Cited by 31Thermochemical Biomass Conversion ProcessesSoil Carbon and Nitrogen DynamicsGraphite, nuclear technology, radiation studies

Pyrolytic conversion of construction, renovation, and demolition (CRD) wood wastes in Québec to biochar: Production, characterization, and identifying relevant stability indices for carbon sequestration

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Ganesan, Aravind, Rezazgui, Olivier, Langlois, Simon, Boussabbeh, Cyrine, Barnabé, Simon·2025·Science of The Total Environment

Abstract

Management of heterogeneous construction, renovation, and demolition (CRD) wood residues in Québec brings into light, a widespread topic under discussion related to their current disposal methods in landfills, that may lead to environmental concerns. With rising forfeitures from a legal standpoint, alternative treatment methods for CRD wood wastes are being explored. Thermochemical biomass conversion techniques can be employed to depolymerize low-quality end-of-life CRD wood and valorize it to bio-based products. Biochar, a carbonaceous material obtained through heat treatment of wood under the absence of oxygen via slow pyrolysis, can be tailored for specific end-use applications in hard-to-abate industrial sectors pertinent to energy, composite materials, and environmental amendments. However, there is a scarcity of comprehensively understanding CRD wood pyrolysis and projecting the biochar product's stability due to a lack of relevant studies and frequent inconsistencies amidst currently available methods. Nevertheless, in the present study, CRD wood is pyrolyzed in a horizontal tube furnace of two scales under laboratory conditions. Temperatures ranging from 300 to 800 °C, biomass residence time (BRT) of 30–120 min, heating rates of 20–55 °C/min, and mass of feedstock between 100 and 500 g were the operational conditions chosen for experimentation. Evaluation of biochar stability was carried out by the proximate and ultimate analysis, Van-Krevelen plots, TGA/DTG profile, R50 recalcitrance, SEM-EDX, and Raman I D /I G methods. Data analysis indicated that carbon content (89–90 %), FC (70–74 %), TSF (73–75 %), R50 (0.64–0.65), and I D /I G (0.972) increased with an increase in BRT (120 min) and pyrolysis temperature (800 °C) rendering its utilization in metallurgical applications as a reductant. A surface area of 220–270 m 2 /g was also detected for these biochar at 800 °C recommending its implementation for adsorption applications. Biochar's cation exchange capacity (CEC), pH, and hydrophobicity also increased at high temperatures nurturing the ability to be used for soil pH adjustment as part of remediation activities. SEM-EDX proved that ash content predominantly harboring alkaline and alkaline earth metals (AAEM) like Ca and K also increased but to a certain point from where their devolatilization is implicit, thereby concentrating stable carbon. As for functionalities in biochar, they decreased from 500 to 800 °C verifying the rejection of oxychemicals groups. Noticeable striations associated to C-H/C-O/C=O vibration, stretching, and bending from FTIR spectral bands were linked to terminal dehydrogenation, condensation, and aromatization reactions highlighting the development of C C and C C linkages commonly assigned to aromatics. Evident from low Van-Krevelen H/C (0.51–0.09) and O/C (0.08–0.02) indices, it can be extrapolated that high-temperature biochars in PR:1 and PR:2 possess a high permeance that could bolster its utilization in carbon sequestration/draw-down and other CDR applications. • Québec contributes to 13 % of overall CRD wood waste generation in Canada • Slow pyrolysis was chosen to valorize non-recyclable CRD wood waste to bioproducts • Horizontal tube furnace carbonized CRD wood with good physiochemical properties • Pyrolysis temperature significantly influenced biochar properties ( p -value ≤0.05) • Raman I D /I G , H/C, O/C, and proximate analysis are reliable stability indices

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178650

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  • To our knowledge no study has simultaneously characterized pilot-scale CRD wood pyrolysis across multiple temperatures, applied thermal-only post-heat treatment without chemical or reactive gas activation, and assessed self-heating behavior of the resulting biochars, accompanied by relevant characterizations.

    “Building on the pilot-scale methodology established in [53], to our knowledge no study has simultaneously characterized pilot-scale CRD wood pyrolysis across multiple temperatures, applied thermal-only post-heat treatment without chemical or reactive gas activation, and assessed self-heating behavior of the resulting biochars, accompanied by relevant characterizations.”

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Authors
Ganesan, A., Rezazgui, O., Langlois, S., Boussabbeh, C., & Barnabé, S.
Affiliations
Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (CA)
Corresponding author
Ganesan, Aravind
Venue
Science of The Total Environment
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2025-02
Volume
965
Pages
178650
ISSN
0048-9697 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4406940266
Cited by
31
References
92
Citations by year
2026: 17 · 2025: 14
FWCI
7.29
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • The Science of The Total Environment (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
  • Mitacs (I2E3)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Thermochemical Biomass Conversion Processes
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
  • Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Materials Chemistry › Graphite, nuclear technology, radiation studies
Keywords
biochar, slow pyrolysis, biochar stability, carbon sequestration, pyrolysis temperature, heating rate, ID/IG ratio, cation exchange capacity, soil remediation, adsorption, landfill alternatives

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