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Cited by 88Thermochemical Biomass Conversion ProcessesSoil Carbon and Nitrogen DynamicsAdsorption and biosorption for pollutant removal

Differentiating Inorganics in Biochars Produced at Commercial Scale Using Principal Component Analysis

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Clemente, Joyce S., Beauchemin, Suzanne, Thibault, Yves, MacKinnon, Ted, Smith, Derek·2018·ACS Omega
DOI 10.1021/acsomega.8b00523PMC PMC6644753
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Abstract

Characterizing the inorganic phase of biochar, beyond determining element concentration, is needed for appropriate application of these materials because mineral forms also influence element availability and behavior. Inorganics in 13 biochars (produced from Poultry litter, switchgrass, and different types of wood) were characterized by proximate analysis, chemical analysis, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) spectroscopy. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to compare biochars and characterize associations between elements. The biochars were produced using commercial-scale reactors and represent materials with properties relevant to field application. Bulk inorganic concentration and composition were responsible for differentiating biochars after PCA of chemical data. In comparison, differentiation based on PCA of diffractogram fingerprints was more nuanced. Here, contributions from cellulose and turbostratic crystalline C influenced separation between samples. It was also sensitive to mineral forms of Ca (whewellite and calcite). Differences in crystalline C and Ca minerals separated two biochars generated from the same willow feedstock using the same pyrolysis conditions at different temperatures. PCA of 606 SEM-EDX point scans revealed that inorganics belong to four main clusters containing Ca, Fe, [Al, Si], and [Cl, K, Mg, Na, P, S] consistent with XRD identification of calcite, magnetic Fe-oxide, silicates, and sylvite. It further suggested that amorphous P-containing minerals associated with Ca (not identified through XRD) were constituents of willow and poultry litter-derived biochars. However, unlike PCA of XRD, it was not able to differentiate the two biochars derived from willow. The three analysis methods provided different perspectives on the properties of the biochar inorganic phase. Combining information from multiple methods is needed to better understand the inorganic composition of biochars.

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  • The increased weight loss above 600°C could be attributed to oxidation of residual amorphous carbon and decomposition of heat-labile AAEM carbonates, whose loss progressively exposed previously shielded biochar carbon to thermal degradation.

    “This could be attributed to oxidation of residual amorphous carbon and decomposition of heat-labile AAEM carbonates (e.g., CaCO 3 to CaO and CO 2 at >600 • C [121]), whose loss progressively exposed previously shielded biochar carbon to thermal degradation.”

    From Pilot-Scale Slow Pyrolysis, Post-Heat Treatment, and Self-Heating Performance of Biochar Fuels Derived from Construction, Renovation, and Demolition (CRD) Wood Waste (2026) · cites this paper as [121]

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Authors
Clemente, J. S., Beauchemin, S., Thibault, Y., MacKinnon, T., & Smith, D.
Affiliations
Natural Resources Canada (CA)
Corresponding author
Clemente, Joyce S.
ORCID
Venue
ACS Omega
Publisher
American Chemical Society (ACS)
Published
2018-06-26
Volume
3
Issue
6
Pages
6931-6944
ISSN
2470-1343 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1021/acsomega.8b00523
PMC
PMC6644753
OpenAlex
W2811370635
Cited by
88
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 14 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 2
FWCI
2.20
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • ACS Omega (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Natural Resources Canada (P001784.001, P002493.001.05)
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 › Environmental Science › Water Science and Technology › Adsorption and biosorption for pollutant removal
Keywords
biochar, mineral composition, poultry litter, switchgrass, willow, wood feedstock, crystalline carbon, calcium minerals, calcium oxalate monohydrate, calcite, iron oxide, silicate, sylvite, element associations

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