@Article{jrm.2023.029454,
AUTHOR = {Hamdi Hachicha, Mamadou Dia, Hassine Bouafif, Ahmed Koubaa, Mohamed Khlif, Flavia Lega Braghiroli},
TITLE = {Naturally Nitrogen-Doped Biochar Made from End-of-Life Wood Panels for SO<sub>2</sub> Gas Depollution},
JOURNAL = {Journal of Renewable Materials},
VOLUME = {11},
YEAR = {2023},
NUMBER = {11},
PAGES = {3807--3829},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/jrm/v11n11/54424},
ISSN = {2164-6341},
ABSTRACT = {Reconstituted wood panels have several advantages in terms of ease of manufacturing, but their shorter life span
results in a huge amount of reconstituted wood panels being discarded in sorting centers yearly. Currently, the
most common approach for dealing with this waste is incineration. In this study, reconstituted wood panels were
converted into activated biochar through a two-step thermochemical process: (i) biochar production using pilot
scale fast pyrolysis at 250 kg/h and 450°C; and (ii) a physical activation at three temperatures (750°C, 850°C and
950°C) using an in-house activation furnace (1 kg/h). Results showed that the first stage removed about 66% of
the nitrogen from the wood panels in the form of NO, NH3, and trimethylamine, which were detected in small
amounts compared to emitted CO<sub>2</sub>. Compared to other types of thermochemical conversion methods (e.g., slow
pyrolysis), isocyanic acid and hydrogen cyanide were not detected in this study. The second stage produced activated biochar with a specific surface area of up to 865 m<sup>2</sup>
/g at 950°C. The volatile gases generated during activation were predominantly composed of toluene and benzene. This two-step process resulted in nitrogen-rich
carbon in the form of pyrrolic and pyridinic nitrogen. Activated biochars were then evaluated for their SO<sub>2</sub> retention performance and showed an excellent adsorption capacity of up to 2140 mg/g compared to 65 mg/g for a
commercial activated carbon (889 m<sup>2</sup>
/g). End-of-life reconstituted wood panels and SO<sub>2</sub> gas are problematic
issues in Canada where the economy largely revolves around forestry and mining industries.},
DOI = {10.32604/jrm.2023.029454}
}