Biochar from biosolids microwaved-pyrolysis: Characteristics and potential for use as growing media amendment

Abstract

Biochar, produced from biosolids using microwave pyrolysis technology, is energetically a more efficient alternative to that produced with conventional convective heating. However the potential of microwave generated biochar as a growing media amendment has not been sufficiently explored. Here we produced biochar from biosolids using microwave energy. The pyrolysis expeiments were conducted in two stages, initially using a custom built single mode chamber to explore the energetics and product distribution of the pyrolysis process at different temperatures and secondly in a 1 m3 6 kW multi-mode chamber, to explore potential scale-up of the process. The second phase of the pyrolysis experiment..