Char - International Biochar Initiative

Environmental Enhancement ThroughCorn Stover UtilizationEvaluating the Recycling of Biocharas a Co-product of Pyrolysis:pH and microbial effects.byD.C. ReicoskyAgriculturalResearchService"SOILS LAB"*MORRISdon.reicosky@ars.usda.govUSDA-ARS-MWANorth Central SoilConservation ResearchLaboratory Morris, MNUSA

Acknowledgments:Robert Brown, PI and Justinus Agus Budi Satrio, provided cornstover and biocharSeth Miller, Jay Hanson, Jana Rinke, Chris Wente, technicalsupportBEST Energies, provided corn stover charJeff Strock, provided turkey manure ashRobert Hawkins, Danny Day, provided pine, peanut hull, andcorn stover charDavid Laird, provided Oak/Hickory charcoalJeff Novak, nutrient analysis and SEM photographsJon Nilsson, Char Carbon Group, provided Pine char pluscompost

Co-products from bio-energy productionas potential soil amendments?Lignin from cellulosic fermentationcan make fertile soil?Corn stoverhigh ligninAsh from Gasificationcan make fertile soil?Turkey Manure+ woodchipsChar from pyrolysis canmake fertile soil?Iowa CornStover CharAll bio-energy co-products are not created equal!

General objective: to evaluate the diversityin properties of bio-energy co-products aspotential soil amendments.Specific Objectives:To determine effect of biochar/ash on pH in soilswith different soil organic matter contents.To determine the effect of biochar on microbialactivity as measured by CO 2 evolution inlaboratory incubation studies.To determine the content and availability of thenutrients in bio-energy co-products.

Abbreviations Used• C = Cecil Soil• BE = Barnes Eroded soil• BNE = Barnes Non-Eroded soilChar Description1. "Australian corn stover char" (ACC)2. “EPRIDA pine char 2007” (PC)3. “EPRIDA peanut hull char 2007" (PHC)4. "Iowa corn stover char (Iowa)" (ICC)5. "EPRIDA corn stover char (Iowa)" (IC8)6. "BioSource" (BS) pine char + compost7. "Turkey manure ash (+ wood chips)" (TM)8. “Oak/Hickory charcoal" (OH)9. "EPRIDA pine char 2008" (PC8)10. "EPRIDA weathered peanut hull char" (WC)11. "EPRIDA corn stover char (Iowa) 2008" (CS500)12. " EPRIDA corn stover char (Iowa) + pressure 2008" (CS500P)

Wanted to apply char at 10 times the amountof carbon removed in corn stover in one year.Assumptions used in char application rate:12544 kg ha -1 grain yield (200 bu ac -1 )Harvest Index = 0.53Stover yield = dry 9.455 t ha -1 (4.221 ton ac -1 )C content of stover = 46%C content of char = 75% (Bob Hawkins)1X = 2.589 g char kg -1 soil, 10X = 25.89 g char kg -1 soil1X = 5799 kg char ha -1 ,( 2.589 t char ac -1 )10X = 57990 kg char ha -1

pH Study• Soils, chars alone and mixed• 5 g of soil, 10 ml H 2 O per sample• 0.129 g of char per 5 g soil mixture• Meter calibrated using standards ofpH 7 and pH 10• pH Measurements taken before andafter the addition of CaCl 2

12pH of Char Only in H2O10.62109.409.1788.35 8.247.56Average pH6420TurkeyManurePine CharPeanut HullCharAussie CornStoverWeatheredCharIowa CornStover

Cecil Soil, Iowa Corn Stover Char, and CICC Mix in Water12109.1787.40pH66.29420Cecil Iowa Corn Stover Char Cecil+mix

12Barnes Eroded Soil, Iowa Corn Stover Char, and Mix in Water108.379.178.628pH6420Barnes Eroded Iowa Corn Stover Char Barnes Eroded+mix

Incubation Study @ 25 C:50 grams of soil sample in vial1.29 grams of char = 10X rate C in 1 yearstover yieldBrought to Field Capacity with MQ water(~ 16 ml each)Weekly monitoring of CO 2 using a GCand amount of water in samples.

