Pyrolytic Conversion of Biomass to Biochar, Biocrude, and Electricity

The primary source of alternative energy is the sun. Biomass is the most abundant solar conversion system besides weather. Pyrolosis of biomass is one of the most promising technologies for energy conversion. This paper describes the efforts of Appalachian State University to convert the woody waste stream to useful products. The work includes downdraft gasification, biochar production, agricultural tests with biochar, combined heat and power scenarios, and the current work of distilling volatilized biomass. The current system has six potential revenue streams and promises to be the best of the pyrolosis conversion techniques. Biomass, usually chipped wood, is volatilized to release the hydrocarbons as fuel gas and smoke. The current aspect of this project is the condensation of smoke/wood tar as a means of separation from the fuel gas. The six potential revenue products are, waste stream elimination, biochar production, biocrude production, heat, carbon sequestration, and fuel gas. The project focus for this research is small scale application, home, farm, and community. The goal is the creation of a viable method of augmenting building heating while producing useful products from pyrolosis. The work is sponsored by and EPA, P3 student grant. The paper also describes the student interaction and the merits of research based teaching.