Factors Determining the Potential of Biochar As a Carbon Capturing and Sequestering Construction Material: Critical Review
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 29, Issue 9
Abstract
Biochar is relatively well understood as a soil enhancement. Recently, it has been explored as a construction material. While works had been conducted on deploying biochar for road construction, there is an emerging trend of using biochar as concrete admixture. In comparison, using biochar this way will reduce more greenhouse gas emissions than if carbon is captured and sequestered through mineralization and deployment in construction. The use of biochar-containing construction materials to capture and then lock atmospheric carbon dioxide in buildings and structures can potentially reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an additional 25%. In this review, attention was focused on evaluating biochar’s capability for carbon adsorption, which depends on factors such as pyrolysis conditions (specifically, pyrolysis temperature, heating rate, and pressure) and activation methods (and without surface modification). Gaps in the current literature were identified and important areas for future research proposed.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Abe, I., Hitomi, M., Ikuta, N., Kawafune, I., Noda, K., and Kera, Y. (1995). “Humidity-control capacity of microporous carbon.” J. Urban Living Health Assoc., 39(6), 333–336.
Agblevor, F. A., Beis, S., Kim, S., Tarrant, R., and Mante, N. (2010). “Biocrude oils from the fast pyrolysis of poultry litter and hardwood.” Waste Manage., 30(2), 298–307.
Ahmad, S., Khushnood, R. A., Jagdale, P., Tulliani, J.-M., and Ferro, G. A. (2015). “High performance self-consolidating cementitious composites by using micro carbonized bamboo particles.” Mater. Des., 76, 223–229.
Alaya, M., Girgis, B., and Mourad, W. (2000). “Activated carbon from some agricultural wastes under action of one-step steam pyrolysis.” J. Porous Mater., 7(4), 509–517.
Amonette, J. E., and Joseph, S. (2009). “Characteristics of biochar: Microchemical properties.” Chapter 3, Biochar for environmental management: Science and technology, J. Lehmann and S. Joseph, eds., Earthscan, London, 33–52.
Angın, D. (2013). “Effect of pyrolysis temperature and heating rate on biochar obtained from pyrolysis of safflower seed press cake.” Bioresour. Technol., 128, 593–597.
Antal, M. J., and Grønli, M. (2003). “The art, science, and technology of charcoal production.” Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 42(8), 1619–1640.
Arenillas, A., Smith, K., Drage, T., and Snape, C. (2005). “ capture using some fly ash-derived carbon materials.” Fuel, 84(17), 2204–2210.
Azargohar, R., and Dalai, A. (2008). “Steam and KOH activation of biochar: Experimental and modeling studies.” Microporous Mesoporous Mater., 110(2), 413–421.
Bansal, R. C., Donnet, J., and Stoeckli, F. (1998). Active carbon, 1988, Marcel Dekker, New York.
Boateng, A. (2007). “Characterization and thermal conversion of charcoal derived from fluidized-bed fast pyrolysis oil production of switchgrass.” Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 46(26), 8857–8862.
Brewer, C. E. (2012). “Biochar characterization and engineering.” Ph.D. dissertation, Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA.
Brewer, C. E., et al. (2014). “New approaches to measuring biochar density and porosity.” Biomass Bioenergy, 66, 176–185.
Bridgwater, A. (2003). “Renewable fuels and chemicals by thermal processing of biomass.” Chem. Eng. J., 91(2), 87–102.
Brown, R. A., Kercher, A. K., Nguyen, T. H., Nagle, D. C., and Ball, W. P. (2006). “Production and characterization of synthetic wood chars for use as surrogates for natural sorbents.” Org. Geochem., 37(3), 321–333.
Brownsort, P. A. (2009). “Biomass pyrolysis processes: Performance parameters and their influence on biochar system benefits.” Ph.D. dissertation, Univ. of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Bruun, E. W., Ambus, P., Egsgaard, H., and Hauggaard-Nielsen, H. (2012). “Effects of slow and fast pyrolysis biochar on soil C and N turnover dynamics.” Soil Biol. Biochem., 46, 73–79.
