Biochar lowers ammonia emission and improves nitrogen retention in poultry litter composting

Agyarko-Mintah, Eunice; Cowie, Annette; Zwieten, Lukas Van; Singh, Bhupinder; Smillie, Robert M.; Harden, S.; Fornasier, Flavio

doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2016.12.009

Cited by 176 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 30 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Adding biochar to compost can also reduce NH 3 volatilization ( Sanchez‐Monedero et al, ), likely due to sorption of precursors like

{NH}_{4}^{+}

, urea, and uric acid or NH 3 released during composting ( Steiner et al, ). However, high pH and high temperatures during composting are two important parameters that favour NH 3 volatilization ( Agyarko‐Mintah et al., ). In this study, a reduction in NH 3 ‐N volatilization was observed with carbonized wood (cWO) mixture but not in cRH and cCC compared with the uncarbonized feedstocks.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…The ability of biochar to decrease N 2 O emissions has been attributed to the reduction of the inorganic-N pool available for nitrifiers and denitrifiers through adsorption of NH þ 4 (Cai et al, 2016) (Steiner et al, 2010). However, high pH and high temperatures during composting are two important parameters that favour NH 3 volatilization (Agyarko-Mintah et al, 2017b). In this study, a reduction in NH 3 -N volatilization was observed with carbonized wood (cWO) mixture but not in cRH and cCC compared with the uncarbonized feedstocks.…”

Section: Emissions Of Nitrogen (Nh 3 -N and N 2 O-n)mentioning

confidence: 64%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Gaseous carbon and nitrogen losses during composting of carbonized and un‐carbonized agricultural residues in northern Ghana

Manka’abusi

Steiner

Haering

et al. 2018

J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Adding biochar to nutrient rich organic matter during composting reportedly reduces nitrogen (N) volatilization and carbonization of feedstock stabilized organic carbon (C). We studied the effects of biochar, produced from agricultural residue as compost additives, on CO2, N2O, and NH3 fluxes in northern Ghana. Three biochar types [from corn cobs (cCC), rice husks (cRH), and wood (cWO)] and their uncharred feedstocks (CC, RH, and WO), were co‐composted with poultry manure (15 vol.‐%) and rice straw (60 vol.‐%) in randomly allocated 1 m3 compost bins. Emissions were measured using a closed chamber system composed of a photo‐acoustic infrared gas analyser (INNOVA 1312‐5). Biochar amended composts showed higher CO2‐C emission rates during the initial composting phase. Maximum CO2‐C flux rates during the first week reached 15 g CO2‐C m−2 h−1 in cRH and 12 g CO2‐C m−2 h−1 for RH, while those from cCC were 19 g CO2‐C m−2 h−1 and from CC 14 g CO2‐C m−2 h−1. Respiration significantly dropped during the last week of composting and lower rates recorded with carbonized compared with the un‐carbonized feedstocks. Total CO2‐C losses were 12 kg m−2 34 d−1 for RH and 9 kg m−2 34 d−1 for cRH, resulting in a 29% reduction of CO2‐C. Emissions were 9 and 10 kg CO2‐C m−2 34 d−1 for cCC and CC, while cWO and WO emitted 7 and 8 kg CO2‐C m−2 34 d−1, respectively. Volatilization of NH3‐N was significantly lower in compost containing cWO (89 g N m−2 34 d−1) compared to WO (166 g N m−2 34 d−1), while N2O‐N emissions were lower in compost mixtures containing cRH (27%), cCC (7%), and cWO (16%) compared with their un‐carbonized feedstock.

show abstract

“…Adding biochar to compost can also reduce NH 3 volatilization ( Sanchez‐Monedero et al, ), likely due to sorption of precursors like

{NH}_{4}^{+}

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Emissions Of Nitrogen (Nh 3 -N and N 2 O-n)mentioning

confidence: 64%

Gaseous carbon and nitrogen losses during composting of carbonized and un‐carbonized agricultural residues in northern Ghana

Manka’abusi

Steiner

Haering

et al. 2018

J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, with a small amount of biochar being introduced to the composting process of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste, the final pH obtained from 1.5%, 3%, and 5% of biochar supplements ranged between 4.7 and 5.7, which proved that, once it was added in an appropriate amount, the buffering capacity of biochar had a notable effect on pH. The rise in pH could result from the generation and emission of NH 3 [36]. Similar pH tendencies have been reported during the composting of food waste and biochar at the rate of 10% to 15%.…”

Section: Effect Of Biochar On the Temperature And Moisture Content Evmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

“…Several mechanisms have been proposed for the participation of biochar into the humification of organic matter during composting, including (1) the abiotic decomposition of biochar, (2) adsorption of easy-degradable compounds and fulvic acids in biochar surface, (3) and favouring the activity of specific microorganisms involved in the degradation of humic substances [15]. Furthermore, given that a wide-range of application rates, ranging from 2% to 50% in volume base, has been applied for composting process [8,[16][17][18][19], identification of an optimum proportion of biochar addition would be necessary for decision-making on the future use of biochar [20,21]. Other reports proved an increase in the content of humified organic carbon by biochar addition in the range between 13-35% and 15-42%, for fulvic-like and humic-like acids, respectively [17,22], and they conclude that high biochar doses (>12%) are needed to create an impact on the humification.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Efficiency of a Low Dose of Biochar in Enhancing the Aromaticity of Humic-Like Substance Extracted from Poultry Manure Compost

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Using biochar as a bulking agent in composting is gradually becoming popular for the minimization of nitrogen losses during the process and the improvement in compost quality. While a wide range of different biochar doses is applied, not much clear information was available about the optimum ratio. This study presents the impact of adding a low dose (2% v/v) of slow-pyrolysis oak biochar (Quercus serrate Murray), into poultry manure on the recalcitrant characteristic of humified organic matter. The influence in the chemical composition of humic-like substance was evaluated in poultry manure compost prepared with (PM+B) and without biochar (PM). The shift to slightly more stable chemical composition was shown in humic acid-like (HA) and fulvic acid-like (FA) extracted from PM+B compost, by increasing the proportion of aromatic carbon groups and thermal stability measured by thermogravimetry. We conclude that the addition of 2% biochar moderately enhances the recalcitrance of humified organic carbon and this could be feasible for the implementation of the biochar use in composting since only a small amount is required.

show abstract

Biochar lowers ammonia emission and improves nitrogen retention in poultry litter composting

Cited by 176 publications

References 30 publications

Gaseous carbon and nitrogen losses during composting of carbonized and un‐carbonized agricultural residues in northern Ghana

Gaseous carbon and nitrogen losses during composting of carbonized and un‐carbonized agricultural residues in northern Ghana

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

The Efficiency of a Low Dose of Biochar in Enhancing the Aromaticity of Humic-Like Substance Extracted from Poultry Manure Compost

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About