3/1/20082/16/2008876543210Cumulative carbon lost in 12 week incubationCecil SoilPine CharCecil + PC mix12/22/20071/5/20081/19/20082/2/2008Time (Date)12/8/200711/24/2007Cumulative C loss (g C)

3/1/20082/16/2008876543210Cumulative carbon lost in 12 week incubationBarnes ErodedPine CharBarnes Eroded + PC mix12/22/20071/5/20081/19/20082/2/2008Time (Date)12/8/200711/24/2007Cumulative C loss (g C)

5/9/20084/25/20084035302520151050Cumulative Carbon Loss on Cecil SoilWater OnlyUrea10% SugarUrea/sugar added1/18/20082/1/20082/15/20082/29/20083/14/20083/28/20084/11/2008Time (date)1/4/200812/21/200712/7/2007Grams of Carbon

5/9/20084035302520151050Cumulative Carbon Loss in Cecil/Turkey Manure MixWater OnlyUrea10% SugarUrea/sugar added12/21/20071/4/20081/18/20082/1/20082/15/20082/29/20083/14/20083/28/20084/11/20084/25/200812/7/2007Grams of Carbon

5/9/20084035302520151050Cumulative Carbon Loss in Cecil/Australian Corn CharWater OnlyUrea10% SugarUrea/sugar added12/21/20071/4/20081/18/20082/1/20082/15/20082/29/20083/14/20083/28/20084/11/20084/25/200812/7/2007Grams of Carbon

5/9/20084035302520151050Cumulative Carbon Loss in Barnes Eroded SoilWater OnlyUrea10% SugarUrea/sugar added1/4/20081/18/20082/1/20082/15/20082/29/20083/14/20083/28/20084/11/20084/25/2008Time (date)12/21/200712/7/2007Grams of Carbon

4035302520151050Cumulative Carbon Loss on Barnes Eroded/Turkey ManureMixWater OnlyUrea10% SugarUrea/sugar added12/21/20071/4/20081/18/20082/1/20082/15/20082/29/20083/14/20083/28/20084/11/20084/25/20085/9/200812/7/2007Grams of Carbon

4035302520151050Cumulative Carbon Loss on Barnes Eroded/Australian CornChar MixWater OnlyUrea10% SugarUrea/sugar added12/21/20071/4/20081/18/20082/1/20082/15/20082/29/20083/14/20083/28/20084/11/20084/25/20085/9/200812/7/2007Grams of Carbon

#2 Pine char (PC) – 500 um #4 IA corn stover char (ICC)– 500um#3 Peanut Hull Char (PHC) – 500 um #7 Turkey Manure/wood chips (TM) – 500 um

Summary1. pH of raw char materials in H2O ranged from 7.0 to 10.62. The addition of char increased pH of the soil-char mixover the soil alone and was soil dependant.3. Cumulative CO2 evolution was generally lowest in thepure char followed by the soil-char mix with the pure soil thehighest.4. The addition of sugar solution increased CO2 evolutionmore than and urea solution.5. The C:N ratio of char materials varied from 20 to 291.6. The char nutrient concentration was very diversedepending on the feedstock composition and thecombustion process with variable amounts of Al, Ca, Fe, K,Mg, Mn, P,S and Zn that may be of practical significance.

LECO TruSpec CN data collected at Morris# Char Type % C % N C:N Ratio1 Austalian Corn Stover Char 44.69 0.47 96.082 Eprida Pine Char 2007 74.49 0.31 241.583 Eprida Peanut Hull Char 59.04 2.65 22.294 Iowa Corn Stover Char 24.57 0.55 44.815 Eprida Corn Stover Char 42.08 1.04 40.656 BioSource 42.67 2.15 19.867 Turkey Manure 1.38 0.05 27.848 Oak Hickory Char 69.08 0.68 101.949 Eprida Pine Char 2008 71.24 0.24 291.0210 Weathered Peanut Hull Char 60.22 0.85 70.4711 Corn Stover Char (Iowa?) 65.69 1.16 56.6512 Corn Stover Char (Iowa?) + Pre 50.70 1.00 50.82HigestLowest

Elemental analyses of biochars from Hazen Technologies, (Golden, CO)Using ASTM Methods - Combustion ramped to 600 C over 1 hour# Char Type Code % Ash % S % C % H % N % O C:N Ratio1 Australian Corn Stover Char ACC 54.72 0.04 39.33 1.61 0.43 1.23 91.472 EPRIDA Pine Char 2007 PC 5.62 0.06 76.77 3.20 0.24 8.86 319.883 EPRIDA Peanut Hull Char PHC 15.33 0.18 59.22 1.99 3.11 12.41 19.044 Iowa Corn Stover Char ICC 69.05 0.04 22.01 1.10 0.47 4.64 46.835 EPRIDA Corn Stover Char IC8 53.67 0.08 28.78 1.64 0.69 11.32 41.716 BioSource BS NA NA NA NA NA NA NA7 Turkey Manure TM 89.12 2.06 1.41 0.46 0.04 3.04 35.258 Oak Hickory Char OH 14.06 0.02 67.29 2.23 0.70 9.27 96.139 EPRIDA Pine Char 2008 PC8 9.33 0.05 68.77 3.04 0.22 11.44 312.5910 Weathered Peanut Hull Char WC 14.45 0.11 57.20 0.89 0.87 10.26 65.7511 Iowa Corn Stover Char CS500 54.21 0.04 34.27 1.40 0.64 4.15 53.5512 Iowa Corn Stover Char + Pressure CS500P 73.67 0.04 25.12 0.82 0.47 0.00 53.45Analysis organized by Jeff NovakHighestLowest% Ash (remaining char residue not combusted) can bea significant portion of initial sample not accounted for.

