Biochar from Delonix regia pod: consideration of an updraft retort carbonisation process

Abstract

Retort carbonisation is a novel technology especially suited to the sub-Saharan Africa energy conversion challenges. This study aims to produce and characterise biochar from Delonix Regia pod (DRP) via the retort carbonisation process. The process achieved a Delonix Regia pod biochar (DRPB) yield of 29.48 wt% at a peak temperature of 375 °C and a process time of 150 min. The average pore volume, specific surface area, and average pore size of DRPB were 0.0352 cm³/g, 88.03 m²/g, and 1.6 nm, respectively. Morphological analysis revealed that DRPB had a heterogeneous surface morphology with an average roughness of 12.96 × 10³ µm. Functional groups such as C-O, N-O, O-H, C = O, CO-O, and C-H are present in the biochar. DRPB compares well with other retort carbonisation biochar. Potential applications were also discussed based on the biochar properties and the product can be tested for water treatment applications and as an additive for improving the tribological and rheological properties of lubricating oils.

Keywords:

• Biochar
• biomass waste
• carbonisation
• Delonix regia
• energy

Acknowledgements

The first author wishes to acknowledge all authors who have worked previously on retort carbonisation technology, especially J. C. Adam [37] one of the pioneers in the field. They have provided a sound theoretical platform for the current investigation, hence making us truly stand on the shoulder of giants.

Authors’ contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by JOI, SO and CAA. The first draft of the manuscript was written by JOI and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Availability of data and materials

All data are available on request to the corresponding author.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.