Biochar for Environmental Management

Lehmann, Johannes; Joseph, Stephen

doi:10.4324/9781849770552

Cited by 685 publications

(693 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

657

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…As this high-temperature softwood BC has a higher pH (10.9) than most BCs (Lehmann and Joseph, 2012;Mukome et al, 2013) and was used at high substitution rates (70%), it represents a 'worst-case scenario' liming effect. BCs produced from other feedstocks and/or at lower temperatures may not have as pronounced liming effects.…”

Section: Ph Adjustment Of Soil-free Substrates With Bcmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Substitution of peat moss with softwood biochar for soil-free marigold growth

Margenot

Griffin

Alves

et al. 2018

Industrial Crops and Products

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A B S T R A C TPeat moss has historically been a key component of soil-free substrates in the greenhouse and nursery industries. However, the increasing expense of peat, negative impacts of peat mining on wetland ecosystems, and growing perception of peat as unsustainable have led to investigation for alternatives. Biochar (BC) is a promising substitute for peat, yet the majority of studies examine additions of BC to peat-based substrates rather than replacing the peat component or employ relatively low substitution rates. Furthermore, at high substitution rates the alkalinity common to many BCs may increase substrate pH and adversely impact plant production. We evaluated BC substitution for peat and pH adjustment of resulting substrates on marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) performance under standard greenhouse conditions. A high pH (10.9) softwood BC (800°C) was substituted for peat in a standard 70:30 (v/v) peat:perlite mixture at 10% total volume increments. Substrate pH was either not adjusted or adjusted to pH 5.8 using a BC by-product, pyroligneous acid (PLA). Germination was inhibited in pH adjusted substrates with high BC substitution (50-70% total substrate volume) likely due to higher dosages of PLA needed to neutralize pH. At harvest (flowering stage, 9 weeks) the initial pH gradient (4.4-10.4) in substrates that were not pH adjusted had converged to pH 5.6-7.5, and BC substitution for peat did not negatively impact marigold biomass or flowering. At low substitution rates (10-30% total substrate volume), marigold biomass and leaf SPAD values were greater than the control peat-perlite mixture (0% BC). This study demonstrates that softwood BC can be considered as a full replacement for peat in soil-free substrates, and even at high rates (70% total substrate volume) does not require pH adjustment for marigold production. Crop-and BC-specific considerations and economic potential should be investigated for wider application.

show abstract

Section: Ph Adjustment Of Soil-free Substrates With Bcmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In particular, the high pH of many BCs (Lehmann and Joseph, 2012;Mukome et al, 2013) could result in BC-substituted substrates with pH values unfavorable to plant growth. For example, pelleted wood BC (720-755°C) substitution for peat (< 15% (v/v) required adjustment of pH due to the liming effect of the BC (Vaughn et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Substitution of peat moss with softwood biochar for soil-free marigold growth

Margenot

Griffin

Alves

et al. 2018

Industrial Crops and Products

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Some studies, e.g., [40] suggested that the increased porosity of biochar increases water retention in soils, depending on biochar feedstock, soil type, and blend rates. Nutrients dissolved in the water may be retained in the soil and therefore accessible to plants [4]. The ability of biochar to increase water-holding capacity will have profound effects on areas prone to drought [41].…”

Section: Agronomical Important Parameters Of Biocharmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, the use of biochar as a soil amendment is a promising agricultural practice that reduces N losses achieving a more effective N fertilizer use, and at the same time promotes soil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation in soils [3]. The application of biochar as a soil amendment could even bring areas lost for agriculture back into production by compensating for acidity, too low organic carbon and water retention [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Biochar for Soil Improvement: Evaluation of Biochar from Gasification and Slow Pyrolysis

Fryda

Visser

2015

Agriculture

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:The growing need for food, energy and materials demands a resource efficient approach as the world's population keeps increasing. Biochar is a valuable product that can be produced in combination with bio-energy in a cascading approach to make best use of available resources. In addition, there are resources that have not been used up to now, such as, e.g., many agro-residues that can become available. Most agro-residues are not suitable for high temperature energy conversion processes due to high alkali-content, which results in slagging and fouling in conventional energy generation systems. Using agro-residues in thermal processes, therefore, logically moves to lower temperatures in order to avoid operational problems. This provides an ideal situation for the combined energy and biochar production. In this work a slow pyrolysis process (an auger reactor) at 400 °C and 600 °C is used as well as two fluidized bed systems for low-temperature (600 °C-750 °C) gasification for the combined energy and biochar generation. Comparison of the two different processes focuses here on the biochar quality parameters (physical, chemical and surface properties), although energy generation and biochar quality are not independent parameters. A large number of feedstock were investigated on general char characteristics and in more detail the paper focuses on two main input streams (woody residues, greenhouse waste) in order to deduct relationships between char parameters for the same feedstock. It is clear that the process technology influences the main biochar properties such as elemental-and ash composition, specific surface area, pH, in addition to mass yield quality of the gas produced. Slow pyrolysis biochars have smaller specific surface areas (SA) and higher PAH than the gasification samples (although below international norms) but higher yields. Higher process OPEN ACCESSAgriculture 2015, 5 1077 temperatures and different gaseous conditions in gasification resulted in lower biochar yields but larger TSA, higher pH and ash contents and very low tar content (16-PAH). From the feedstock data looked at in more detail, a few trends could be deducted in the attempt to learn how to steer the biochar characteristics for specific uses.

show abstract

Animal Manure Residue Upgrading and Nutrient Recovery in Biofertilisers

Jensen

2013

Animal Manure Recycling

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Biochar for Environmental Management

Cited by 685 publications

References 0 publications

Substitution of peat moss with softwood biochar for soil-free marigold growth

Substitution of peat moss with softwood biochar for soil-free marigold growth

Biochar for Soil Improvement: Evaluation of Biochar from Gasification and Slow Pyrolysis

Animal Manure Residue Upgrading and Nutrient Recovery in Biofertilisers

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About