Cetin, E., Gupta, R., and Moghtaderi, B. (2005). “Effect of pyrolysis pressure and heating rate on radiata pine char structure and apparent gasification reactivity.” Fuel, 84(10), 1328–1334.
Cetin, E., Moghtaderi, B., Gupta, R., and Wall, T. (2004). “Influence of pyrolysis conditions on the structure and gasification reactivity of biomass chars.” Fuel, 83(16), 2139–2150.
Chaffee, A. L., Knowles, G. P., Liang, Z., Zhang, J., Xiao, P., and Webley, P. A. (2007). “ capture by adsorption: Materials and process development.” Int. J. Greenhouse Gas Control, 1(1), 11–18.
Chatterjee, N., Eom, H. J., Jung, S. H., Kim, J. S., and Choi, J. (2014). “Toxic potentiality of bio-oils, from biomass pyrolysis, in cultured cells and Caenorhabditis elegans.” Environ. Toxicol., 29(12), 1409–1419.
Chebil, S., Chaala, A., and Roy, C. (2000). “Use of softwood bark charcoal as a modifier for road bitumen.” Fuel, 79(6), 671–683.
Chen, Y., Yang, H., Wang, X., Zhang, S., and Chen, H. (2012). “Biomass-based pyrolytic polygeneration system on cotton stalk pyrolysis: Influence of temperature.” Bioresour. Technol., 107, 411–418.
Choi, W. C., Yun, H. D., and Lee, J. Y. (2012). “Mechanical properties of mortar containing bio-char from pyrolysis.” J. Korea Inst. Struct. Maint. Insp., 16(3), 67–74.
Cross, A., and Sohi, S. P. (2013). “A method for screening the relative long-term stability of biochar.” GCB Bioenergy, 5(2), 215–220.
Demirbas, A. (2004). “Effects of temperature and particle size on bio-char yield from pyrolysis of agricultural residues.” J. Anal. Appl. Pyrolysis, 72(2), 243–248.
Demirbas, A., and Arin, G. (2002). “An overview of biomass pyrolysis.” Energy Sources, 24(5), 471–482.
Demirbas, M. (2010). “Characterization of bio-oils from spruce wood (Picea orientalis L.) via pyrolysis.” Energy Sources, Part A, 32(10), 909–916.
Downie, A., Crosky, A., and Munroe, P. (2009). “Physical properties of biochar.” Biochar for environmental management: Science and technology, Elsevier, London, 13–32.
Drage, T. C., Arenillas, A., Smith, K. M., Pevida, C., Piippo, S., and Snape, C. E. (2007). “Preparation of carbon dioxide adsorbents from the chemical activation of urea-formaldehyde and melamine-formaldehyde resins.” Fuel, 86(1), 22–31.
Encinar, J., Beltran, F., Bernalte, A., Ramiro, A., and Gonzalez, J. (1996). “Pyrolysis of two agricultural residues: Olive and grape bagasse. Influence of particle size and temperature.” Biomass Bioenergy, 11(5), 397–409.
Eom, I.-Y., Kim, J.-Y., Lee, S.-M., Cho, T.-S., Yeo, H., and Choi, J.-W. (2013). “Comparison of pyrolytic products produced from inorganic-rich and demineralized rice straw (Oryza sativa L.) by fluidized bed pyrolyzer for future biorefinery approach.” Bioresour. Technol., 128, 664–672.
Fassinou, W. F., Van de Steene, L., Toure, S., Volle, G., and Girard, P. (2009). “Pyrolysis of Pinus pinaster in a two-stage gasifier: Influence of processing parameters and thermal cracking of tar.” Fuel Process. Technol., 90(1), 75–90.
Ghani, W. A. W. A. K., et al. (2013). “Biochar production from waste rubber-wood-sawdust and its potential use in C sequestration: Chemical and physical characterization.” Ind. Crops Prod., 44, 18–24.
Gunawansa, A., and Kua, H. W. (2014). “A comparison of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies for the construction industries of three coastal territories.” Sustainable Dev., 22(1), 52–62.
Guo, J., and Lua, A. C. (1998). “Characterization of chars pyrolyzed from oil palm stones for the preparation of activated carbons.” J. Anal. Appl. Pyrolysis, 46(2), 113–125.
