Valorizing saline biomass from horticultural waste via pyrolysis

Large emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) are severely affecting the planet. Thus, considerable effort has been undertaken to deploy technologies for CO2 capture and long-term storage. Biochar is a carbon-rich material that can have a two-fold contribution toward mitigating climate change: (a) it enhances soil fertility, thus reducing the requirement for fertilizers and (b) it can persist in soil for thousands of years, serving as a carbon sink material. Herein, we evaluate the operating conditions required to produce biochar using saline biomass obtained from horticultural waste in a university campus on the coast of the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia. The biomass has >10 wt% of Ca, Na, and Mg, which allows for the production of microporous biochar with a surface area of similar to 150 m(2)/g without any additional chemical or physical activation treatment. The bio-oil obtained as an associated product has similar to 25 %-50 % of terpenoids and 9 %-42 % of phenols, and its composition varies based on the pyrolysis conditions. These high-value compounds can enhance the economic feasibility of a process that can contribute to environmental remediation.