title: Biochar from anaerobically digested sugarcane bagasse.
abstract: This study was designed to investigate the effect of anaerobic digestion on biochar produced from sugarcane bagasse. Sugarcane bagasse was anaerobically digested to produce methane. The digested residue and fresh bagasse was pyrolyzed separately into biochar at 600 degrees C in nitrogen environment. The digested bagasse biochar (DBC) and undigested bagasse biochar (BC) were characterized to determine their physicochemical properties. Although biochar was produced from the digested residue (18% by weight) and the raw bagasse (23%) at a similar rate, there were many physiochemical differences between them. Compared to BC, DBC had higher pH, surface area, cation exchange capacity (CEC), anion exchange capacity (AEC), hydrophobicity and more negative surface charge, all properties that are generally desirable for soil amelioration, contaminant remediation or wastewater treatment. Thus, these results suggest that the pyrolysis of anaerobic digestion residues to produce biochar may be an economically and environmentally beneficial use of agricultural wastes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Mandu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Inyang
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Pratap
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pullammanappallil
authors.forename: Wenchuan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Andrew R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
mesh_terms: D001421:Bacteria, Anaerobic / Q000378:metabolism*; D002482:Cellulose / Q000378:metabolism*; D002606:Charcoal / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D031786:Saccharum / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: C540010:biochar; D002606:Charcoal; D002482:Cellulose; C027433:bagasse