Characteristics of products produced by torrefaction of poultry litter
AbstractThe residual of poultry litter is rising in parallel with increase in number of poultry farming, and that waste causes environmental problems due to difficulties in disposal of waste. Although biochar production is an alternative technology to solve this problem, evaluation of biochar is also an important case for economical sustainability. Depending on the application area, biochar, that had variable characteristics, can be produced by different thermal processes. In this study, the characteristics of products (biochar and gas) produced by torrefaction were investigated to reveal the evaluation of products, especially biochar. The poultry litter was torrefied at low temperature (300°C) in long residence time (60 minute). The products were characterized according to heating value, proximate, ultimate and chemical analysis along with gas analysis. Characteristic of feedstock was also determined for comparison. As a result, about 1.5 fold improvement in properties of feedstock by torrefaction was observed. The poultry-litter based biochar had the similar properties with lignite and thus it would be used as alternative fuel in coal-fired plants for Turkey. Although heavy metal concentration of biomass is changed in wide range, the biochar produced from poultry litter had acceptable amount of heavy metal and adequate content of nutrient for improvement of plant growth. For that reason, the application of biochar as soil amendment could also be proposed.