CEST2025

Biochar production from municipal woody waste in Mediterranean regions, particularly Cyprus, presents significant potential for environmental sustainability. Feedstocks such as palm, fig, olive, carob, and eucalyptus trees offer varying lignocellulosic content, wood density, and nutrient profiles, all of which influence the quality of the resulting biochar, including its stability, porosity, and adsorption capacity. Different pyrolysis techniques, slow, fast, and flash, produce biochar with distinct characteristics. Slow pyrolysis is ideal for generating stable, high-carbon biochar, while fast and flash pyrolysis, with their higher temperatures and shorter residence times, yield biochar with improved adsorption properties. Moisture content plays a crucial role in pyrolysis efficiency, and moisture management strategies like pre-drying methods are particularly useful in Mediterranean climates. The choice of feedstock directly impacts the physical and chemical properties of the biochar. Advanced characterization techniques, including BET surface area measurement, pore structure analysis, and elemental composition, help link these properties to biochar’s effectiveness in mitigating greenhouse gases (GHGs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), ammonia, and hydrogen sulfides emitted from agricultural activities. Biochar offers practical applications such as odor mitigation and enhancing soil fertility. While challenges such as feedstock variability, optimizing pyrolysis conditions, and ensuring scalability remain, there are clear pathways to overcome these hurdles. This understanding lays the foundation for advancing biochar production in Cyprus and other Mediterranean regions to tackle urgent environmental and agricultural challenges.