Metal oxide rich char from muffle furnace and retort heated reactor treated cow bone

Abstract

The high energy cost of thermochemical processing of biomass wastes into valuable products has necessitated the usage of alternative biofuel powered reactor like top lit updraft (TLUD) retort heated reactor. The suitability of TLUD retort heated, self regulating reactor as alternative to the conventional muffle furnace was explored in cow bone carbonization in this study. High-temperature treatments of cow bone (TCB) were carried out in conventional muffle furnace option (TCB 1) and TLUD retort heated reactor (TCB 2). For comparison, cow bone was treated at higher temperature (500oC) for 120 min using a conventional method, designated TCB 1, while the same was treated in a self regulating retort heated reactor powered by combusting biomass with peaked temperature of 462.7oC and the combustion time of 90 min. The properties of the samples TCB 1 and TCB 2 were studied using SEM, XRD, BET, BJH, XRF-EDS, and DFT. In the final analysis, results of TCB 1 and TCB 2 were found competitively comparable in their physiochemical properties and the presence of additional minerals and elements. The present study reveals an economical and effective material recovery route for the preparation of adsorbents and precursors of compounds and elements.

Keywords

• Cowbones
• Metal oxide rich char
• Wastes
• Thermal treatments
• Physiochemical properties