Hu, X., Radosz, M., Cychosz, K. A., and Thommes, M. (2011). “-filling capacity and selectivity of carbon nanopores: Synthesis, texture, and pore-size distribution from quenched-solid density functional theory (QSDFT).” Environ. Sci. Technol., 45(16), 7068–7074.
Imam, T., and Capareda, S. (2012). “Characterization of bio-oil, syngas and bio-char from switchgrass pyrolysis at various temperatures.” J. Anal. Appl. Pyrolysis, 93, 170–177.
Jansen, R., and Van Bekkum, H. (1994). “Amination and ammoxidation of activated carbons.” Carbon, 32(8), 1507–1516.
Jung, S.-H., Kang, B.-S., and Kim, J.-S. (2008). “Production of bio-oil from rice straw and bamboo sawdust under various reaction conditions in a fast pyrolysis plant equipped with a fluidized bed and a char separation system.” J. Anal. Appl. Pyrolysis, 82(2), 240–247.
Karimi, I. A., et al. (2013). “Carbon capture and storage/utilisation—Singapore perspectives.”, Singapore.
Khushnood, R. A., et al. (2016). “Carbonized nano/microparticles for enhanced mechanical properties and electromagnetic interference shielding of cementitious materials.” Front. Struct. Civ. Eng., 10(2), 209–213.
Kim, K. H., et al. (2011a). “Investigation of physicochemical properties of biooils produced from yellow poplar wood (Liriodendron tulipifera) at various temperatures and residence times.” J. Anal. Appl. Pyrolysis, 92(1), 2–9.
Kim, K. H., Kim, J.-Y., Cho, T.-S., and Choi, J. W. (2012). “Influence of pyrolysis temperature on physicochemical properties of biochar obtained from the fast pyrolysis of pitch pine (Pinus rigida).” Bioresour. Technol., 118, 158–162.
Kim, P., et al. (2011b). “Surface functionality and carbon structures in lignocellulosic-derived biochars produced by fast pyrolysis.” Energy Fuels, 25(10), 4693–4703.
Kloss, S., et al. (2012). “Characterization of slow pyrolysis biochars: Effects of feedstocks and pyrolysis temperature on biochar properties.” J. Environ. Qual., 41(4), 990–1000.
Kua, H. (2015). “Integrated policies to promote sustainable use of steel slag for construction—A consequential life cycle embodied energy and greenhouse gas emission perspective.” Energy Build., 101, 133–143.
Kua, H., and Gunawansa, A. (2010). “A multi-scale analysis of possible conflicts between climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives in the building industry and human settlement.” Prog. Ind. Ecol., 7(3), 219–238.
Kua, H. W. (2013a). “Attributional and consequential life cycle inventory assessment of recycling copper slag as building material in Singapore.” Trans. Inst. Meas. Control (London), 35(4), 510–520.
Kua, H. W. (2013b). “The consequences of substituting sand with used copper slag in construction.” J. Ind. Ecol., 17(6), 869–879.
Kua, H. W., and Ashford, N. A. (2004). “Co-optimisation through increasing willingness, opportunity and capacity: A generalisable concept of appropriate technology transfer.” Int. J. Technol. Transf. Commer., 3(3), 324–334.
Kua, H. W., and Kamath, S. (2014). “An attributional and consequential life cycle assessment of substituting concrete with bricks.” J. Cleaner Prod., 81, 190–200.
Kua, H. W., and Koh, S. (2012). “Sustainability science integrated policies promoting interaction-based building design concept as a climate change adaptation strategy for Singapore and beyond.” Green growth: Managing the transition to a sustainable economy, Springer, Netherlands, 65–85.
Kua, H. W., and Maghimai, M. (2016). “Steel-versus-concrete debate revisited: Global warming potential and embodied energy analyses based on attributional and consequential life cycle perspectives.” J. Ind. Ecol., 21(1),82–100.
Liu, J., et al. (2011). “Extension of the Stöber method to the preparation of monodisperse resorcinol-formaldehyde resin polymer and carbon spheres.” Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 50(26), 5947–5951.
