Cornell University
Library
Cornell UniversityLibrary

eCommons

Help
Log In(current)
  1. Home
  2. Cornell University Graduate School
  3. Cornell Theses and Dissertations
  4. Integrated Thermochemical Conversion Processes for the Production of Soil Amendments and Biofuels from Agricultural Waste

Integrated Thermochemical Conversion Processes for the Production of Soil Amendments and Biofuels from Agricultural Waste

File(s)
Lin_cornell_0058O_10902.pdf (1.77 MB)
Permanent Link(s)
https://doi.org/10.7298/z673-xc61
https://hdl.handle.net/1813/70280
Collections
Cornell Theses and Dissertations
Author
Lin, JuiChun
Abstract

The demand for food and energy resources is continuously increasing as the global population grows. Conventional fertilizers are used to promote crop growth to meet these demands, but also lead to adverse environmental issues such as nutrient runoff. Biochar is a promising soil amendment alternative that is produced from hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) or pyrolysis technologies. However, neither process is ideal - HTC is suitable for wet biomasses, but the produced hydrochars suffer from low surface area; Pyrolysis is suitable for dry biomasses, but the produced biochars contain low nutrient content. We proposed an integrated HTC/pyrolysis process to produce biochars by co-pyrolyzing cow manure hydrochar with raw agricultural residues. The physical characteristics (i.e. proximate analysis, pH, surface area, nutrients…etc.) and heating value of char products were investigated for use as solid fuels. The integrated HTC/pyrolysis process demonstrated an enhancement in bioavailable nutrients, but the surface area is sample dependent. Results revealed that the biochars are ideal for soil amendment, while the hydrochars are generally more suitable for solid fuel applications.

Description
90 pages
Date Issued
2020-05
Keywords
Amendment
•
Biochar
•
HTC
•
Hydrochar
•
Integrated
•
Pyrolysis
Committee Chair
Goldfarb, Jillian
Committee Member
Tester, Jefferson
Fiori, Luca
Degree Discipline
Biological and Environmental Engineering
Degree Name
M.S., Biological and Environmental Engineering
Degree Level
Master of Science
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Rights URI
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Type
dissertation or thesis
Link(s) to Catalog Record
https://catalog.library.cornell.edu/catalog/13254338

Site Statistics | Help

About eCommons | Policies | Terms of use | Contact Us

copyright © 2002-2026 Cornell University Library | Privacy | Web Accessibility Assistance