A Review on the thermochemical conversion of sugarcane bagasse into biochar

Abstract

Sugarcane bagasse (SCB) is the fibrous lignocellulosic residue left over after crushing sugarcane to extract juice for sugar and ethanol production. In this review, a concise overview of existing thermochemical technologies for the production of biochar from SCB and its potential applications is presented and discussed. Some of the technologies used so far in this regard include pyrolysis, gasification, hydrothermal carbonization, and torre- faction. However, pyrolysis was found to be the most widely used among them. These processes can be affected by several operating conditions such as temperature, heating rate, particle size, and residence duration, with temperature being the most significant and efficient variable influencing the quality of the biochar. The yield of SCB biochar reported in the literature ranged from 14 % to 56 %. A higher yield of biochar can be obtained at a lower temperature than at a higher one because biochar decomposes at higher temperatures (>500 ◦C). SCB biochar has promising applications in agriculture and the environment, including soil amendment, adsorbent in water and wastewater treatment, supplementary cementitious material, amongst others. Some knowledge gaps were also stated in the study, such as the cost analysis and comparison of utilizing bagasse as fuel in sugar in- dustries and for the production of biochar. Sugarcane bagasse biochar has the potential to become a highly promising carbon material with a wide range of applications in a variety of sectors.