Optimization of Biochar Production from Cassava Peels: An Application of Response Surface Methodology

Pyrolysis of agricultural waste to biochar presents a valorization pathway for wastes in an environmentally friendly way. The study focuses on the optimization of biochar production from cassava peels using response surface methodology. Three most important process parameters were considered for optimization: pyrolysis temperature (350-750 °C), heating rate (5-25 °C/min), and reaction time (20-130 min). For that, a Box-Behnken experimental design has been employed to develop a predictive model for biochar yield and other responses of interest: pH, bulk density, and surface area. The developed empirical models for predicting biochar characteristics with high accuracy were validated through diagnostic plots and experimental trials. It was seen that temperature, heating rate, and reaction time substantially affected the yield of the biochar. The maximization resulted in an overall increase in the physicochemical properties of biochars. This study illustrates scalable applications of biochar and establishes the predictive model for real validation experiments for the application of process flow modeling of biomass pyrolysis. This work emphasizes the optimization of parameters in the production of biochar and gives a real platform for the use of agricultural residues in sustainable waste management and environmental remediation. The predictive model developed can be used as an important tool in designing efficient biomass conversion processes. Received: 6 November 2024 | Revised: 16 December 2024 | Accepted: 17 January 2024 Conflicts of Interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest to this work. Data Availability Statement Data available on request from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Author Contribution Statement Timothy Adekanye: Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Formal analysis, Writing - review & editing, Supervision, Project administration. Abiodun Okunola: Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Supervision. Adeolu Adediran: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Validation, Formal analysis, Resources, Writing - review & editing, Supervision. Afolabi Tokunbo Yemisi: Resources, Data curation, Project administration. Aisha Aderibigbe: Investigation, Writing – original draft, Visualization.