Document Type
Article
Source of Publication
Energy Reports
Publication Date
12-1-2022
Abstract
Climate change, global warming, and rise in water levels are environmental problems caused by the high emissions of greenhouse gases, and the most harmed one is carbon dioxide. Biochar is a material produced by thermochemical conversions with oxygen-depleted conditions of organic materials, and this process calls pyrolysis. Recently, it has been evaluated as a carbon dioxide capture, and its porous structure, structural properties, and production methods are easy. Al Ghaf (Prosopis cineraria) tree is one of the United Arab Emirates’ national trees with a wide range of intriguing properties, including high nutritional value, medicinal/pharmaceutical potential, and biosorption. This paper focuses on the biochar synthesized from three parts of the Al Ghaf tree: leaves, roots, and branches, to determine which part can achieve the maximum carbon dioxide capture. The ability of the produced biochar to capture carbon dioxide was tested through direct gas–solid interaction inside an integrated fluidized bed reactor. The carbon dioxide adsorption capacity was expressed by two methods related to (a) the loaded biochar mass and (b) the total amount of carbon dioxide fed to the reactor. The carbon dioxide adsorption capacity results concerning the loaded mass were 6.88%, 5.50%, and 3.63% for leaves, roots, and branches, respectively. At the same time, the results based on the total amount of carbon dioxide fed were 65.5%, 58.7%, and 37.7% for leaves, roots, and branches, respectively. Such results were confirmed by the physicochemical characteristics of the synthesized biochar using Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis, Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and X-ray diffraction analysis. Al Ghaf tree requires further study and inquiry to identify the most appropriate applications.
DOI Link
ISSN
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Volume
8
First Page
525
Last Page
532
Disciplines
Life Sciences
Keywords
Al Ghaf tree, Biochar, Carbon dioxide adsorption capacity, Carbon dioxide capture, UAE
Scopus ID
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Salem, Imen Ben; El Gamal, Maisa; Sharma, Manish; Howari, Fares M.; Nazzal, Yousef; Xavier, Cijo; and Almenhali, Fareeda M., "Characterization of biochar produced from Al Ghaf Tree for CO2 Capture" (2022). All Works. 5437.
https://zuscholars.zu.ac.ae/works/5437
Indexed in Scopus
yes
Open Access
yes
Open Access Type
Hybrid: This publication is openly available in a subscription-based journal/series