Research and Application of Biochar in Europe

Conte, Pellegrino; Schmidt, Hans‐Peter; Cimó, Giulia

doi:10.2136/sssaspecpub63.2014.0050

Cited by 16 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…As we mentioned above, three terms-biochar, charcoal, and char-can be applied to identify the solid black residue occurring from bioenergy production. Up to a few years ago, all of them were used synonymously in order to indicate the carbonaceous material produced by thermal degradation in oxygen-starved conditions (also referred to as pyrolysis) of biomasses from plant and/or animal origin [28,29]. For thousands of years, it has been the basic material for cooking, space heating, and forging of metal tools [28,30].…”

Section: What Is Biochar?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Developments in Understanding Biochar’s Physical–Chemistry

et al. 2021

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Biochar is a porous material obtained by biomass thermal degradation in oxygen-starved conditions. It is nowadays applied in many fields. For instance, it is used to synthesize new materials for environmental remediation, catalysis, animal feeding, adsorbent for smells, etc. In the last decades, biochar has been applied also to soils due to its beneficial effects on soil structure, pH, soil organic carbon content, and stability, and, therefore, soil fertility. In addition, this carbonaceous material shows high chemical stability. Once applied to soil it maintains its nature for centuries. Consequently, it can be considered a sink to store atmospheric carbon dioxide in soils, thereby mitigating the effects of global climatic changes. The literature contains plenty of papers dealing with biochar’s environmental effects. However, a discrepancy exists between studies dealing with biochar applications and those dealing with the physical-chemistry behind biochar behavior. On the one hand, the impression is that most of the papers where biochar is tested in soils are based on trial-and-error procedures. Sometimes these give positive results, sometimes not. Consequently, it appears that the scientific world is divided into two factions: either supporters or detractors. On the other hand, studies dealing with biochar’s physical-chemistry do not appear helpful in settling the factions’ problem. This review paper aims at collecting all the information on physical-chemistry of biochar and to use it to explain biochar’s role in different fields of application.

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Section: What Is Biochar?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Developments in Understanding Biochar’s Physical–Chemistry

et al. 2021

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“…The free model analysis was also applied in Conte et al [63] to unveil the nature of the water-biochar interactions. Biochar is a carbonaceous material used to improve soil quality via mechanisms which are still to be clarified [64][65][66][67]. In the aforementioned study, NMRD profiles of a water saturated biochar were acquired at different temperatures.…”

Section: When the Free Model Analysis Is The Best Choice Two Case Stmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance with Fast Field-Cycling Setup: A Valid Tool for Soil Quality Investigation

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2020

Agronomy

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Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques are largely employed in several fields. As an example, NMR spectroscopy is used to provide structural and conformational information on pure systems, while affording quantitative evaluation on the number of nuclei in a given chemical environment. When dealing with relaxation, NMR allows understanding of molecular dynamics, i.e., the time evolution of molecular motions. The analysis of relaxation times conducted on complex liquid–liquid and solid–liquid mixtures is directly related to the nature of the interactions among the components of the mixture. In the present review paper, the peculiarities of low resolution fast field-cycling (FFC) NMR relaxometry in soil science are reported. In particular, the general aspects of the typical FFC NMR relaxometry experiment are firstly provided. Afterwards, a discussion on the main mathematical models to be used to “read” and interpret experimental data on soils is given. Following this, an overview on the main results in soil science is supplied. Finally, new FFC NMR-based hypotheses on nutrient dynamics in soils are described

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“…The element ratios (C/N, H/C and O/C) were calculated by dividing the mass of the elements (%) and their own atomic weight, in line with Reference [33].…”

Section: Elemental Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Jatropha curcas, L. Pruning Residues for Energy: Characteristics of an Untapped By-Product

et al. 2018

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Jatropha (Jatropha curcas, L.) is an energy crop mainly cultivated for the oil-seed, and the oil is usually used as bio-fuel. However, few studies have reported information about the utilization of the wood as a fuel for boiler heating systems. With 2500 jatropha trees per hectare, it is possible to produce about 3 t·ha −1 ·y −1 of woody biomass from pruning. In addition, jatropha trees are commonly cut down to a height of 45 cm once every 10 years, with a production of 80 t·ha −1 of dry matter of woody biomass. The use of this biomass has not yet been investigated. During the European project JatroMed, woody biomass from jatropha pruning was collected in Morocco. Chemical and physical characteristics of the wood were conducted according to UNI EN ISO standards. The following jatropha wood characteristics have been analyzed: Moisture and ash contents, the ash melting point, heating value, and concentrations of C, H, N, and S. This research focused on the evaluation of the potential use of jatropha pruning for energy production, and the results represent critical data that is useful for future studies and business potential.

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Research and Application of Biochar in Europe

Cited by 16 publications

References 72 publications

Recent Developments in Understanding Biochar’s Physical–Chemistry

Recent Developments in Understanding Biochar’s Physical–Chemistry

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance with Fast Field-Cycling Setup: A Valid Tool for Soil Quality Investigation

Jatropha curcas, L. Pruning Residues for Energy: Characteristics of an Untapped By-Product

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