Low, C. Y., Kua, H. W., and Gupta, S. (2016). “Evaluation of using biochar as mortar admixture.” Dept. of Building, National Univ. of Singapore, Singapore.
Lua, A. C., Yang, T., and Guo, J. (2004). “Effects of pyrolysis conditions on the properties of activated carbons prepared from pistachio-nut shells.” J. Anal. Appl. Pyrolysis, 72(2), 279–287.
Lutchmeeduth, B., Kua, H., Gunawansa, A., and Piana, V. (2010). “Approaches to climate change mitigation and adaptation—The cases of Mauritius and Singapore.” Univ. Mauritius Res. J., 17, 174–189.
Maroto-Valer, M. M., Tang, Z., and Zhang, Y. (2005). “ capture by activated and impregnated anthracites.” Fuel Process. Technol., 86(14), 1487–1502.
Marsh, H., Heintz, E. A., and Rodríguez-Reinoso, F. (1997). “Introduction to carbon technologies.” Univ. of Alicante, Secretariado de Publicaciones, Alacant, Spain.
Meyer, S., Glaser, B., and Quicker, P. (2011). “Technical, economical, and climate-related aspects of biochar production technologies: A literature review.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 45(22), 9473–9483.
Mohamed, A. R., Hamzah, Z., Daud, M. Z. M., and Zakaria, Z. (2013). “The effects of holding time and the sweeping nitrogen gas flowrates on the pyrolysis of EFB using a fixed-bed reactor.” Proc. Eng., 53, 185–191.
Mohan, D., Pittman, C. U., and Steele, P. H. (2006). “Pyrolysis of wood/biomass for bio-oil: A critical review.” Energy Fuels, 20(3), 848–889.
Morita, H. (2005). “The effects of humid controlling charcoal on the environmental antigenic allergy.” Proc., 35th Annual Meeting of Japanese Society for Dermatoallergology, Japanese Society for Dermatoallergology, Wakayama, Japan, 115.
Mui, E. L., Cheung, W., and McKay, G. (2010). “Tyre char preparation from waste tyre rubber for dye removal from effluents.” J. Hazard. Mater., 175(1), 151–158.
Mullen, C. A., Boateng, A. A., Goldberg, N. M., Lima, I. M., Laird, D. A., and Hicks, K. B. (2010). “Bio-oil and bio-char production from corn cobs and stover by fast pyrolysis.” Biomass Bioenergy, 34(1), 67–74.
Nakano, T., Haisbi, T., Mizuno, T., Takeda, T., and Tokumoto, M. (1996). “Improvements of the under floor humidity in woody building and water content of wood material.” Mokuzai Kogyo, 51(5), 198–202.
Newalkar, G., Iisa, K., D’Amico, A. D., Sievers, C., and Agrawal, P. (2014). “Effect of temperature, pressure, and residence time on pyrolysis of pine in an entrained flow reactor.” Energy Fuels, 28(8), 5144–5157.
Okumura, Y., Hanaoka, T., and Sakanishi, K. (2009). “Effect of pyrolysis conditions on gasification reactivity of woody biomass-derived char.” Proc. Combust. Inst., 32(2), 2013–2020.
Olivares-Marín, M., and Maroto-Valer, M. (2011). “Preparation of a highly microporous carbon from a carpet material and its application as sorbent.” Fuel Process. Technol., 92(3), 322–329.
Park, H. J., Park, Y.-K., and Kim, J. S. (2008). “Influence of reaction conditions and the char separation system on the production of bio-oil from radiata pine sawdust by fast pyrolysis.” Fuel Process. Technol., 89(8), 797–802.
Peng, X., Ye, L., Wang, C., Zhou, H., and Sun, B. (2011). “Temperature-and duration-dependent rice straw-derived biochar: Characteristics and its effects on soil properties of an Ultisol in southern China.” Soil Tillage Res., 112(2), 159–166.
Plaza, M., et al. (2009). “Different approaches for the development of low-cost adsorbents.” J. Environ. Eng., 426–432.
