Characterizing Corn and Cattle Manure Derived Biochars Relevant to Their Use as Soil Additives

Abstract

Abstract. Biomass-derived biochars have shown potential for improving soil properties as a whole that are conducive to plant growth with reduced environmental pollution. Four types of biomass, namely, corn stover (CS), dried distillers’ grains and solubles (DDGS), dairy manure (DM), and beef feedlot manure (BFM), were transformed to biochar through pyrolysis at 400°C with 1, 2, or 3 h residence time. The biochars were characterized by proximate analysis (volatile matter (VM), ash, and fixed carbon (FC)), ultimate analysis (total carbon (TC), hydrogen (H), nitrogen (N), sulfur (S), and oxygen (O)), and thermogravimetric analysis (pH, electrical conductivity (EC) and bulk density (BD)). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersion spectroscopy (EDXS), and Fourier transform infrared radiation (FTIR) spectroscopy were used to categorize pore size, functional groups, and mineralogical properties related to potential use in environmental remediation. The highest heating value (HV) was measured with CS (28 to 29 MJ kg-1), and the lowest HV was measured with BFM (~5 MJ kg-1). The greatest organic carbon (OC) content was obtained with CS (68%), followed by DDGS (63%), DM (44%), and BFM (15.4%) biochars. The SEM images showed the macrocellular morphology of the original shape of the biomass particles, which consisted mainly of aggregate microspheres 2 to 10 µm in size. The surface functional groups of all four biochars were dominated by hydroxyl, methyl, methylene, aromatic carbonyl/carboxylic, and alkene groups. The CS and DDGS biochars showed higher TC (76%), FC (61%), OC (67%), water holding capacity, and mineral contents and outperformed the DM and BFM biochars as the best soil amendments. Keywords: Beef feedlot manure, Corn stover, Dairy manure, Dried distillers’ grains and solubles.

Development of Functional Nanomaterials from Wheat Bran Derived Arabinoxylan for Nucleic Acid Delivery

“…FTIR measurements were carried out using a Thermo Scientific Nicolet 8700 FTIR instrument at a resolution of 4 cm –1 . A protocol described by Mary et al was followed to prepare the AX samples for FTIR analysis.…”

“…FTIR measurements were carried out using a Thermo Scientific Nicolet 8700 FTIR instrument at a resolution of 4 cm −1 . 25 A protocol described by Mary et al 26 was followed to prepare the AX samples for FTIR analysis. The samples were pulverized and crushed with potassium bromide (KBr) at a ratio of 1:100 (AX: KBr) to form a fine powder.…”

Effects of biochar amendment on carbon and nitrogen cycling in coastal saline soils: A review

“…P、K、Ca、Mg 等营养元素 [37] ，尤其是以畜禽粪便为原料的 BC [38][39] ，可直接为植物提供 更多的营养物质 [21,[40][41] ； (2) BC 可改善盐碱土的理化性质，如降低土壤容重，增大土壤 持水能力，提高土壤 CEC，从而在一定程度上缓解了土壤的盐碱胁迫 [19,42] ；(3) BC 可 为土壤微生物的生长与繁殖提供良好的生境，调节土壤微生物群落结构，增加其数量 和活性 [12] ，从而改善植物根际土壤的理化性质 [21,24,35] ； (4) BC 中富含的 K 释放后被植物吸 收，可提高植物组织液中的盐度，使植物在渗透压力下可调节气孔的闭合，从而调节植 物体内水循环，缓解盐碱胁迫对植物的不利影响 [35][36]43] ； (5) BC 具有较好的吸附能力，可 吸附土壤中的盐分，从而缓解盐碱胁迫或减轻植物的应激反应 [34] 。 然而，与酸性或中性土壤类似，并不是所有 BC 的添加都能促进盐碱土壤中植物的生 长 [19,[44][45] 。Luo 等 [19] [48] 。SOC 矿化受多种因素影响，如有机质的结构 和组成、土壤理化性质以及微生物种群组成和活性等 [49][50][51] [52] 、 负激发效应 (抑制矿化) [25,53] 和无显著影响 [35] 。Sun 等 [52] 评估了温度和水分对添加了 BC 的 土壤中 SOC 矿化的影响，发现在不同温度与湿度的条件下，小麦秸秆 BC 的施加均促进 了黄河三角洲滨海湿地盐碱土壤 SOC 的矿化。Lin 等 [35] [54][55][56] ； (2) 从长期效应来看，BC 对 SOM 降解相关的微生物 和酶的吸附固定导致微生物和酶活性降低，减弱了 SOM 的分解 [57] ； (3) BC 表面的含氧 官能团 (羟基和羧基) 通过络合或配位作用与土壤矿物形成复合体，增强了 SOC 的稳 定性 [25,58] ； (4) BC 通过与土壤中 Ca 2+ 、Al 3+ 等多价阳离子的桥联作用吸附固定了 SOC，提 高了粉-粘团聚体含量和 SOC 稳定性 [25] [60] 。SOC 库容大小取决 于 SOM 输入与输出之间的平衡，主要受有机物的化学组成、土壤理化特性以及人类活动 的综合影响 [61] 。以 BC 为改良剂进行土壤修复的农业活动，显著影响了 SOC 库的外源 C 的 输入和内源 C 的输出。BC 中的 C 稳定性强，大多数难以被微生物分解，半衰期可达数百 至数千年 [62] 。因此，无论是酸性土壤，还是碱性土壤，BC 均可作为固 C 材料，增加 SOC 库储量 [63] 。此外，BC 添加至滨海盐碱土壤，一方面可通过提高初级生产力，导致更多的...…”