Enhanced biochar

• US 10,301,228 B2
• Filed: 10/24/2017
• Issued: 05/28/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Carbon Technology Holding LLC
• Original Assignee: Cool Planet Energy Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: Bontchev, Ranko Panayatov, Kim, Han Suk, Wilson, Richard W., Belcher, Richard Wilson, Cheyne, Cameron, Manzer, Leo E., Jarand, Mark L., Wan, Haijun, Malyala, Rajashekharam
• Primary Examiner(s): Langel, Wayne A
• Application Number:
  US15/792,486
• Publication Number:
  US 20180118631A1
• Time in Patent Office: 581 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 25/08 containing solids as carriers or diluents
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 61/00 Biocides, pest repellants or attractants, or plant growth regulators containing substances of unknown or undetermined composition, e.g. substances characterised only by the mode of action
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 32/05 Preparation or purification of carbon not covered by groups C01B32/15, C01B32/20, C01B32/25, C01B32/30
• CPC Class Codes: C05D 9/00 Other inorganic fertilisers
• CPC Class Codes: C05D 9/02 containing trace elements
• CPC Class Codes: C05F 11/00 Other organic fertilisers
• CPC Class Codes: C05F 11/02 from peat, brown coal, and similar vegetable deposits
• CPC Class Codes: C05F 11/08 Organic fertilisers containing added bacterial cultures, mycelia or the like
• CPC Class Codes: C05G 1/00 Mixtures of fertilisers belonging individually to different subclasses of C05
• CPC Class Codes: C05G 3/00 Mixtures of one or more fertilisers with additives not having a specially fertilising activity
• CPC Class Codes: C05G 3/80 Soil conditioners
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 17/02 containing inorganic compounds only
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 17/04 applied in a physical form other than a solution or a grout, e.g. as granules or gases
• CPC Class Codes: C10B 53/02 of cellulose-containing material production of pyroligneous acid C10C5/00
• CPC Class Codes: C10B 57/02 Multi-step carbonising or coking processes
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 40/22 Improving land use; Improving water use or availability; Controlling erosion
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 50/10 Biofuels, e.g. bio-diesel
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 50/30 Fuel from waste, e.g. synthetic alcohol or diesel
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 60/21 Dinitrogen oxide [N2O], e.g. using aquaponics, hydroponics or efficiency measures
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 71/903 Soil conditioner

Abstract

Biochar is provided that is treated to have certain chemical and physical properties found to have the highest impact on plant growth and/or soil health. In particular, the following physical and/or chemical properties, among others, of a biochar have been identified as critical properties to control for in the selection of biomass feedstock, pyrolysis conditions, and/or enhancing treatment to increase biochar performance: (i) bulk density (ii) impregnation capacity; (iii) particle size distribution; (iv) solid particle density; (v) surface area; (vi) porosity; (vii) total porosity; (viii) ratio of macroporosity to total porosity (ix) content of residual organic compounds; (x) content of volatile organic compounds; (xii) ash content; (xiii) water holding capacity; (xiv) water retention capabilities; (xv) levels of dioxins and other potentially hazardous byproducts of pyrolysis; and (xvi) pH. Treatment can modify and preferably increase hydrophilicity/decrease hydrophobicity, remove dioxins from the raw biochar, modify electrical conductivity and/or surface charge, modify cation exchange capacity and modify anion exchange capacity, among other things.

Claims

1. A plurality of porous carbonaceous particles where a hydrophobicity of the plurality of porous carbonaceous particles under the MED test method has an index of 5 or less and where the plurality of porous carbonaceous particles exhibit weight loss of more than 1% in the interval between 43 and 60°

C. when performing the Bontchev-Cheyne Test.

2. The plurality of porous carbonaceous particles of claim 1, where at least 75% of the particles, measured by weight or volume, have a particle size less than or equal to 10 mm.

3. The plurality of porous carbonaceous particles of claim 1, where the plurality of porous carbonaceous particles have been treated to have at least 10% of the pores, by volume, filled with an infiltrate.

4. The plurality of porous carbonaceous particles of claim 1, where the plurality of porous carbonaceous particles contains at least 55% carbon by weight.

5. The plurality of porous carbonaceous particles of claim 1, where the bulk density of the plurality of porous carbonaceous particles in the batch, measured by weight, is between 0.1 and 0.6 g/cm3.

