Giulia Infurna, Nadka Tz. Dintcheva
Biochar, a carbon-rich material derived from biomass pyrolysis, offers a promising pathway for valorising agricultural and industrial residues within a circular economy. This review analyses the evolution of biochar properties, including fixed carbon content, elemental composition, surface functional groups, porosity, pH, hydrophobicity, and thermal stability, as a function of pyrolysis temperature. The novelty of this work lies in the systematic correlation between the thermal history of biochar and its performance as a functional filler in polymer composites. In fact, increasing temperature enhances carbonisation and aromatic ordering, and in turn induces a transition from hydrophilic to hydrophobic behaviour, thereby promoting micro-mesoporous development. These shifts are critical for compatibility with polymer matrices and thus the production of light-weight, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly composite materials through processes such as melt extrusion and injection moulding. This study highlights how biochar can be tuned for compatibility: low-temperature biochar enhances adhesion in polar systems, while high-temperature biochar favours non-polar matrices, improving stiffness, thermal stability, and electrical conductivity. In biodegradable polymer composites, additional effects on crystallisation behaviour and degradation mechanisms emerge, further highlighting the complexity of designing biochar-reinforced systems.