A Review of Biochar Properties and Their Utilization in Crop Agriculture and Livestock Production

Kalus, Kajetan; Kozieł, Jacek A.; Opaliński, Sebastian

doi:10.3390/app9173494

Cited by 79 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…One of the various solutions suggested for reusing organic and lignocellulosic waste is to convert the complex constituent into simpler ones, ultimately generating gaseous products and a residual solid carbon referred to as "biochar" (BC) via pyrolysis. In addition, it is an appropriate way to ensure carbon and energy exploitation [4]. Many of these materials are by-products of agricultural yield or municipal waste management, frequently classified as waste which has to be discarded.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimization of Food Waste and Biochar In-Vessel Co-Composting

et al. 2020

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As bulking agents (BA) affect the composting process, this work examined the impact of combinations of different organic components in order to obtain an efficient co-substrate for food waste (FW) in-vessel composting. To boost the occurrence of microorganisms inhabiting the compost, mature compost was firstly coupled with wheat straw, added to FW, and considered as a control (BC0). Then, two trials (BC10, BC20) including 10% and 20% of biochar were monitored. The results indicated that the temperature of the amended bioreactors was notably increased compared to the unamended one. Thermophilic temperatures were achieved at 14, 34, and 78 h after the experimental setup for BC20, BC10, and BC0, which lasted for 14, 17, and 12 days, respectively. When it came to an assessment of maturity and stability, the quality of the compost was evaluated against several indicators and compared with the compost quality standards of the UK, France, Canada, the USA, Poland, and Germany. BC10 illustrated a high-quality product in relation to the heavy metal concentration, a C:N ratio which reached 14.97, an AT4 which was lower than 6 (4.36 mg O2/g TS), and a nitrification index of 2.61 (<3). Consequently, the addition of 10% of biochar as a co-substrate showed an improvement of the process evolution and the characteristics of the biofertilizer produced.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimization of Food Waste and Biochar In-Vessel Co-Composting

et al. 2020

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“…Torrefaction is a biomass thermal decomposition process that produces a C-rich product-biochar [12,[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. Even though there is no exact definition and the term 'biochar' is loosely used for all char, which is thermochemically or hydrothermally produced out of biomass or waste products with high organic content, there are some limitations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Waste-to-Carbon: Is the Torrefied Sewage Sludge with High Ash Content a Better Fuel or Fertilizer?

et al. 2020

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Sewage sludge (SS) recycling is an important part of the proposed ‘circular economy’ concept. SS can be valorized via torrefaction (also known as ‘low-temperature pyrolysis’ or ‘roasting’). SS can, therefore, be considered a low-quality fuel or a source of nutrients essential for plant growth. Biochar produced by torrefaction of SS is a form of carbonized fuel or fertilizer. In this research, for the first time, we tested the feasibility of torrefaction of SS with high ash content for either fuel or organic fertilizer production. The research was conducted in 18 variants (six torrefaction temperatures between 200~300 °C, and three process residence times of 20, 40, 60 min) in 5 repetitions. Fuel and fertilizer properties and multiple regression analysis of produced biochar were conducted. The higher heating value (HHV) of raw SS was 21.2 MJ·kg−1. Produced biochar was characterized by HHV up to 12.85 MJ·kg−1 and lower H/C and O/C molar ratio. Therefore, torrefaction of SS with high ash content should not be considered as a method for improving the fuel properties. Instead, the production of fertilizer appears to be favorable. The torrefaction increased C, N, Mg, Ca, K, Na concentration in relation to raw SS. No significant (p < 0.05) influence of the increase of temperature and residence time on the increase of biogenic elements in biochar was found, however the highest biogenic element content, were found in biochar produced for 60 min, under the temperature ranging from 200 to 240 °C. Obtained biochars met the Polish regulatory criteria for mineral-organic fertilizer. Therefore SS torrefaction may be considered a feasible waste recycling technology. The calculation of torrefaction energy and the mass balance shows energy demand <2.5 GJ∙Mg−1 w.m., and the expected mass yield of the product, organic fertilizer, is ~178 kg∙Mg−1 w.m of SS. Further investigation should consider the scaling-up of the SS torrefaction process, with the application of other types of SSs.

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“…Biochar, a product of biomass pyrolysis, heating under low or no O2 conditions, has attracted much interest as a means of solving many soil problems (Laird et al, 2008). Many biochar properties can be useful to address challenges in crop and livestock agriculture (Kalus et al, 2019). Freeze dry manure fertilization to the soil in the presence of biochar has shown a significant decrease in nutrient leaching loss, greater retention of plant nutrients, and improvement in soil C and N compared with control manure-treated soil (Laird et al, 2010a andLaird et al, 2010b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Nutrients and Carbon Dynamics in the Presence of Biochar-swine Manure Mixture Under Controlled Leaching Experiment Using a Midwestern USA Soil

Banik¹,

Kozieł²,

De³

et al. 2020

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Biochar application to the soil can improve soil quality and nutrient leaching loss. Recent studies have reported that surficial application of biochar to stored swine manure can reduce emissions of odorous compounds and reduce the volatilization loss of ammonia. Our working hypothesis was that the biochar-treated manure application to the soil would decrease nutrient leaching from manure and increase plant-available nutrients. The study objectives were to evaluate the impact of biochar-treated swine manure on soil total C, N, and other major and minor nutrients. Three biochars (i) neutral pH red-oak (RO), (ii) highly alkaline autothermal corn (Zea mays) stover (HAP), and (iii) mild acidic Fe-treated autothermal corn stover (HAPE) were incubated with swine manure for a month. The biochar-manure mixture was applied in triplicate to soil columns with application rate determined by the P2O5-P content in manure or manure-biochar mixtures after the incubation. The ammonium (NH4+), nitrate (NO3-), and reactive P concentrations in soil column leachates were recorded for eight leaching events. Soil properties and plant-available nutrients were compared between treatments and control manure & soil. Manure-(HAP&HAPE) biochar treatments significantly increased soil organic matter (OM) and increased soil total C, N, and improved soil bulk density. Concentrations of KCl-extractable NH4+ and NO3- significantly increased in HAPE column leachates during this 4-week study and in the soil after the experiment. A significant reduction in soil Mehlich3 Cu was also observed for the manure-HAPE mixture compared with the control. Overall, the manure-biochar incubation enabled biochar to sorb nutrients from manure, and the subsequent manure-biochar mixture application to soil improved soil quality and plant nutrient availability in comparison to conventional manure application to soil. This proof-of-the-concept study suggests that biochars could be used to solve both environmental and agronomic challenges and further improve the sustainability of animal and crop production agriculture.

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A Review of Biochar Properties and Their Utilization in Crop Agriculture and Livestock Production

Cited by 79 publications

References 58 publications

Optimization of Food Waste and Biochar In-Vessel Co-Composting

Optimization of Food Waste and Biochar In-Vessel Co-Composting

Waste-to-Carbon: Is the Torrefied Sewage Sludge with High Ash Content a Better Fuel or Fertilizer?

Soil Nutrients and Carbon Dynamics in the Presence of Biochar-swine Manure Mixture Under Controlled Leaching Experiment Using a Midwestern USA Soil

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