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Biochar is produced by pyrolysis process which is the thermal decomposition of organic material, usually at temperatures between 300 and 800°C with little to no oxygen. One technology that falls into the category of low-cost pyrolysis reactor is the Top Lit Up Draft (TLUD). It utilizes a batch process where the biomass is lit at the top. The descending pyrolysis zone eventually reaches the bottom of the fuel, completing the conversion process and resulting in production of biochar. The reactor uses a forced draft of air supplied at the bottom. An experimental approach was used in this paper to study the TLUD configuration for almond shells, where temperature profiles are shown inside the pyrolysis reactor (pyrolyzer). The correlation between primary airflow and pyrolysis front downward velocity was studied, where the effect of insulation was experimentally analyzed. The volatile gases produced were combusted using an external burner to reduce air pollution. The contribution of this paper is to correlate uniformity of the final product with ambient temperature and pyrolysis front speed. Experiments were carried out for 5, 10 and 15 Lmin−1 airflows with and without insulation. This paper creates a framework for the addition of a control scheme that may ensure uniform quality of biochar produced in TLUD configuration.

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