Plaza, M., González, A., Pis, J., Rubiera, F., and Pevida, C. (2014). “Production of microporous biochars by single-step oxidation: Effect of activation conditions on capture.” Appl. Energy, 114, 551–562.
Plaza, M., Pevida, C., Arenillas, A., Rubiera, F., and Pis, J. (2007). “ capture by adsorption with nitrogen enriched carbons.” Fuel, 86(14), 2204–2212.
Plaza, M., Pevida, C., Martín, C., Fermoso, J., Pis, J., and Rubiera, F. (2010). “Developing almond shell-derived activated carbons as adsorbents.” Sep. Purif. Technol., 71(1), 102–106.
Presser, V., McDonough, J., Yeon, S.-H., and Gogotsi, Y. (2011). “Effect of pore size on carbon dioxide sorption by carbide derived carbon.” Energy Environ. Sci., 4(8), 3059–3066.
Restuccia, L., and Ferro, G. A. (2016). “Nanoparticles from food waste: A green future for traditional building materials.” Proc., Int. Conf. on Fracture Mechanics of Concrete and Concrete Structures, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA, 1–7.
Roberts, K. G., Gloy, B. A., Joseph, S., Scott, N. R., and Lehmann, J. (2009). “Life cycle assessment of biochar systems: Estimating the energetic, economic, and climate change potential.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 44(2), 827–833.
Rodríguez-Reinoso, F. (2002). “Production and applications of activated carbons.” Chapter 4.8.1, Handbook of porous solids, F. Schüth, K. S. W. Sing, and J. Weitkamp, eds., Wiley, Weinheim, Germany, 1766–1827.
Rodríguez-Reinoso, F., and Molina-Sabio, M. (1992). “Activated carbons from lignocellulosic materials by chemical and/or physical activation: An overview.” Carbon, 30(7), 1111–1118.
Rouquerol, J., Rouquerol, F., Llewellyn, P., Maurin, G., and Sing, K. S. (2013). Adsorption by powders and porous solids: Principles, methodology and applications, Academic Press-Elsevier, Netherlands.
Sánchez, M., et al. (2009). “Effect of pyrolysis temperature on the composition of the oils obtained from sewage sludge.” Biomass Bioenergy, 33(6), 933–940.
Schmidt, H.-P. (2013). “Novel uses of biochar.” Proc., USBI North American Biochar Symp., Center for Agriculture, Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA.
Schröder, E., Thomauske, K., Weber, C., Hornung, A., and Tumiatti, V. (2007). “Experiments on the generation of activated carbon from biomass.” J. Anal. Appl. Pyrolysis, 79(1), 106–111.
Sevilla, M., and Fuertes, A. B. (2011). “Sustainable porous carbons with a superior performance for capture.” Energy Environ. Sci., 4(5), 1765–1771.
Shaaban, A., Se, S.-M., Mitan, N. M. M., and Dimin, M. F. (2013). “Characterization of biochar derived from rubber wood sawdust through slow pyrolysis on surface porosities and functional groups.” Proc. Eng., 68, 365–371.
Shabangu, S., Woolf, D., Fisher, E. M., Angenent, L. T., and Lehmann, J. (2014). “Techno-economic assessment of biomass slow pyrolysis into different biochar and methanol concepts.” Fuel, 117, 742–748.
Shafeeyan, M. S., Daud, W. M. A. W., Houshmand, A., and Arami-Niya, A. (2011). “Ammonia modification of activated carbon to enhance carbon dioxide adsorption: Effect of pre-oxidation.” Appl. Surf. Sci., 257(9), 3936–3942.
Sohi, S., Krull, E., Lopez-Capel, E., and Bol, R. (2010). “A review of biochar and its use and function in soil.” Adv. Agron., 105, 47–82.
Stavropoulos, G. (2005). “Precursor materials suitability for super activated carbons production.” Fuel Process. Technol., 86(11), 1165–1173.
Suliman, W., Harsh, J. B., Abu-Lail, N. I., Fortuna, A.-M., Dallmeyer, I., and Garcia-Perez, M. (2016). “Influence of feedstock source and pyrolysis temperature on biochar bulk and surface properties.” Biomass Bioenergy, 84, 37–48.
