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ARS Home » Plains Area » Bushland, Texas » Conservation and Production Research Laboratory » Livestock Nutrient Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #423440
Research Project: Strategies to Manage Feed Nutrients, Reduce Gas Emissions, and Promote Soil Health for Beef and Dairy Cattle Production Systems of the Southern Great Plains

Location: Livestock Nutrient Management Research

Title: Furfural release from lignocellulosic biomass biochars: Environmental and health implications

Author
item SYGULA, EWA - Wroclaw University Of Environmental And Life Sciences
item LYCZKO, JACEK - Wroclaw University Of Environmental And Life Sciences
item Koziel, Jacek
item BIALOWIEC, ANDRZEJ - Wroclaw University Of Environmental And Life Sciences

Submitted to: Industrial Crops and Products
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/5/2025
Publication Date: 12/1/2025
Citation: Sygula, E., Lyczko, J., Koziel, J.A., Bialowiec, A. 2025. Furfural release from lignocellulosic biomass biochars: Environmental and health implications. Industrial Crops and Products. 237. Available: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2025.122255.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2025.122255

Interpretive Summary: Adding value to abundant biomass waste could improve the economic well-being of rural communities. Thermal treatment of crop stover residues makes biochar that can potentially be reused in agriculture or as fuel. Yet, the biochar production itself carries the risk of emitting harmful organic compounds. Unfortunately, the safety of biochar production, handling, storage and usage is poorly understood. One example is the release of furfural gas during biochar production. Furfural is a valuable ingredient of many industrial manufacturing processes but can be toxic when inhaled. Accordingly, researchers from ARS (Bushland) and Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences (Poland) investigated the release of furfural from biochar. They showed that the less furfural is released if higher process temperatures are used. This finding helps improve the safety of biochar production and usage aiming to lower the risk of occupational exposure. Effective emissions control and recovery strategies will be essential to improving the economic value of waste biomass as a source of furfural while mitigating risks to human health and the environment.

Technical Abstract: Furfural is a versatile chemical with many applications across different industrial sectors. However, uncontrolled release of furfural, a volatile organic compound (VOC) primarily derived from thermal processing of lignocellulosic biomass, can pose significant environmental and health risks due to its toxic and potentially carcinogenic properties. Thermal treatment of biomass generates biochar, a carbonaceous by-product with the potential for agricultural, environmental, and biorenewable energy applications. This study investigated furfural release from biochar generated from standard biomass blends composed of lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose. Furfural release from biochar were influenced by feedstock composition and process temperature, with hemicellulose identified as the primary source. Biochars derived from hemicellulose-rich biomass exhibited the highest furfural release potential, particularly at lower process temperatures (200–275 °C), while release decreased significantly with higher temperature processes (350 °C). Biochar derived primarily from cellulose demonstrated moderate furfural release, primarily at 225–275 °C, whereas biochar from lignin-rich blends had minimal release. A new metric, carbon relative molar mass (CRMM), to model furfural release was introduced. It was found that CRMM is a better predictor of furfural release than the process temperature. Biochars derived from higher CRMM (>27 g·mol-1) were more conducive to furfural release.