Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Department of Applied Biotechnology and Food Science, Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology Group
- Agricultural and forestry waste
- Straw, used straw, husks and grain dust
corncob from maiz (Zea mays) grown in Serbia (ZP Maize hybrid 505)
biochar
Flash carbonization was performed in a vessel pressurized to 0.8 - 3.4 MPa with air. Electric heating coils at the bottom of the pressure vessel ignited the lower portion of the biomass. After 360s, compressed air was delivered to the top of the pressure vessel and flowed through the packed bed of feedstock to sustain the carbonization process. Pressure within the ractor was maintained at the specified range. After sufficient air was delivered to carbonize the corncob, air flow was halted and the reactor cooled overnight. The charcoal was removed from the reactora nd allowed to equilibrate under a fume hood for 2 days.
The carbon content of the soil would be increased over the long term with biochar addition to soil (Budai et al. 2015, in prep)
Preliminary laboratory results show a buffering of acidic soils using this biochar at more than 5 m% amendment rates