Abstract:Engineered biochars are promising candidates in a wide range of environmental applications, including soil fertility improvement, contaminant immobilization, wastewater treatment and in situ carbon sequestration. This review provides a systematic classification of these novel biochar composites and identifies the promising future trends in composite research and application. It is proposed that metals, minerals, layered double hydroxides, carbonaceous nanomaterials and microorganisms enhance the performances o… Show more
“…An emerging trend in the remediation industry is to develop innovative remediation materials with a lower environmental footprint. One promising research direction is using pyrolysis procedures and various modification strategies to produce biochar, which bears a high specific surface area and abundant functional groups. − Our results also show that re-applying the stabilization reagent accounted for the majority of the environmental footprint. If the longevity of CC exceeds 4 years, chemical stabilization would become superior to phytoextraction.…”
Agricultural land degradation is posing a serious threat to global food security. Restoration of the degraded land has traditionally been viewed as an inherently sustainable practice; however, restoration processes render consequential environmental impacts which could potentially exceed the benefit of restoration itself. In the present study, an integrated life cycle assessment analysis was conducted to evaluate life cycle primary, secondary, and tertiary impacts associated with the restoration of the contaminated agricultural land. The results demonstrated the importance of including spatially differentiated impacts associated with managing the land and growing crops. Comparing four risk management scenarios at a contaminated field in Southern China, it was found that the primary and secondary impacts followed the order of no action > chemical stabilization > phytoextraction > alternative planting. However, when tertiary impacts were taken into account, alternative planting rendered much higher footprint in comparison with phytoextraction and chemical stabilization, which provides evidence against an emerging notion held by some policy makers. Furthermore, assuming that the loss of the rice paddy field in Southern China is compensated by the deforested land in the Amazon rainforest, the total global environmental impact would far exceed that of no action, resulting in 687 ton CO 2 -e ha −1 of climate change impact. Overall, the present study provides new research findings to support more holistic policy making and also sheds lights on the future development of various restoration technologies.
“…An emerging trend in the remediation industry is to develop innovative remediation materials with a lower environmental footprint. One promising research direction is using pyrolysis procedures and various modification strategies to produce biochar, which bears a high specific surface area and abundant functional groups. − Our results also show that re-applying the stabilization reagent accounted for the majority of the environmental footprint. If the longevity of CC exceeds 4 years, chemical stabilization would become superior to phytoextraction.…”
Agricultural land degradation is posing a serious threat to global food security. Restoration of the degraded land has traditionally been viewed as an inherently sustainable practice; however, restoration processes render consequential environmental impacts which could potentially exceed the benefit of restoration itself. In the present study, an integrated life cycle assessment analysis was conducted to evaluate life cycle primary, secondary, and tertiary impacts associated with the restoration of the contaminated agricultural land. The results demonstrated the importance of including spatially differentiated impacts associated with managing the land and growing crops. Comparing four risk management scenarios at a contaminated field in Southern China, it was found that the primary and secondary impacts followed the order of no action > chemical stabilization > phytoextraction > alternative planting. However, when tertiary impacts were taken into account, alternative planting rendered much higher footprint in comparison with phytoextraction and chemical stabilization, which provides evidence against an emerging notion held by some policy makers. Furthermore, assuming that the loss of the rice paddy field in Southern China is compensated by the deforested land in the Amazon rainforest, the total global environmental impact would far exceed that of no action, resulting in 687 ton CO 2 -e ha −1 of climate change impact. Overall, the present study provides new research findings to support more holistic policy making and also sheds lights on the future development of various restoration technologies.
“…Then, as shown in Fig. 2 , chemical fertilisers are added with the mineral–biochar composite to create mineral–biochar composite fertilisers (Wang et al 2021a ; Zhao et al 2021a ; Premarathna et al 2019 ; Lesbani et al 2021 ; Azimzadeh et al 2021 ). Fig.…”
In the context of climate change and the circular economy, biochar has recently found many applications in various sectors as a versatile and recycled material. Here, we review application of biochar-based for carbon sink, covering agronomy, animal farming, anaerobic digestion, composting, environmental remediation, construction, and energy storage. The ultimate storage reservoirs for biochar are soils, civil infrastructure, and landfills. Biochar-based fertilisers, which combine traditional fertilisers with biochar as a nutrient carrier, are promising in agronomy. The use of biochar as a feed additive for animals shows benefits in terms of animal growth, gut microbiota, reduced enteric methane production, egg yield, and endo-toxicant mitigation. Biochar enhances anaerobic digestion operations, primarily for biogas generation and upgrading, performance and sustainability, and the mitigation of inhibitory impurities. In composts, biochar controls the release of greenhouse gases and enhances microbial activity. Co-composted biochar improves soil properties and enhances crop productivity. Pristine and engineered biochar can also be employed for water and soil remediation to remove pollutants. In construction, biochar can be added to cement or asphalt, thus conferring structural and functional advantages. Incorporating biochar in biocomposites improves insulation, electromagnetic radiation protection and moisture control. Finally, synthesising biochar-based materials for energy storage applications requires additional functionalisation.
“…Biochar is a carbon-rich product of the pyrolysis process intended to be used as a soil amendment to improve the physical and chemical characteristics of soil and mitigate climate change by sequestering carbon. When applied to soil, biochars, due to their large internal surface area, increase soil porosity, cation exchange capacity (CEC), and water holding capacity (WHC), improve the soil as a microbial habitat, and provide plant nutrients [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. Biochar is a thermochemically modified product with high carbon content, large specific surface porous structure, and various surface functional groups formed during the pyrolysis of biomass under anoxic conditions at 450-550 • C (plant biomass) or 550-850 • C (animal byproducts).…”
Biochars as soil amendments have been reported to improve soil properties and may have an important role in the mitigation of the consequences of climate change. As a novel approach, this study examines whether biochar and digestate co-application can be utilized as cost-effective, renewable plant nutrients. The effects of two types of biochar—wood chip biochar (WBC) and animal bone biochar (ABC), applied alone or in combination with an anaerobic digestate—on soil physicochemical properties, on the levels of selected elements, and on growth yields of ryegrass were studied in laboratory experiments. Most parameters were significantly affected by the treatments, and the investigated factors (biochar type, application rate, and the presence of digestate), as well as their interactions, were found to have significant effects on the characteristics investigated. The easily soluble phosphorus content (AL-P2O5) of the soil increased in all WBC and ABC biochar treatments, and the presence of digestate caused a further increase in AL-P2O5 in the case of anaerobic digestate-supplemented ABC treatment (ABCxAD). The pH increased in both ABC and WBC treatments, and also in the case of ABCxAD treatments. Similar increases in the salt content were detected in ABC-treated samples and in ABCxAD treatments at higher application rates. WBC increased the water holding capacity and carbon content of the soil. Phytotoxic effects of biochars were not detected, although higher doses resulted in slower germination. Combined biochar–digestate applications resulted in increased plant yields compared to sole biochar treatments. Thus, biochar–digestate combinations appear to be applicable as organo-mineral fertilizers.
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