RESEARCH ARTICLE | NOVEMBER 17 2022
Production and characterization of corncob biochar for
agricultural use
Praphatsorn Rattanaphaiboon ; Nigran Homdoung; Nakorn Tippayawong
AIP Conf. Proc. 2681, 020034 (2022)
https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0117160
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Production and Characterization of Corncob Biochar for
Agricultural Use
Praphatsorn Rattanaphaiboon1, a), Nigran Homdoung1, b) and Nakorn Tippayawong2
1
School of Renewable Energy, Maejo University, Chiang Mai 50290, Thailand
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
a)
Corresponding author: [email protected]
b)
[email protected]
Abstract.. Biochar is a natural carbon-rich material that when applied to soil, can improve soil fertility and water taking-up
capacity. The use of biochar is useful in organic agriculture, indirectly preventing the release of CO2 into the atmosphere.
The objective of this work was to produce and analyze the Physico-chemical properties of corncob biochar from slow
pyrolysis that were related to the improvement of the soil for cultivation. Biochar was produced at 500 oC and 60 min of
pyrolysis temperature and residence time. At this condition, yield and some properties of biochar were most suitable.
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Moisture, volatile, fixed carbon, and ash contents the biochar obtained were 1.8%, 33.1%, 59.0%, and 6.1%, respectively, with
an average biochar yield of nearly 34%. Carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur content achieved were 71.5%, 3.1%,
0.9%, 10.3% and 0.03%, respectively. Highest heating value and pH of the biochar were 24.85 MJ/kg and 8.59. The surface
area of 8.1999 m2/g, cumulative absorption value, and pore of 0.009134 cm3/g and 65.022 Å were obtained. They were found
to increase with increasing pyrolysis temperature and residence time. The electrical conductivity and cation exchange
capacity obtained were 1,340 μS/cm and 123.17 cmol/kg. Biochar obtained here appeared to have good properties for soil
improvement.
INTRODUCTION
Northern Thailand is a major contributor to the Thai agricultural sector growing corn as one of the economic crops.
There is an enormous amount of agricultural waste from corn cobs, stalks and leaves after harvesting. In 2020, corn
production has amounted to 4.81 million tons and the trend increased continuously [1]. Corncob is a residue product
ratio approximately 0.24 tons/ton corn [2]. Normally, agriculturists and farmers adopt burning as a method to dispose
of this agricultural waste. But this practice is bad, causing local air pollution problems, PM 2.5, soil deterioration, and
affecting human health. Therefore, it is necessary to find the usage or utilization of this waste to avoid biomass burning.
They may be utilized for energy or use in agriculture. Production of biochar from this waste and use for agriculture via
slow pyrolysis can solve these problems. It can add value to agricultural waste, reduce CO2 emission, decrease air
pollution, PM 2.5 and improve the soil [3].
Biochar is a carbon-rich material from thermochemical transformation or pyrolysis of organic biomass in the
absence of oxygen at a temperature in the range of 300-800 qC. Normally, fixed carbon content of about 85% was
expected by proximate analysis [4]. The energy value of biochar was in the range of 25-32 MJ/kg [5]. The use of biochar
can change physicochemical properties in the soil such as nutrient availability, cation exchange capacity, pH, soil
strength, and water holding capacity. Biochar utilization in soil was considered as a means of carbon sequestration and
improvement of soil ecological functions with increased total carbon, total nitrogen, pH, available P, and exchangeable
3rd International Conference on Energy and Power, ICEP2021
AIP Conf. Proc. 2681, 020034-1–020034-6; https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0117160
Published by AIP Publishing. 978-0-7354-4257-3/$30.00
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cations (Ca, Mg, Na, and K) in soil [6]. In addition, the biochar has large porous structure. It is suitable in soil for fertility
improvement, nutrient and stimulation of microbial activity [7]. This work focused on the biochar production from
corncobs by slow pyrolysis technology. Physico-chemical properties related to improvement of the soil for cultivation
were also investigated.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Raw Materials and Preparation
The raw material used was corncob from agricultural wastes in Phrao District, Chiang Mai in northern Thailand.
Their physical appearance is shown in Figure 1. Initially, the moisture content of the corn cob was reduced to less than
12% by drying in a solar dryer. Then, the size of the corn cob was reduced with a chopper machine to 1-2 mm and stored
in a desiccator. For analysis, the sample was sent to the central equipment center at Prince of Songkla University,
Thailand. The properties of the raw corncob are shown in Table 1.
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FIGURE 1. Corncob, samples and corncob biochar
TABLE 1. Physico-chemical properties of corncob and biochar
Properties Corncob Corn cob biochar
Proximate analysis, air dry basis
Moisture content (%) 11.45 1.78
Volatile matter (%wt.) 83.23 33.05
Fixed carbon (%wt.)) 2.92 59.04
Ash content (%wt.) 2.40 6.13
Ultimate analysis, dry basis
C (%) 44.76 71.49
H (%) 5.89 3.06
N (%) 0.52 0.85
O (%) 43.99 10.26
S (%) 0.04 0.03
HHV (MJ/kg) 16.85 24.85
Experimental Setup
The pyrolysis reactor was adapted from the herb dryer, consisting of a pyrolysis reactor chamber, a motor and a
burner, shown in Fig. 2. The pyrolysis reactor chamber was of 40 L made of stainless steel. It was coupled to a 0.33 kW
electric motor. The pyrolysis reactor could rotate at 20 rpm by V-belt and gear reducer as power transmission. The
liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) burner was used as an external heat source. It had 45.5 cm in diameter gas burner. The
pyrolysis conditions used in this study were at 500qC and duration time of 60 min under N2 as carrier gas.
