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Design, Construction, Testing, and Deployment of a Biochar Reactor: A Student Capstone Project Robert Prins and Wayne Teel James Madison University
Design, Construction, Testing, and Deployment of a Biochar Reactor: A Student Capstone
Project
Robert Prins and Wayne TeelJames Madison University
Presentation Map•Biochar Primer•what is biochar?•why should we care?•how is biochar produced?
•Student Capstone Project
What is biochar?•Biomass that has been processed into a soil amendment through pyrolysis•Historical usage dates to 450 BC•Terra preta sites in the Amazon
•Recent revival of interest as a carbon sequestration technique
What is biochar?
Value of Biochar as a soil amendment
•High microporosity (~1000 m2/g)•Low density (0.5g/cc)•High cation exchange rate
Feltz, 2010
Feltz, 2010
Value of Biochar as a carbon sequestration technique
•Atmospheric carbon is absorbed by plants •Plant based carbon is unstable, plant decay releases carbon to atmosphere•Biochar can remain in soil for 1000s of years
J. Lehmann, “Black is the New Green”, Nature, Vol 442, 10 August, 2006
Biomass to Biochar•Gasification of biomass via pyrolysis•Heating in the absence of oxygen•Initial heating drives off water vapor (100 C)•Further heating (~350 C +) drives volatiles out of carbon structure• synthesis gas (H2, CO, CO2 )
Glaser, 2007
Development of a Farm-Scale Reactor Project is well suited as a student project
•Student design, construction and deployment•Low-cost design approach
•Meets ISAT capstone project best practices:•Real world problem•Situated in a relevant social context• Includes hands-on work
Student Participation•Independent study• 2 students, FA08 – SP09• Biochar investigation• Initial design concepts•Senior Capstone Project• 4 students, FA09 – SP10• Final design• Implementation
JMU Biochar Processor Concept
Marier, Austin, Clark, Dick, 2010
JMU Biochar Processor (Gen. 1)•Chamber within chamber design•Syngas from feedstock is used to supplement heat source•21% net mass retention
JMU Biochar Processor1
6
54
3
2
20”
28 1/2”
6 1/2”
21”
13 3/8”
1
2
3
4 5
JMU Biochar Processor
51 1/2”36”
15”
54 1/2”
38 1/4”1
2
3
4
JMU Biochar Processor Data
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Tem
pera
ture
(°C
)
Time (Minutes)
Internal Barrel Temperature Over timeBurn 4
Desired Temperature
Range
Drying Wood
SyngasCombustion
Syngas Combustion
Summary•Biochar is a valuable soil amendment• Porosity• Density• Cation exchange•Biochar is produced from biomass via pyrolysis•Student project to develop a low cost processor was successful• Produced biochar (21% mass retention)• $800 in materials • Demonstrates win-win-win
Future work (Future Student Projects)
•Gen. 2• Improve sealing of outer chamber (roof, door)• Improve sealing on inner chamber door• Increase robustness of chamber walls• Improve heat recovery system•Gen. 2.5• Improve heat recovery system
Thank you
•Questions?
Thank you
•Questions?
