Biosolids to biochar journey and biochar properties from Australia’s first fluidised bed pyrolysis technology: PAPER & PRESENTATION
Aravind Surapaneni, South East Water, Australia,
(free)
Biosolids contain nutrients, notably nitrogen and phosphorus, which are critical for plant growth and are often lacking in agricultural soils. For this reason, beneficial use in agriculture is the most preferred option for most utilities so far. Ever since regulators began to give more stringent advice on contaminants such as PFAS, the need to move forward quickly and deliberately on the thermal technology route is becoming more imperative for water utilities across the developed nations. A series of studies were undertaken based on industry insights
and basic laboratory experiments to study biosolids pyrolysis at multiple scales. Basically a “bottom-up approach” progressively built the technology from an idea in the lab to the construction of around 0.5 tonne per day pilot plant. The core pyrolysis reactor technology was demonstrated for the first time outside of the laboratory, at a pilot plant scale. Our novel pyrolysis technology is likely to enable a circular economy by turning biosolids into a commercial product of value at the same time improving product quality and removing PFAS
and other emerging contaminants from biosolids.
Keywords
Biochar, Biosolids, Circular Economy, PFAS, Pilot Plant, Pyrolysis, PYROCO
