Grantee Research Project Results
2020 Progress Report: Conversion of Agricultural and Forestry Biomass Residues to Biochar for Carbon Sequestration and Soils Improvement Applications
EPA Grant Number: SV839370Title: Conversion of Agricultural and Forestry Biomass Residues to Biochar for Carbon Sequestration and Soils Improvement Applications
Investigators: Dahlgren, John
Institution: Butte College
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Phase: II
Project Period: March 1, 2018 through February 29, 2020 (Extended to February 28, 2022)
Project Period Covered by this Report: March 1, 2020 through February 28,2021
Project Amount: $75,000
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet - Phase 2 (2017) Recipients Lists
Research Category: P3 Awards , Sustainable and Healthy Communities , P3 Challenge Area - Air Quality
Objective:
The Biochar Program’s objectives and emphasis at Butte College are to introduce and train student interns to conduct hands-on, applied research and development through laboratory and field experimentation. These objectives were fullfilled during the Summer 2019 Program starting on June 17th and ending on July 25th, 2019. Students were trained and performed the following:
● Conducte pyrolyzer experiment to demostrate the biochar production method and measure the percent of biochar product as a volume percent of raw material.
● Conducte analysis and characterization of various biochar samples in accordance with in accordance with procedures by Hugh McLaughlin, Ph.D. (Ref. 2).
- Conducted Dry Biochar procedures: measuring weight loss at temperatures, 150, 250, 350, 450 and 550 degrees Celsius.
- Conducted Wetted Biochar procedures: measuring dry bulk density, wetted biochar density, water-holding ratio, and extract pH.
- Conducted Adsorption procedure: to measure adsorption of propene gas by various biochars by measuring an increase in the mass of the biochar due to propane adsorption as a percent of its original mass.
● Complete a biochar agricultural application field experiment started in April 2019 by harvesting and gathering harvest weight data to indicate the effects of various applications of biochar and composte on growing spring onions at Morning Glory Organics farm in Oroville, California on July 19th, 2019.
● Continue water retention experiments at Berkeley Olive Grove which were started in the Summer of 2018 and soils mositure measurement data have been collected since monthly using a digital IRROMETER watermark sensors in the soil at various depths.
● Conducte fild work in preparations for on-site biochar production experiemnts through debris removal in the Camp Fire burn area in Concow, California.
Progress Summary:
Replication of McLaughlin’s experiment measured metrics are needed for commercial use of biochar. Water-holding ratios of the samples show that Oregon softwood is the most capable of retaining moisture. Walnut hulls have the lowest water-holding capacity. Oregon softwood also had the highest adsorption capacity, and walnut hulls the lowest, making softwood the most adhesive for water-soluble compounds. Experiments conclude that softwood is the best choice of all tested samples for biochar applications. Blends of varying ratios of walnut hulls to rice hulls were tested through pyrolysis and compared to data from individual pyrolysis of both rice and walnuts by themselves. Walnut burned the hottest by itself and the 75:25 blend (rice: walnut, in liters) held the lowest temperature. Commercial selection of blends can be made based upon the soil being amended or remediated. Research and development of biochar was revealed to homeowners and fire safety committees as an application to post-Camp Fire recovery. Burn piles accumulated at the preparation sites will be ready for processing biochar in the fall. Presentations received a favorable response in regards to collecting biochar as effective debris removal that can also provide resources for community restoration, such as regenerative agriculture. The farm study confirmed this benefit, as increasing biochar and compost in test plots yielded higher mass and size in crops. Ideal soil amendments, in tons of compost per acre by the percentage of biochar in compost (tons, %), were 15,10 and 10,10. Based on the data a trend appears in plots with ratios of ten tons of compost per acre at ten percent biochar, and fifteen tons compost per acer at ten percent biochar. Compared to the control group of zero tons of biochar and zero tons of compost, planting with a composition of 15 tons of compost per acre at 10 percent biochar significantly increases the harvest weight of the onions. In soil amendments of 15,10 and 5,5, the difference in harvest mass is 1000 grams. This means 10% biochar is an ideal amount for the increasing tonnage of compost. Crop-quality diminishes past that curve. The control plot, with varying amounts of compost and no biochar, also had weak yield. Irrometer readings at Berkeley Olive Grove showed that without char, soil’s moisture correspondingly increases with decreasing depths. With char, the soil is moister at 3 feet (ft) than at 6 ft but loses moisture drastically at 2 ft. Comparison between the test and control plots is inconclusive; therefore, further study is needed.
References:
Hugh McLaughlin, PhD, PE, CTO – NextChar, LLC. Basic Biochar Metrics, Version X, November 8th, 2016.
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractP3 Phase I:
Energy Generation through Gasification of Optimized Rice Hull Biomass | Final ReportThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.