Catalytic pyrolysis of biomass using fly ash leachate to increase carbon monoxide production and improve biochar properties to accelerate anaerobic digestion.

Biomass-derived biochar is attracting growing interest as an effective additive for anaerobic digestion (AD). To improve energy yield and digestion performance through an integrated process of biochar production and AD, biochar upgrading using biomass fly ash leachate as a sustainable metal catalyst was investigated. The results indicate that the bark soaked in the leachate improved the pyrolysis reactivity of biomass with CO and reduced the temperature at which the reaction rate reached its maximum from 943 °C to 801 °C. This resulted in a doubling of CO production during CO-assisted pyrolysis at 800 °C. In addition, the combined use of fly ash leachate and CO in bark pyrolysis improved not only the porosity of the resulting biochar but also its wettability and liming potential. Moreover, biochar amended with fly ash leachate and CO significantly reduced the lag time in the anaerobic digestion of grease trap waste.