Production and physico-chemical characterization of biochar from palm

kernel shell
S. H. Kongab*; S. K. Lohb; R. T. Bachmannc; Jumat Salimona; Sahibin Abdul Rahimd
a
School of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600
UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
b
Unit of Energy and Environment, Malaysia Palm Oil Board, No. 6, Persiaran Institusi, 43000 Bandar
Baru Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
c
MICET, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Lot 1988, Taboh Naning, 78000 Alor Gajah, Melaka, Malaysia
d
School of Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia,
43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
E-mail: kong_gsas@hotmail.com

Keywords: Biochar, BEK, Oil palm biomass

Introduction
Over the years, the oil palm industries have
been very responsible and all the by-products
have been gradually utilized, paving the way
towards zero-waste policy. One of the
by-products, palm kernel shell (PKS), is
produced from the processing of oil palm fruit.
Oil palm mills have been using the PKS as the
main fuel for their in-house boiler to generate
steam for electricity production. However, this
combustion process has more been as a
disposal rather than optimal utilization of the
biomass. Biochar amendment to the soil not only
sequesters atmospheric carbon dioxide for the
long term in an attempt to mitigate global
warming, but also enhances the fertility and
vitality of the soil.
The PKS was collected from Sime Darby Palm
Oil Mill in Labu, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia.
Pyrolysis of the PKS was carried out by using the
Biochar Experimenters Kit (BEK) from ALL
Power Labs and retort mode was chosen. The
air-dried biomass sample was introduced into
the reactor by switching on the feedstock auger
installed under biomass hopper. The
temperature inside the reactor was monitored
through a thermocouple. An optional
condensing circuit separated bio-oil from the
pyrolysis output gas. On the other hand,
excessive pyrolysis gas went through a natural
gas assisted burner to ensure clean combustion
and supply heat to the reactor. Finally, the
biochar was cooled down overnight inside
biochar hopper.
Characterization of raw material and produced
biochar were performed by using various
analysis methods. All biomass and biochar
samples were ground into fine powder particle
size prior to analysis. The proximate analysis
was done by using Leco TGA 701. The carbon
yield was determined by using Leco CNS 2000.
The pH measurement was made using a Eutech
Instruments pH Meter. Samples were first mixed
with deionized water in the ratio of 1:5 and
shaked for an hour before went for pH test [3].
As for water holding capacity, the samples were
covered completely by the cotton and immersed
in the water for an hour. The difference in weigh
before and after the immersion was calculated to
determine the value for water holding capacity.
All experiments were carried out in triplicate, at
least. .
Results and Discussion
Pyrolysis of PKS was performed up to final
temperature of 400 °C with slow heating rate for
an hour. The yield of pyrolysis products were
28.51 wt. % (±2.08) of biochar, 1.70 wt. %
(±0.33) of bio-oil and 69.80 wt. % (±2.39) of
pyrolysis gas.
Some comparison between the raw material
and biochar are given in Table 1. The moisture
and volatile content of biochar decreases as
they are released out during high temperature
pyrolysis [4]. The recovery of ash in biochar
indicates that it has the potential to be applied as
fertilizer [1].
As for the increase in carbon content and yield,
it is in good agreement with the report by
Kwapinski et al. [5] that is, the potential of
biochar to store and sequester carbon in stable
form. In term of pH value, PKS biochar has
slightly alkaline characteristic with a pH of 9.78.
The alkaline biochar can be used to increase the
soil pH, which is mostly done by liming [6].
The greater porosity and surface area of
biochar [7] increase the ability of biochar to
retain water. The result in Table 1 shows that the
water holding capacity for biochar is greater
compared to the raw PKS.

Table 1. Some properties of PKS and PKS biochar

Samples PKS PKS biochar
Moisture (wt. %) 8.13 (±0.03) 1.47 (±0.10)
Volatile (wt. %) 66.07 (±0.09) 17.62 (±0.34)
Ash (wt. %) 5.61 (±0.45) 15.51 (±4.50)
Fix C* (wt. %) 20.19 (±0.47) 65.40 (±4.75)
pH 6.99 (±0.10) 9.78 (±0.68)
C yield (wt. %) 49.70 [2] 74.19 (±4.06)
Water holding 1.50 (±0.43) 4.74 (±0.29)
capacity (g)
* By difference

Conclusion
PKS biochar which is produced by the BEK
shows higher carbon content and yield, alkaline
characteristic to neutralize acidic soil and
greater water holding capacity. These properties
are in good agreement with the functions of
biochar, which are to sequester and store
carbon in stable form to mitigate global warming
and as soil conditioner to increase the fertility of
the soil as well as crops production.

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Malaysia Palm
Oil Board (MPOB) for fully funding the work
under MPOB Graduate Students Assistantship
Scheme (GSAS).
____________________
1
Abdullah, N.; Gerhauser, H.; Sulaiman, F. 2010.
Fuel, 89, 2166-2169.
2
Chow, M. C.; Mohd Basri Wahid,; Chan, K. W. 2008.
Oil Palm Bulletin, 56, 23-28.
3
Croker, J.; Poss, R.; Hartmann, C.; Bhuthorndharaj,
S. 2004. Plant and Soil, 267, 155-163.
4
Demirbas, A. 2004. J. Anal. Appl. Pyrolysis, 72,
243-248.
5
Kwapinski, W.; Byrne, C. M. P.; Kryachko, E.;
Wolfram, P.; Adley, C.; Leahy, J. J.; Novotny, E. H.;
Hayes, M. H. B. 2010. Waste Biomass Valor, 1,
177-189.
6
Masulili, A. 2010. J. Agric. Sci., 2, 39-47.
7
Zanzi, R.; Sjostrom, K.; Bjornbom, E. 2002. Biomass
and Bioenergy, 23, 357-366.