Biochar, Fuel and Water Production from Municipal Waste Steams Appropriate Use of our Carbon, Nutrient, Energy Storehouses 2010 U.S. Biochar Initiative Conference Danny Day Eprida Power and Life Sciences
What are our primary long term goals? Sustainability by: Recycling our plant nutrients Maintaining/improving soil fertility Capture and use available energy Building integrated local economies
Where are our nutrients? Are they here?
We always have added nutrients
But where do get plant nutrients? We mine most mineral nutrients. These are early 1900 circa Florida phosphate mines.
And today? We continue to mine minerals like potassium from these petroleum powered potash mines.
Yet we now can recycle the energy and value of almost everything
Some of us have learned how to use and reuse even better Tree Swing
Recycling has become fun
Recycling to new levels!
But what about the vast quantities of nutrients we consume each year?
Can this system capture those lost and squandered nutrients?
Will we need to learn new behaviors?
It is a big challenge
Practices of Nutrient Recovery Composting sewage sludge Short soil retention time Possible pathogen distribution Drugs, antibiotics & long term implications Extracting and Concentration Typical fertilizer issues, i.e. retention time, salts build up, leaching, reduction in microbial diversity, loss of nitrogen.
Proposed Options Use yard waste as screw press filtration sweetener to remove bio-solids Use crushing pyrolysis to size particles needed for maximum aggregate formation Use staged pyrolysis to separate ammonia gas and trap nutrients within biochar matrix Use submerged plasma arc to reform oil into hydrogen process gas (MagnegasTM) needed to smokeless process wet sludge
Yard Waste + Sewage? NO! NO! Not Here!
Yard Waste + Sewage Sewage systems must remove the solids from the liquid stream to properly function Yet adding ground up wood fiber, bark, tree trimmings can improve the performance of low cost dewatering (i.e. screw presses) and provide needed carbon for later biochar production.
Eprida Manure and Biomass Processing Manure Biomass Chipped Green Dewatering and Plug Feeding Process BioSoilds Multi Staged Transport Reactor BioChar Bio-Oil
Using a Screw Press This Press Technology and Mfg, Inc screw press dewaters and acts as screw feeder for pyrolysis reactors. (www.presstechnology.com)
Fertile Soil is aggregated silt, clay and sand particles AM Fungi produce a glue Glomalin shown in light green, which aggregates small soil particles This increases water and air holding capacity, resulting in soil tilth with increased biomass yields. AM Fungi live 3 weeks. The glue binding the particles remains for decades. The structures are biologically built cathedrals, with large internal volumes
Charcoal is sought out by AMF Charcoal addition to the soil provides nutrient and water storage center for mycorrhizal fungi Their hyphae invade charcoal pores and support spore reproduction Fungi on New Char Ogawa Kansai Environmental Fungi on 100 Yr Old Char
Soil Aggregate Demonstration 1/8 inch top cover of inoculated biochar Biology + Charcoal = Fast Aggregate Formation Untreated Soil -16cm from surface Untreated Soil -16cm 200x 110 days after surface application of 50/50 biochar & compost, this clay soil was converted to this Treated Soil 16cm from surface Treated Soil -16cm 200x Aggregate
Char and Aggregate Formation to Increase Water Holding Capacity Char factors: Natural gradient of diverse pyrolytic condensate to support widest range of life Dissolved organic matter holding capacity (inverse to wetting rate) Optimize particle size relationship (char-to-colloid) Microbial/Fungi inoculation Aggregate Volume for Carbon Storage
Feedstock BTU/lb Material Process Results Yields Yield by Feedstock BTU BTU Measurements 60.0% 14000 50.0% 12000 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% Biochar Yield Bio-Oil Yield 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 0 Source Material BTU BTU Bio-oil BTU Bio-char Percent Yield Feedstock
Smokeless Pyrolysis 50C 78C 87C 105C 112C 288C 352C 380C 403C 416C 424C 419C 411C 410C 406C Pyrolysis Complete Magnegas Sweep Gas Flow Rate 0.5 SCFH For: Oil Stabilization Oil Yield Smokeless Pyrolysis
2009 Eprida & Magnegas (MNGA) offer a Carbon-Negative Oxygen Positive Fuel from Organic Waste This multipurpose fuel can drive your car as well as cut metal better and twice as fast as actelyne. 2 inch bar stock sliced like butter
EPRIDA and Magnegas Multi-Product Biomass Refinery Produce valuable fuel and biocoproducts - now! Restore topsoil - now! Turn waste into profits
Magnegas Fueled
Magnegas Power and Fueled
Fuel Alternative A Comparison of Exhaust
Biomass/ Yardwaste Process Diagram Sewage Outgassing Ammonia and Water Vapor Mixing Plug/Feeder Fluidized Precipitator Cyclone Discharge Flocculate and Lime Dewatering & Screw Plug Feeding System Multi Stage Transport Reactor Exhaust Activated Carbon ECOSS Fertilizer Sedimentation Sludge BioSoilds Hot Gas Filter Burner Combustion Housing Biological Reactor Final Clarifier Condensing and Gas Return BioChar Biochar Filter Bio-Oil Magnegas Disinfection Activated Carbon Polishing Discharge Water Plasma Arc Flow Recycler + 30 Watts/SCF Heat Compressor Magnegas Storage
Percent removed Color Removal Filtration by Biochar and AC 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 Measured by Spectronic Gensys 20 10 0 Effluent Biochar Filtered Biochar Filtered 2 Acivated Carbon Filtered Acivated Carbon Filtered2
Biomass Processing Analysis Services
Samples and yields produced Biochar Accurate Oil Yields
Custom Biochar Fertilizer Development Nitrogen Total 3.96% Nitrate Nitrogen 0.12% Available P2O5 4.47% P2O5 Total 4.60% K2O Total 6.51% Boron 0.009% Zinc 0.012% Manganese 0.072% Iron 0.708% Copper 0.024% Magnesium 0.450% Use: 2-3 Tablespoons per pot around roots
Are we are all committed to making this work?
Sample Testing and Analysis
Please remove stool sample before use
Thank you for your kind attention Danny Day Eprida Power and Life Sciences danny.day@eprida.com