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The experiment setup is shown in Fig. 3. Before the pyrolysis process was started, a sample of 2 kg was loaded into
the chamber. The data logger and thermocouple were set. N2 was then fed to the pyrolysis reactor chamber at 5 L/min.
The LPG burner was switched on. The chamber was set to rotate with a motor on. Pyrolysis temperature was recorded
with the data logger and the reaction temperature was controlled at an average of 500 qC. Once the set residence time
was reached, the gas burner was off the pyrolysis reactor chamber was allowed to cool down. After about 60-90 min,
the corncob biochar was unloaded from the pyrolysis reactor chamber. The biochar was sent for analysis of the
chemical and physical properties. Physical properties analyzed were Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), scanning electron
microscopy (SEM), pH, electrical conductivity (EC) and cation exchange capacity (C.E.C.).
FIGURE 2.. Experiment photograph of corn cob pyrolysis process
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FIGURE 3. Schematic diagram of slow pyrolysis process
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Properties of Corncob Biochar
On average, the yield of the resulting corncob biochar was about 34%. Generally, the biochar yield was dependent
on the pyrolysis temperature, residence time and the heating rate. All parameters affected the physical, chemical and
biological properties of the biomass [8]. The proximate analysis results of the corncob biochar including moisture
content, volatile matter, fixed carbon and ash content are shown in Fig. 4. The moisture content and volatile matter of
the corncob biochar were found to decrease to 1.78% and 33.05%, respectively, while the fixed carbon and ash were
increased to 59% and 6.13%, respectively. The ash content was increased due probably to the mineral matter turning into
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ash during the thermal process [9]. Increasing fixed carbon led to increased calorific value of the biochar [10]. According
to Table 1, carbon content was increased to 71.49% and hydrogen and oxygen were lowered to 3.06% and 10.26% due
to the thermal decomposition on the oxygenated chemical groups in the biomass [11]. The HHV of the corncob biochar
was higher than the raw material which was obtained at 24.85 MJ/kg. However, when compared against the Thai
standard for briquette charcoal use in community, the HHV of the corn cob biochar was slightly lower. It was implied
that pyrolysis temperature used should be above 500qC [12].
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FIGURE 4.. Proximate properties of corncob biochar
Characterization of Biochar
From the SEM analysis, morphological structures of the corncob and its biochar are shown and compared in Fig.
5. The corncob was clearly shown to have no porosity on its surface. But the corncob biochar was shown to have
numbers of pores inside and increased porosity after pyrolysis. The average pore size was in a range of 0.5-3 μm. The
results of the BET showed an average surface area of 8.1999 m2/g with cumulative absorption value and pore size of
0.009134 cm3/g and 65.022 Å, respectively. The surface area was related to nutrient bioavailability and could be used
as an indicator of sorption ability of the biochar [13]. The small pore size of the biochar provided some bacteria and
fungi with protection from soil predators. Other characteristics of the biochar produced which were related to
agricultural properties are shown in Table 2. The pH of the corncob biochar obtained was 8.59. This was due to the
pyrolysis affected the separation of alkaline salt from organic substance. The highest EC value of the biochar was
1,340 μS/cm. The highest C. E. C. value was 123. 17 cmol/kg, showing that the biochar altered the density of pH-
dependent negative charge because of the continuous oxidation of surface and absorption of organic acid [6]. High
C.E.C indicated ability of the biochar to hold cationic nutrients and to retain cationic fertilizer [14]. High porosity and
good agricultural properties of the biochar made it suitable for soil improvement [15].
TABLE 2. Characterization of corn cob biochar production
Parameter Corn cob biochar
pH 8.59
EC (μS/cm) 1,340
C.E.C (cmol/kg) 123.17
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Effect on Soil Improvement
The biochar could affect soil water infiltration, water holding capacity, soil aeration and property, aggregate
stability, bulk density, soil hardening, pH, EC, C.E.C and nutrient cycle of the soil [16]. It can promote the soil physico-
chemical properties and have significant impacts on nutrient retention and their uptake, growth and productivity and
microbial activity. The corn cob biochar has potential to improve the physico-chemical and biological properties in
soil, making a suitable environment for plant roots, nutrient uptake and plant grown. [17]. Moreover, the biochar can
increase the availability of C, N, Ca, Mg, K and P to plants because the biochar is a source of nutrients that can have
long-term benefit on microbial growth upon release into the soil solution [18]. Application of the biochar with fertilizer
could increase crop yield, compared to untreated soil with biochar [19].
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(a) corncob x350 (b corncob x2,000
(c) biochar x350 (d) biochar x2,000
FIGURE 5.. Morphological of corncob and biochar (a) corncob 350x, (b) corncob 2,000x, (c) biochar 350x, biochar 2,000x
CONCLUSION
In this work, corncob biochar was produced from slow pyrolysis and their properties related to improvement of
the soil for cultivation were analyzed. Biochar was produced at 500 oC and 60 min of pyrolysis temperature and
residence time, giving average yield of about 34%. The HHV of the biochar achieved was 24.85 MJ/kg. From the
morphological structures of the corn cob biochar, high porosity and surface area were obtained. Properties including
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pH, EC and C.E.C were 8.59, 1,340 μS/cm and 123.17 cmol/kg, respectively, which were good for agricultural use.
Converting corn waste into biochar was useful and had potential to be used in soil improvement.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to thank School of Renewable Energy, Maejo University under the project and development
of the ASEAN renewable energy potential graduates. Support from the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT)
under the Thailand-China cooperation program was acknowledged. We also wish to thank scholarship of a Graduate
School’s Startup project, Maejo Universityม and the Energy Policy and Planning office, Ministry of Energy, Thailand.
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