Selected nutrient contents of all raw chars extractedwith concentrated Nitric acid for ICP analysis.Selected nutrient contents of all raw chars extracted with conc. Nitric acid# Char type CodeAl237.312Ca422.673Fe259.940(units are g element per kg char)K Mg Mn P766.491 285.213 257.610 177.434S180.669Zn206.2001 Austalian Corn Stover Char ACC mean 22.19 4.16 15.49 30.97 4.78 0.25 0.49 0.26 0.062 EPRIDA Pine Char 2007 PC mean 0.23 3.81 0.67 3.44 1.11 0.26 0.79 0.47 0.063 EPRIDA Peanut Hull Char PHC mean 2.58 6.08 1.47 19.63 2.99 0.17 2.49 1.06 0.054 Iowa Corn Stover Char ICC mean 3.93 9.69 6.85 9.81 4.30 0.27 1.94 0.34 0.055 EPRIDA Corn Stover Char IC8 mean 2.29 13.05 3.37 14.47 5.96 0.43 2.61 0.57 0.086 BioSource BS mean 3.26 13.39 1.71 14.63 3.56 0.24 5.87 5.53 0.257 Turkey Manure TM mean 4.31 178.03 4.33 128.42 31.83 2.14 78.75 19.91 1.548 Oak Hickory Char OH mean 0.46 41.93 1.84 3.36 1.17 0.75 0.40 0.58 0.029 EPRIDA Pine Char 2008 PC8 mean 0.27 3.13 0.95 2.49 0.95 0.22 0.46 0.33 0.0510 Weathered Peanut Hull Char WC mean 3.44 5.91 12.29 5.09 2.62 0.19 1.63 0.43 0.0311 Iowa Corn Stover Char CS500 mean 3.95 10.46 4.85 10.24 4.72 0.25 1.84 0.31 0.0612 Iowa Corn Stover Char + Pressure CS500P mean 5.40 11.67 14.34 9.82 4.80 0.38 1.68 0.22 0.07HighestLowest

Why pyrolysis bio-energy/char production?A way to partially manage the global carbon cycle.Developed sustainable food production systems.Developed a potential “carbon negative” bio-energyproduction system.Develop a sustainable biomass production systemby returning carbon and nutrients to the soil.Improve soil, water, and air quality parameters.Improve our quality of life.

We must learn to balance the pH in biomasspyrolysis and bio char co-products.Bio char pHIPlant Optimum pHI I I I I I I I I II I I I0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14AcidicpH Scale = - log 10 [ H + ]Basic

The details of the feedstockcomposition and pyrolysis processhave a major impact on bio-energyproduction and co-product quality.The devil is inthe details!

Char Description1. "Australian corn stover char" (ACC)2. “EPRIDA pine char 2007” (PC)3. “EPRIDA peanut hull char 2007" (PHC)4. "Iowa corn stover char (Iowa)" (ICC)5. "EPRIDA corn stover char (Iowa)" (IC8)6. "BioSource" (BS) pine char + compost7. "Turkey manure ash (+ wood chips)" (TM)8. “Oak/Hickory charcoal" (OH)9. "EPRIDA pine char 2008" (PC8)10. "EPRIDA weathered peanut hull char" (WC)11. "EPRIDA corn stover char (Iowa) 2008" (CS500)12. " EPRIDA corn stover char (Iowa) + pressure 2008" (CS500P)

SoilsCharcoals• Cecil Soil in GA• Barnes Eroded Soil inMN• Barnes Non-ErodedSoil in MN• Turkey Manure• Pine Char• Peanut Hull Char• Australian Corn StoverChar• Weathered (Peanut Hull)Char• Iowa Corn Stover Char

CharcoalsTurkey Manure Pine Char Peanut Hull CharAustralian CornStover Char Weathered PH Char Iowa Corn Stover CharAll pyrolysis co-products are not created equal!

