysis techniques under an inert ambience. The biocarbon was obtained at three varying temperatures (400, 600 and 900 °C), at a 10 °C min-1 heating rate, for a 30 min holding time (HT) and was tested for its surface morphology, thermal stability, elemental composition, functionality, graphitic content, particle size, thermal and electrical conductivity. Further, the evolved gases during pyrolysis of bio-oil were also tested by a TGA-FTIR analyzer. The result of the TGA-FTIR study confirms that during bio-oil pyrolysis, hydrocarbons, CO2, and carbonyl compounds are the major products. Pyrolysis results of bio-oil confirm that the operating temperature has a direct impact on the biocarbon yield and its properties. The physicochemical examination of gained biocarbon revealed that higher temperature-based biocarbon (600 °C and 900 °C) substantially enhances the thermal stability, thermal conductivity, graphitic content, and content of carbon. Elemental and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) examination of biocarbon established that higher temperature-based biocarbon (600 °C and 900 °C) has a lower amount of oxygen and hydrogen compared to lower temperature-based pyrolyzed biocarbon (400 °C). Also, the purest form of biocarbon was found at a higher temperature-based biocarbon with higher thermal stability and carbon content. The surface morphology of biocarbon confirms that higher temperature-based biocarbon (600 and 900 °C) provides larger and harder particles than lower temperature biocarbon (400 °C). Further, the electrical conductivity of biocarbon decreased; however, the thermal conductivity of biocarbon increased with a rise in the pyrolysis temperature. Moreover, the particle size analysis of biocarbon established that majority of biocarbon particles can be found in the range of 1 µm. The results from this study confirm that biocarbon can be used for various material applications.

Acknowledgements:

The present work is carried out with the support of: i) The Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and Competitive Green Technologies, Canada through AgSci Cluster Program (Project No. 054712); (ii) the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA)/University of Guelph – Bioeconomy for Industrial Uses Research Program (Project Nos. 030331 and 030332); and (iii) the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Canada Discovery Grants (Project No. 401111).