6. The plurality of porous carbonaceous particles of claim 1, where the plurality of porous carbonaceous particles have a ratio of macropore volume to total pore volume greater than or equal to 50%.

7. The plurality of porous carbonaceous particles of claim 1, where the porous carbonaceous particles contain less than 5% by weight of volatile organic compounds.

8. The plurality of porous carbonaceous particles of claim 1, where the plurality of porous carbonaceous particles have a cation exchange capacity of greater than or equal to 5 milliequ/l.

9. The plurality of porous carbonaceous particles of claim 1, where the plurality of porous carbonaceous particles have an anion exchange capacity of greater than or equal to 5 milliequ/l.

10. The plurality of porous carbonaceous particles of claim 1, where the plurality of porous carbonaceous particles have a water holding capacity greater than 30% by weight.

11. The plurality of porous carbonaceous particles of claim 1, where the plurality of porous carbonaceous particles have been treated by rapidly infusing the additive into the pores of the plurality of porous carbonaceous particles using a vacuum processing treatment.

12. The plurality of porous carbonaceous particles of claim 1, where the plurality of porous carbonaceous particles have been treated by infusing the additive into the pores of the plurality of porous carbonaceous particles using a surfactant infusion treatment.

13. The plurality of porous carbonaceous particles of claim 1, where the plurality of porous carbonaceous particles have been treated by infusing the additive into the pores of the plurality of porous carbonaceous particles including both a surfactant infusion treatment and a vacuum infusion treatment.

14. The plurality of porous carbonaceous particles of claim 1, where the additive is a soil enhancing agent selected from the group consisting of water, water solutions of salts, inorganic and organic liquids of different polarities, liquid organic compounds or combinations of organic compounds and solvents, mineral and organic oils, slurries and suspensions, supercritical liquids, fertilizers, plant growth promoting rhizobacteria, free-living and nodule-forming nitrogen fixing bacteria, organic decomposers, nitrifying bacteria, phosphate solubilizing bacteria, biocontrol agents, bioremediation agents, saprotrophic fungi, ectomycorrhizae, and endomycorrhizae.

15. A plurality of porous carbonaceous particles where the plurality of porous carbonaceous particles exhibit weight loss of more than 1% in the interval between 43 and 60°

C. when performing the Bontchev-Cheyne Test.

16. The plurality of porous carbonaceous particles of claim 15 where at least 75% of the plurality of porous carbonaceous particles have a particle size less than or equal to 10 mm.

17. The plurality of porous carbonaceous particles of claim 15 where the plurality of porous carbonaceous particles have a ratio of macropore volume to total pore volume greater than or equal to 50%.

18. The plurality of porous carbonaceous particles of claim 15 where the plurality of porous carbonaceous particles have a water holding capacity greater than 30% by weight.

19. The plurality of porous carbonaceous particles of claim 15, where the porous carbonaceous particles have been treated by rapidly infusing a liquid into the pores of the plurality of porous carbonaceous particles.

20. The plurality of porous carbonaceous particles of claim 19, where the treatment for rapidly infusing the liquid into the pores of the plurality of porous carbonaceous particles is a vacuum processing treatment.

21. A plurality of porous carbonaceous particles where the plurality of porous carbonaceous particles in the batch meet EU Feed limit for dioxins equal to or less than 0.75 ng/kg WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ//kg and where the plurality of porous carbonaceous particles exhibit weight loss of more than 1% in the interval between 43 and 60°

C. when performing the Bontchev-Cheyne Test.

22. The plurality of porous carbonaceous particles of claim 21 where the plurality of porous carbonaceous particles have been treated by infusing a infiltrate into at least 10% of the pores, by volume, of the plurality of pores of the porous carbonaceous particles.

23. The plurality of porous carbonaceous particles of claim 21 where at least 75% of the porous carbonaceous particles, measured by weight or volume, have a particle size less than or equal to 10 mm.

24. The plurality of porous carbonaceous particles of claim 21 where the plurality of porous carbonaceous particles contains at least 55% carbon by weight.

25. The plurality of porous carbonaceous particles of claim 21 where the plurality of porous carbonaceous particles have at least 70% of pores, by volume, measure less than 50,000 nanometers using mercury porosimetry testing.