Biochar for Desalination Concentrate Management

Published Date:

April 2018

Authors:

K Sarpong, C Brewer, O. J Idowu

Abstract:

Results from this research on two species of Atriplex, halophyte forage shrubs native to the southwestern USA, show that salts
taken up in the biomass are concentrated into the biochars during pyrolysis, and that pyrolysis conditions affect the amount of
salt that can be leached with water. Increasing pyrolysis temperature increases the retention of calcium and magnesium ions but
gives less consistent trends for the retention of potassium and sodium. The retention of some salt in the short-term suggests that,
with more understanding of the salt formation and retention mechanisms, and optimization of the system, higher amounts of salt
could be sequestered longer, while taking advantage of the carbon sequestration and soil quality improvement benefits
associated with biochars.

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Keywords:
desalination concentrate; halophyte biomass, biochar, leaching, salt