Slow Pyrolysis as a Method for Biochar Production from Carob Waste: Process Investigation and Products’ Characterization

The zero-waste city challenge of the modern society is inevitably addressed to development model’s waste-to-energy. In this work, carob waste, largely used in agro-industrial sector for sugar extraction or locust beangum (LBG) production, considered as feedstock slow pyrolysis process. According Food and Agriculture Organization United Nations (FAO), 2012, world production carobs was ca. 160,000 tons, mainly concentrated Mediterranean area (Spain, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Greece). To evaluate biomass composition, at first, waste subjected thermo-gravimetric analysis. high content fixed carbon suggests that are a plausible candidate conversion biochar particles. thermal degradation proceeds by four different steps related water volatile substances’ removal, hemicellulose, lignin cellulose degradation, decomposition. Considering this, carried out three temperatures, specifically, 280, 340, 400 °C, obtained products were characterized. Varying processing temperature, proportion individual products’ changes with reduction solid phase an increase liquid gas phases, temperature. results suggest can be suitable rather than fuels’ recovery.