Livestock Manure Compost Mixed with Biochar: Efficient Pelleting and Pellet Production Characteristics

• Published in: Waste and biomass valorization Vol. 15; no. 8; pp. 4927 - 4936
• Main Authors: Furuhashi, Kenichi, Ueda, Kosuke, Hatagami, Taiyo, Itoh, Takanori, Miyazaki, Takaya, Kaizu, Yutaka, Imou, Kenji
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.08.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agricultural equipment; Agricultural land; Agricultural technology; Agrochemicals; Carbon dioxide; Carbon dioxide emissions; Carbon sequestration; Cattle; Cattle manure; Charcoal; Composting; Composts; Emissions; Engineering; Environment; Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology; Farm machinery; Fertilizers; Greenhouse gases; Industrial Pollution Prevention; Life cycle analysis; Life cycle assessment; Livestock; Manures; Mass production; Moisture content; Original Paper; Pelleting; Pellets; Productivity; Raw materials; Renewable and Green Energy; Waste Management/Waste Technology; Water content; Wettability; Pellet; Compost; Livestock manure; Biochar; Carbon sequestration; Fertilizer
• ISSN: 1877-2641; 1877-265X
• DOI: 10.1007/s12649-024-02520-5

Biochar is difficult to make pellets on its own. The pelleting of biochar mixed with livestock manure compost could have the following advantages: (1) use compost as a binder, (2) reduce the moisture content of compost for pelleting by simply mixing without drying, and (3) promote the application of biochar for carbon sequestration by simultaneous application with agricultural machinery for chemical fertilizers while preventing dust pollution and additional work for the farmer. Fertilizer pellets need to be produced in an economical manner. Therefore, we empirically examined the productivity of pelleting using a roller die pellet mill, which is characterized by high throughput and is commonly used in the mass production of multifertilizer and wood pellets. Although a feedstock with 25% biochar mixed with cattle manure compost produced fewer pellets than a feedstock consisting of only compost, the energy input per unit of production remained the same. The results suggest that the addition of biochar may not increase GHG emissions during the production of this new material. Durability and wettability showed similar or higher values in the mixed pellets, indicating that the new material can be used as a fertilizer in the same way as cattle manure pellets. Statement of Novelty The application of biochar to agricultural land recognizes as a method of reducing CO2 emissions. However, little consideration has been given to how biochar can be effectively fertilized with agricultural machinery due to its nature of being difficult to make pellets on its own. Biochar was pelleted with a roller die pellet mill used for full-scale fertilizer production using livestock manure, which can be supplied in large quantities and low-cost, as a binder. This allowed us to present results including yield, productivity, and energy input with material quality that could not be revealed by pelleting at the laboratory. In the future, our data will contribute to calculate input energy and GHG emissions from life cycle assessment for pelleting biochar.