SoilsCecil SoilSkogstad Eroded SoilSkogstad Non-Eroded Soil

pH of Char Only in CaCl210.488.908.797.94 8.037.71TurkeyManurePine CharPeanut HullCharAussie CornStoverWeatheredCharIowa CornChar

Cecil Soil, Turkey Manure, Cecil + Turkey Manure in Water10.628.016.29Cecil Turkey Manure Cecil +mix

Barnes Eroded Soil, Turkey Manure, Barnes Eroded + TurkeyManure in Water210.62088.378.466420Barnes Eroded Turkey Manure Barnes Eroded+mix

Barnes Non-Eroded Soil, Turkey Manure,Barnes Non-Eroded +Turkey Manure in Water210.62088.298.576420Barnes Non-Eroded Turkey Manure Barnes Non-Eroded+mix

Barnes Non-Eroded Soil, Iowa Corn Stover Char, and ICC Mixin Water8.299.178.48Barnes Non-Eroded Iowa Corn Stover Char Barnes Non-Eroded +mix

Cumulative C loss (g C)3/1/20082/16/2008876543210Cumulative carbon lost in 12 week incubationBarnes Non-ErodedPine CharBarnes Non eroded + PC mix12/22/20071/5/20081/19/20082/2/2008Time (Date)12/8/20074/2007

Cumulative C loss (g C)3/1/20082/16/2008876543210Cumulative carbon lost in 12 week incubationBarnes Non-ErodedTurkey ManureBarnes NE + TM mix12/22/20071/5/20081/19/20082/2/2008Time (Date)12/8/20074/2007

Cumulative C loss (g C)3/1/20082/16/2008876543210Cumulative carbon lost in 12 week incubationCecil SoilTurkey ManureCecil + TM mix12/22/20071/5/20081/19/20082/2/2008Time (Date)12/8/20074/2007

Cumulative C loss (g C)3/1/2008876543210Cumulative carbon lost in 12 week incubationBarnes ErodedTurkey ManureBarnes Eroded + TM mix12/8/200712/22/20071/5/20081/19/20082/2/20082/16/2008Time (Date)4/2007

Cumulative Amount of CO2 Lost in 12 weeks incubation (g C)Raw char onlyWater onlyChar TypeCodeAustalian Corn Stover Char ACC 3.13EPRIDA Pine Char 2007 PC 2.99EPRIDA Peanut Hull Char PHC 4.17Iowa Corn Stover Char ICC 3.35Turkey Manure TM 2.28Weathered Peanut Hull Char WC 3.56Soil type onlyCecil soil 6.27Barnes Eroded soil 3.75Barnes Non-Eroded soil 4.25

5/9/20084035302520151050Cumulative Carbon Loss in Barnes Non-Eroded SoilWater OnlyUrea10% SugarUrea/sugar added12/21/20071/4/20081/18/20082/1/20082/15/20082/29/20083/14/20083/28/20084/11/20084/25/2008Time (date)2/7/2007

Selected nutrient contents in H2O extractsof all chars for ICP analysis.Selected nutrient contents in H2O extracts of all charsChar typeCodeAl237.312Ca422.673Fe259.940(units are g element per kg char)K Mg Mn P766.491 285.213 257.610 177.434S180.669Zn206.200alian Corn Stover Char ACC mean 0.02 0.38 0.00 38.53 0.34 0.00 0.08 0.18 -0.01IDA Pine Char 2007 PC mean 0.01 0.46 0.01 2.35 0.07 0.01 0.19 0.65 -0.01IDA Peanut Hull Char PHC mean 0.04 0.34 0.03 31.35 0.49 0.00 2.98 2.61 0.00Corn Stover Char ICC mean 0.00 1.86 0.01 18.15 1.64 0.00 0.37 0.28 0.00IDA Corn Stover Char IC8 mean 0.00 1.22 0.00 15.74 0.72 0.02 0.21 0.74 0.00ource BS mean 0.02 1.45 0.08 34.84 1.45 0.02 4.93 10.99 0.04ey Manure TM mean 0.00 0.23 0.00 328.45 0.21 0.00 5.80 71.63 -0.01Hickory Char OH mean 0.00 0.73 0.01 3.28 0.10 0.00 0.05 0.16 0.00IDA Pine Char 2008 PC8 mean 0.00 0.39 0.01 0.44 0.12 0.01 0.10 0.18 0.00thered Peanut Hull Char WC mean 0.02 0.05 0.01 1.55 0.02 0.00 0.47 0.32 -0.01Corn Stover Char CS500 mean 0.01 0.35 0.01 22.80 0.17 0.00 0.70 0.25 0.00Corn Stover Char + Pressure CS500P mean 0.00 0.54 0.01 18.24 0.20 0.00 0.27 0.09 0.00HighestLowest

2 Pine char (PC) – 200 um#4 IA corn stover char (ICC)– 200umut Hull Char (PHC) – 200 um#7 Turkey Manure/wood chips (TM) – 200 um