CHARACTERIZATION OF TROPICAL BIOCHAR PRODUCED BY USING VERTICAL BED KILN

WARIT ABI NURAZAQ, Prof. Dr. Ir. Bambang Purwantana, M.Agr ; Dr. Radi, STP., M.Eng.

2020 | Skripsi | S1 TEKNIK PERTANIAN

As a tropical agrarian country, Indonesia has agricultural sectors and a large potential of raw materials for biomass that have not been properly. With optimal management, biomass can processed to be biochar. Biochar can be used as a soil amendment to keep nutrients that are useful for plants. Biochar is a porous char that can be produced from various types of materials by using slow pyrolysis combustion method. Each type of raw material has different physical properties. This study aims to determine the temperature distribution, characteristics, and physical properties of biochar results from different raw materials. For this study, biochars from nine raw materials including; mango leaf, longan leaf, teak leaf, mango branch, longan branch, rubber branch, corncob, rice straw, and rice husk were produced with slow pyrolysis by using vertical bed kiln. In this research, physical properties observed including; pH, electrical conductivity (EC), bulk density, water content, and water holding capacity (WHC). The results indicated that temperature distribution affects the biochar yields. The physical properties of feedstocks can affect the characteristics of biochar. The higher bulk density and total carbon value were produced a greater yield of biochar. Compare to their raw materials, the average water content of biochar was reduced, while pH increased. The electrical conductivity in general also increased. Bulk density was changed, for corncob and branches materials decreased, while for rice straw, rice husk, and leaves materials increased. The water holding capacity was a fairly low number.

As a tropical agrarian country, Indonesia has agricultural sectors and a large potential of raw materials for biomass that have not been properly. With optimal management, biomass can processed to be biochar. Biochar can be used as a soil amendment to keep nutrients that are useful for plants. Biochar is a porous char that can be produced from various types of materials by using slow pyrolysis combustion method. Each type of raw material has different physical properties. This study aims to determine the temperature distribution, characteristics, and physical properties of biochar results from different raw materials. For this study, biochars from nine raw materials including; mango leaf, longan leaf, teak leaf, mango branch, longan branch, rubber branch, corncob, rice straw, and rice husk were produced with slow pyrolysis by using vertical bed kiln. In this research, physical properties observed including; pH, electrical conductivity (EC), bulk density, water content, and water holding capacity (WHC). The results indicated that temperature distribution affects the biochar yields. The physical properties of feedstocks can affect the characteristics of biochar. The higher bulk density and total carbon value were produced a greater yield of biochar. Compare to their raw materials, the average water content of biochar was reduced, while pH increased. The electrical conductivity in general also increased. Bulk density was changed, for corncob and branches materials decreased, while for rice straw, rice husk, and leaves materials increased. The water holding capacity was a fairly low number.

Kata Kunci : characterization, tropical biochar, physical properties, temperature distribution