Production and characterization of biochar based on a local agricultural biomass

The growing world population is leading to an intensification of agricultural practices. The consequence of this practice is the production of agricultural waste in large quantities. The aim of this study is to characterize the biochar produced from agricultural biomass. Biochar based on cassava peels was elaborated by slow pyrolysis using a muffle furnace for 4 hours at 400°C and then characterized. The respective values of pH, ash content, moisture content, dry matter, total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen, carbon-nitrogen ratio(C/N), iodine value, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and silicon are 10.75; 18.26%; 4.9%; 95.09%; 47.3%; 1.74%; 666.225 mg/g; 9.33%; 2.7%; 0.51%; 0.52% respectively. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed very strong positive and significant correlations between the determined parameters. Thus, the potential toxic elements (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, Ti, Mn) in the produced biochar are almost at trace level as desired by International Biochar Initiative (IBI) and European Biochar Certificate (EBC) for a biochar for agricultural purposes. These results show that the biochar produced could be beneficial for soil amendment.