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| Fertilizers and hydrogen from charring biomass | |
| Researchers at the ARS (Agricultural Research Service) of the USDA have developed a system of turning agricultural biomass into hydrogen fuel and charcoal fertilizer. Soil scientist Donald C. Reicosky at the ARS North Central Soil Conservation Research Laboratory has teamed up with the inventor Danny Day, President of Eprida Inc., a US technology and development Company. Volatile chemicals and steam released by charring biomass produce hydrogen. The charring turns the biomass into pieces charcoal that are then transformed into a nitrogen-enriched fertilizer by the addition of ammonia formed by combining a third of the hydrogen with nitrogen. The remaining hydrogen can be sold as fuel, both for a hydrogen-based diesel and to run fuel cells. The porous charcoal provides soil microbes with a potentially improved environment for the cycling of nutrients. If the charcoal is used as a scrubber to remove carbon dioxide from the chimney of a coal-burning power plant it could then become more valuable as an ammonium bicarbonate nitrogen fertilizer. The charring process has been tested successfully in both the laboratory and in a pilot plant and will soon be tested on a larger scale. A patent is pending on the system. www.ars.usda.org |
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