Abstract
Biochar is the carbon rich product of organic waste pyrolysis under
oxygen-free conditions. Biochar properties are inherited from the raw
materials used and can be enhanced with production methods. The
versatility of the raw materials, along with the tweaks in production
methods, enable biochars to have a widely varied range of properties,
that make it suitable for a multitude of applications. This versatility,
in turn, makes characterization, and performance monitoring challenging
especially in large scale applications, typical of biochar use. Biochars
have unique electrical properties that could be used to fill this gap.
The complex electrical properties of biochar remain largely unstudied;
this work explores them for different types and concentrations of
biochar in porous media. Early measurements on the complex conductivity
signatures of biochars, show promising results for both characterization
and mass/volume estimation. Biochar surface properties appear have a
profound effect on complex conductivity signals, suggesting the
potential use of such methods as characterization and monitoring tools,
even in large scale operations.