Chamara Rohan Sanjeewa, Gajagan Hewage. (2011) International Forestry and Environment Symposium 2011 Annual Symposium organized by Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka http://fesympo.sjp.ac.lk/

1. Design and Development of a
Municipal Solid Waste Pyrolyzer for
Producing
High Quality Biochar
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2. Outline
Introduction
Objectives
Methodology
Results and Discussion
Conclusions and Recommendations
References
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3. Introduction
 Open dumping is a common method
 Urban solid waste management - critical issue
 Rapid increase in population, urbanization,
industrialization
 Large volume of solid waste, limited land space
 Natural assimilation (acceptance) capacity exceeded
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4. Introduction cont………
Air
Water
Pollution
Pollution
•Greenhouse effect
•Eutrophication •Ozone depletion
•Heavy metals •Acid rains
Health
Problems
Soil •Skin diseases
Pollution •Respiratory
•Heavy metals Problems
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5. Introduction cont............
Charcoal production from mined MSW and MSW
Compost
Sustainable Solution
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6. Introduction cont............
 Charcoal is the black residue consisting of impure carbon obtained by
removing water and other volatile constituents from the biomass.
(Source : Ryu et al., 2005)
 Sources of Charcoal – Wood, Agricultural Waste, Sewage, Municipal
Solid Waste (MSW)
 Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis
(Source : Kampegowda and Chandayot,
Unknown)
 As a soil amendment, char can replace commercial fertilizers to avoid
polluting ground water
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7. Introduction
cont………
What Makes Char A Good Fertilizer?
 Charcoal is a carbon negative, meaning it takes carbon from
the atmosphere and locks it into the dirt for millions of years,
reducing global warming. Char reduces emissions of green
house gases (Source : Steiner and Zech, 2006).
 Porous structure & high surface area
 Stronglyadsorptive - both cation and anion
 Enhance ion exchange capacity
(Source : Ryu et al., 2005)
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8. Objectives
Development Objective
 To provide adequate scientific information and formulate solutions for
the production of charcoal coated fertilizer and industrialization
Specific Objectives
 To characterise the decomposed MSW
 To develop a pyrolyzer to produce charcoal by optimizing operating
conditions
 To evaluate the quality of charcoal
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9. Methodology
 Experimental Sites
 Work Shop, Department of Agricultural Engineering
 Meewathura farm, Solid Waste Management Research Unit
 Soil and Water Engineering Laboratory, Department of
Agricultural Engineering
 Post harvest Laboratory, Department of Agricultural Engineering
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10. Methodology cont.............
 Materials and Equipments
Material Equipment
2'' GI pipe Iron bending machine
1 1/2'' nails Spanners
Angle iron (1 1/2'' and 11/2''x 5mm) Hacksaw
Metal working lathe
Valves
1/ 2'' Valve socket Welding machine
Hinges Pipe Rindge
Water Drill machine
1 1/2'' flat iron Gas cutter
4 mm iron rods Bench grinder
Welding rods (No: 12)
Metal cutter
0.2 m3 Barrels
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11. Methodology cont………
•Design of the Pyrolyzer
Feeding
Hopper Mechanism
Top Views of the Iron Plate and Drill Flap
Temporary
Storage for
Feedstock
Temperature
measuring point
Flame
Developement Iron Plate(Flap)
Hole
TopView
Air Inlet
Drill Flap
Combution Flame
Chamber Development
Hole
Charcoal Remover Front View
Base
Cement Flow
Feeding Mechanism
Cross Sectional View Front View
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12. Methodology cont………
Construction of the Pyrolyzer
 The Hopper and temporary storage for the
feedstock
Flap
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13. Methodology cont………..
 The combustion chamber
Capacity – 0.02 m3
Air Inlet
Flame
development
hole
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14. Methodology cont………..
 Combustion chamber was consisted of two type of
flaps, Which are iron plate flap and grill flap.
Grill flap Iron plate flap
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15. Methodology cont………..
•Construction of charcoal remover
•The charcoal remover was fabricated by removing lid from
the bottom of the barrel and placed on the angle floor.
Bottom of the charcoal removal area The Charcoal Remover
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16. Methodology cont………..
 Constructed Pyrolyzer
Hopper and temporary
Storage for the feedstock
Flame
development
hole
Moveable arm Air inlet
Charcoal
remover
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17. Methodology cont………..
• Preparation of Feeding Material
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18. Methodology cont………..
 Production of Biochar
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19. Methodology cont………
•Development of flame through the Orifice
Flame through
the orifice
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20. Methodology Cont…...
 Determination of Feeding Rate
 Amount of waste feed
 Time taken for produce charcoal
 Temperature – Model 8396 Thermocouple
 Grading of Charcoal by particle size
Sieve No Mesh Size (mm)
4 4
3 2
2 0.5
1 0.355
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21. Methodology cont………..
