Biochar Stages 1&2 (PYR)

Small Research Facility, Rooms 8 and 9, UKBRC, Crew area.

The Pyrolysis and Mass Spectrometry facility is part of the UK Biochar Research Centre (UKBRC). The facility is housed within the UKBRC labs.
The facility contains three major instruments for the small-scale pyrolysis and characterisation of biochar and co-products: 1) Stage I standalone pyrolysis unit for bench-scale pyrolysis of biomass for characterisation purposes. It is a batch unit with a throughput of up to 100 g of feedstock and an operating temperature up to 850°C.

The unit can operate either in a fixed bed or fluidised bed mode and allows precise control of the key operating parameters (temperature, heating rate, residence time etc.) and monitoring and recording of its performance; 2) Stage II pyrolysis unit for bench-scale pyrolysis of biomass for co-production of biochar, bio-oil and pyrolysis gas. It is a continuous unit with a throughput of up to 2 kg of biomass per hour and an operating temperature up to 1300°C.

This unit also allows precise control of the operating conditions and is flexible in terms of feedstock and throughput; 3) An automated thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) instrument with an in-built mass spectrometer for biomass pyrolysis and biochar characterisation.