Production, Conditioning, Testing and Applications of Cardboard and Chipboard Biochar

Abstract

Processing vessel systems; methods for biochar production; methods for biochar conditioning; methods for cardboard and chipboard biochar blending; and methods for co-generated heat from cardboard and chipboard pyrolysis. Cardboard and chipboard are paper-based products consisting of virgin or post-consumer waste abandoned fibers, repurposed as feedstocks used for thermochemical conversion (pyrolysis) and carbonization of ligno cellulosic biomass. The conditioned cardboard and chipboard biochars improve soil nutrition, improve soil moisture retention, slow soil mineralization, bind or limit heavy metal uptake in soils and plants, improve plant physiological response such as water use efficiency. Co-generation of bioenergy output during pyrolysis is also involved.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for producing biochar, comprising:
 providing a feedstock comprising one or both of cardboard and chipboard;   reducing the size of the feedstock;   charging the reduced size feedstock into a processing vessel; and   pyrolyzing the reduced size feedstock in the processing vessel at a maximum temperature of at least about 500° C., to create biochar.