Sun, Y., et al. (2014). “Effects of feedstock type, production method, and pyrolysis temperature on biochar and hydrochar properties.” Chem. Eng. J., 240, 574–578.
Taketani, T. (2006). “Evaluation of the effect of humid controlling charcoal on the infantile bronchial asthma.” Allergy, 55(3–4), 467.
Uzun, B. B., Pütün, A. E., and Pütün, E. (2006). “Fast pyrolysis of soybean cake: Product yields and compositions.” Bioresour. Technol., 97(4), 569–576.
Vishnyakov, A., Ravikovitch, P. I., and Neimark, A. V. (1999). “Molecular level models for sorption in nanopores.” Langmuir, 15(25), 8736–8742.
Wahby, A., Ramos-Fernández, J. M., Martínez-Escandell, M., Sepœlveda-Escribano, A., Silvestre-Albero, J., and Rodríguez-Reinoso, F. (2010). “High-surface-area carbon molecular sieves for selective adsorption.” ChemSusChem, 3(8), 974–981.
Walters, R. C., Fini, E. H., and Abu-Lebdeh, T. (2014). “Enhancing asphalt rheological behavior and aging susceptibility using bio-char and nano-clay.” Am. J. Eng. Appl. Sci., 7(1), 66–76.
Wei, H., et al. (2012). “Granular bamboo-derived activated carbon for high adsorption: The dominant role of narrow micropores.” ChemSusChem, 5(12), 2354–2360.
Wickramaratne, N. P., and Jaroniec, M. (2013). “Activated carbon spheres for adsorption.” ACS Appl. Mater. Interf., 5(5), 1849–1855.
Williams, P. T., and Nugranad, N. (2000). “Comparison of products from the pyrolysis and catalytic pyrolysis of rice husks.” Energy, 25(6), 493–513.
Williams, P. T., and Reed, A. R. (2004). “High grade activated carbon matting derived from the chemical activation and pyrolysis of natural fibre textile waste.” J. Anal. Appl. Pyrolysis, 71(2), 971–986.
Wu, W., et al. (2012). “Chemical characterization of rice straw-derived biochar for soil amendment.” Biomass Bioenergy, 47, 268–276.
Xiong, Z., Shihong, Z., Haiping, Y., Tao, S., Yingquan, C., and Hanping, C. (2013). “Influence of modification on the characteristic of biochar and the capture.” BioEnergy Res., 6(4), 1147–1153.
Yuan, H., Lu, T., Wang, Y., Huang, H., and Chen, Y. (2014). “Influence of pyrolysis temperature and holding time on properties of biochar derived from medicinal herb (radix isatidis) residue and its effect on soil emission.” J. Anal. Appl. Pyrolysis, 110, 277–284.
Zhang, H., Xiao, R., Jin, B., Shen, D., Chen, R., and Xiao, G. (2013). “Catalytic fast pyrolysis of straw biomass in an internally interconnected fluidized bed to produce aromatics and olefins: Effect of different catalysts.” Bioresour. Technol., 137, 82–87.
Zhang, J., Liu, J., and Liu, R. (2015). “Effects of pyrolysis temperature and heating time on biochar obtained from the pyrolysis of straw and lignosulfonate.” Bioresour. Technol., 176, 288–291.
Zhao, M. Y., Enders, A., and Lehmann, J. (2014a). “Short-and long-term flammability of biochars.” Biomass Bioenergy, 69, 183–191.
Zhao, S., Huang, B., Shu, X., and Ye, P. (2014b). “Laboratory investigation of biochar-modified asphalt mixture.” Transp. Res. Rec., 2445, 56–63.
Zhao, S., Huang, B., Ye, X. P., Shu, X., and Jia, X. (2014c). “Utilizing bio-char as a bio-modifier for asphalt cement: A sustainable application of bio-fuel by-product.” Fuel, 133, 52–62.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 29 • Issue 9 • September 2017
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 13, 2016
Accepted: Dec 29, 2016
Published ahead of print: Apr 11, 2017
Published online: Apr 12, 2017
Published in print: Sep 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Sep 12, 2017
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.