Production of biochar from olive mill waste and remediation of heavy metal contaminated soil

Abstract

The results presented in this thesis indicate that slow pyrolysis can be an efficient management process for the solid olive mill waste to reduce considerably its volume and weight. Biochar production through slow pyrolysis was revealed to be an interesting tool to transform this waste rather than leaving it for natural decay or spreading it as fertilizer in agricultural soils which causes a significant environmental deterioration leading to soil, air and ground water pollution. Pyrolysis parameters showed significant effects on biochar yield and its characteristics defining by consequence its suitable use for specific fields. Increasing the pyrolysis temperature and the heating rate led to a continuous decrease in the biochar yield. Nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen contents in biochar decreased while its concentration in carbon increased. The calculations of different atomic ratios (H/C, O/C and (O+N)/C) indicated higher aromaticity of the biochar, higher stability and lower polarity of its surface. ...