Gasification treatment of poplar biomass produced in a contaminated area restored using plant assisted bioremediation. (1st June 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ancona, Valeria; Barra Caracciolo, Anna; Campanale, Claudia; De Caprariis, Benedetta; Grenni, Paola; Uricchio, Vito Felice; Borello, Domenico
• Is Part Of: Journal of environmental management. Volume 239(2019)
• Page Start: 137
• Page End: 141
• Publication Date: 2019-06-01
• Subjects: Biomass gasification -- Green remediation -- Poplar -- Polychlorinated biphenyls -- Heavy metals -- Calcium catalysis -- Circular economy; Environmental policy -- Periodicals; Environmental management -- Periodicals; Environment -- Periodicals; Ecology -- Periodicals; 363.705
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.03.038
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0301-4797

Abstract

Abstract: Remediation of polluted soils using phytoremediation techniques is an effective strategy. However, the use of the biomass from these soils for energy purposes may raise efficiency and pollution emission problems and there is currently little research on this issue. In this work, the main results of a fluidized-bed gasification treatment conducted on poplar biomass pruning residues from a multi-contaminated area are presented. The samples were collected from an experimental site in which a plant-assisted bioremediation (PABR) technology has been applied since 2013 to reduce the soil heavy metal (HM) and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contents. The main goal of this study was to identify the specific treatment necessary, in addition to conventional tar reforming, for trapping possible residues of HMs and PCBs in ashes during the gasification process. In our study, we demonstrate that gasification of contaminated biomass coming from PABR (where contaminant residues are concentrated mainly in the roots and are insignificant in the shoots) produces syngas whose characteristics are similar to those obtained using non-contaminated biomass. The results showed that contaminant concentrations in the prunings were negligible; the total amount of PCBs was 1.63 ng/g, while HMs ranged from 0.01 to 0.70 mg/kg, except for Cu and Zn (∼20 mg/kg). Furthermore, the presence in the biomass of Ca and traces of other metals showed a possible catalytic effect with an improvement in the tar conversion in the gasifier leading to a reduction of 5–10% in tar content. The overall results suggest that a specific treatment for pollutant capture is necessary only when the roots, the part of the plants where these contaminants are concentrated, are sampled and used for the gasification process. Although energy from biomass produced on a contaminated site is currently considered waste and involves disposal costs, this paper shows that the poplar biomass grown on a multi-contaminated soil can be used for energy purposes without any impact on the environment. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: Biomass quality assessment is necessary for evaluating gasification capabilities. Poplar from PABR accumulate contaminants mainly in the roots. Trace PCB concentrations in biomass not affect the gasification treatment. The soil characteristics affect the yield and quality of syngas. Ca occurrence in soil and biomass has a catalytic effect in tar cracking increase.