 Analytical Parameters
Analytical Parameter Method / Instrument &
Condition
Moisture content ASTM Method D3173
Volatile Matter ASTM Method D3172
Ash ASTM Method D3174
Fixed Carbon ASTM Method D3175
Bulk Density ASTM Method
pH pH meter
Electrical Conductivity Thermo orient Model 145A
Salinity Thermo orient Model 145A
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22. Methodology cont………..
 Germination Bioassay
 Lettuce (Lactuca sativa ) seeds
 50 seeds / Petri dish
 Incubator – 200C
Treatments
Treatment Sand % Charcoal %
T1 100 0
T2 95 5
T3 90 10
T4 85 15
T5 80 20
T6 75 25
T7 50 50
T8 25 75
T9 0 100
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23. Results and Discussion
Particle size distribution of MSW compost
and charcoal
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24. Results and Discussion cont.........
 Grading of Charcoal
Size of particle (mm) Grade
>4mm 5
4 - 2mm 4
2-0.5mm 3
0.5-0.355mm 2
0.355-0mm 1
5 4 3 2 1
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25. Results and Discussion cont.........
 MC, Volatile Matter, Ash and FC Variation
in charcoal and MSW.
MSW Charcoal
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26. Results and Discussion cont.........
 Properties of MSW Compost and Charcoal
Parameter MSW Compost Charcoal
MC (w. b) 18.43% 0.18%
Volatile Matter (w. b) 39.93% 10.54%
Ash (w. b) 38.38% 89.04%
Fixed Carbon (w. b) 3% 0.24%
pH 7.63 9.93
Temperature 0C 22.9 19.5
Conductivity (µs) 6.95 7.33
Salinity % 3.73 3.86
Bulk density (kg/m3) 422.02 928.28
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27. Results and Discussion cont.........
•Relationship between charcoal percentage and
germination
•Lettuce grow in
neutral pH
•Increase in pH
of char reduced
germination
T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 T9
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28. Results and Discussion cont............
 Performances of the Pyrolyzer
Residence % of
Quantity of Quantity % of Feeding
Duration time per compost
MSW of char char rate (kg/
(min) unit (min/ volume
compost (kg) output output min)
kg) reduction
(kg)
23.25 75 10.5 44.68 7.14 54.84 0.31
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29. Conclusions and Recommendations
 There are many important findings of the
investigation on pyrolysing decomposed organic
fraction of MSW;
 The average output of char made from decomposed MSW
was higher than typical (reported) values due to high ash
content.
 But very less of fixed carbon.
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30. Conclusions and Recommendations cont.........
 Charcoal is influencing soil quality by reducing acidity and
adding macro and micro nutrients to the soil due to high ash
content in charcoal
 Charcoal can be used as a soil amendment and organic
fertilizer, but adjustment of pH is required at high application
rates
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31. Conclusions and Recommendations cont.........
 Pyrolysis technology can be used to manage MSW.
 the space in between the grills of the grill flap should be
reduced to lesser the amount of unburnt particles falling to the
charcoal collection chamber of the reactor.
 The operating temperature inside the combustion chamber
fluctuated drastically. Therefore, it is paramount to introduce a
temperature regulating mechanism.
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32.  The orifice which was left for flame development should be
modified by moving to a vertical position above from the
present location.
 Incorporating a pressure regulator is another important aspect
for pyrolysis process and it should be considered for eventual
industrial model.
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33. References
 Ryu, C, Sharifi, V.N, Swithenbank, J, 2005, Waste Pyrolysis and Generation of Storable Fuel, Sheffield
University Waste Incineration Centre (SUWIC), Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, The
University of Sheffield pp. 24 -40.
 Steiner, C, Zech, W, 2006, Slash and Char as Alternative to Slash and Burn - soil charcoal amendments
maintain soil fertility and establish a carbon sink, Institute of Soil Science and Soil Geography, University
of Bayreuth, D-95440, Bayreuth, Germany. pp 9-15.
 Kampegowda, R, Chandayot, P, 1998, Slow Pyrolysis for Rural Small biomass Energy By joint Project
Developments of Brazil and Thailand, Asian University, Thailand, pp. 4-6.
 Joseph,S.D, Downie,A, Munroe,P, Crosky,A, Lehmann,J, 1997, Biochar for Carbon Sequestration,
Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Enhancement of Soil Fertility; A Review of the Materials
Science, Proceedings of the Australian Combustion Symposium 97, University of Sydney, Australia. pp.
130 - 132.
 Abe, F. 1988. The Thermochemical Study of Forest Biomass. Forest Prod. Chem. 45:91-95.
 Ojolo, S. J. and Bamgboye, A. I, 2005, Thermochemical Conversion of Municipal Solid Waste to Produce
Fuel and Reduce Waste, Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos, pp. 1-3.
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34. Thank you
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