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ABSTRACT
It is imperative to develop an innovative method for quickly treating the large volume of cow manure produced in intensive cow farms. Biochar is a stable carbon rich by-product synthesized through pyrolysis of plant and animal based biomass (animal waste). Biochar is a widely known soil amendment.This study was conducted to evaluate selected properties of cow dung derived biochar. The biochar was prepared by pyrolyzing cow dung at 3000C. The cow dung was pyrolyzed in a muffle furnace to obtain the biochar. The biochar properties that were evaluated were ash content, bulk density, pH, electric conductivity and surface acid functional groups. The biochar was found to have an ash content of 30±0.10%, bulk density of 0.490±0.3g/cm3, pH of 8.32±0.10, electric conductivity of 12.33±0.3µs/cm and the total acid group was 3.11(measured by boehm titration). From the study, the pyrolysis of cow dung at 300°C produced an alkaline biochar which could help increase the PH of soil when applied to acidic soil. Also, the bulk density of the biochar was found to be lower than that of soil and could be significant in reducing the density of the bulk soil. The ash content was found to be 30±0. 10% which relates to the percentage of inorganic compounds present in the biochar.
