Stochastic state-space temperature regulation of biochar production. Part II: Application to manure processing via pyrolysis

• Published in: Journal of the science of food and agriculture Vol. 92; no. 3; pp. 490 - 495
• Main Authors: Cantrell, Keri B, Martin II, Jerry H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01.02.2012; Wiley; John Wiley and Sons, Limited
• Subjects: Animal Husbandry - economics; Animals; Biodegradation; Biological and medical sciences; char; Charcoal - analysis; Charcoal - chemistry; Charcoal - economics; Chemical compounds; Chemical Phenomena; Fertilizers - analysis; Fertilizers - economics; Food industries; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; Heating - instrumentation; Hot Temperature; Industrial Waste - analysis; Industrial Waste - economics; Kinetics; Manure - analysis; Nitrogen - chemistry; Pollution and sludges; process control; pyrolysis; Quality Control; Reproducibility of Results; Soils; Stochastic models; Stochastic Processes; Sus scrofa; Temperature; United States; waste minimization; waste treatment; Pyrolysis; Temperature; Waste treatment; Process control; Production; char; Animal manure; waste minimization; Wastes; Application; pyrolysis; process control; waste treatment
• ISSN: 0022-5142; 1097-0010
• DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.4617

BACKGROUND: State‐of‐the‐art control systems that can guarantee the pyrolytic exposure temperature are needed in the production of designer biochars. These designer biochars will have tailored characteristics that can offer improvement of specific soil properties such as water‐holding capacity and cation exchange capacity. RESULTS: A novel stochastic state‐space temperature regulator was developed for the batch production of biochar that accurately matched the pyrolytic exposure temperature to a defined temperature input schedule. This system was evaluated by processing triplicate swine manure biochars at two temperatures, 350 and 700 °C. The results revealed a low coefficient of variation (CV) in their composition and near‐similar 13C nuclear magnetic resonance structure as well as thermal degradation patterns. When pyrolysing at 350 °C, the stochastic state‐space regulator generated a biochar with lower CV in ultimate (i.e. CHNS) compositional analysis than the original feedstock. CONCLUSION: This state‐space controller had the ability to pyrolyse a feedstock and generate a consistent biochar with similar structural properties and consistent compositional characteristics. Published 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.