The Origin and Reversible Nature of Poultry Litter Biochar Hydrophobicity

Yi, Susan; Witt, Brandon; Chiu, Pei C.; Guo, Mingxin; Imhoff, Paul T.

doi:10.2134/jeq2014.09.0385

Cited by 32 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 62 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Biochar water repellency can change with time after application. Aged biochar can be less water repellent than fresh biochar (Yi et al, 2015). Rechberger et al (2017) reported that acidic (pH = 5.5 to 6.4) sandy loam soil developed hydrophilic properties more rapidly than calcareous silt loam soil (pH 7.5 to 7.7) when biochar was added.…”

Section: Water Repellencymentioning

confidence: 99%

Biochar and Water Quality

Blanco‐Canqui¹

2019

J of Env Quality

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Biochar application is considered to be an emerging strategy to improve soil ecosystem services. However, implications of such application on water quality parameters have not been widely discussed. This paper synthesizes the state‐of‐the‐art research on biochar effects on water erosion, nitrate leaching, and other sources of water pollution. Literature indicates that in general, biochar application reduces runoff by 5 to 50% and soil loss by 11 to 78%, suggesting that it can be effective at reducing water erosion, but the magnitude of erosion reduction is highly variable. Co‐application of biochar with other organic amendments (i.e., animal manure, compost) appears to be more effective at reducing water erosion than biochar alone. A main mechanism by which biochar can reduce water erosion is by improving soil properties (i.e., organic C, hydraulic conductivity, aggregate stability), which affect soil erodibility. This review also indicates that biochar reduces nitrate leaching, in most cases by 2 to 88%, but has mixed effect on phosphate and dissolved C leaching. Additionally, biochar effectively filters urban runoff, adsorbs pollutants, and reduces pesticides losses. Biochar feedstock, pyrolysis temperature, application amount, time after application, and co‐application with other amendments affect biochar impacts on water quality. Biochar erosion and potential reduction in nutrient and pesticide use efficiency due to the strong adsorption are concerns that deserve consideration. Overall, biochar application has the potential to reduce water erosion, nitrate leaching, pesticide losses, and other pollutant losses, but more field‐scale data are needed to better discern the extent to which biochar can improve water quality. Core Ideas Biochar can reduce water erosion, but the magnitude of reduction is variable. Biochar combined with other organic amendments can reduce water erosion more than biochar alone. Biochar can reduce nitrate leaching but has mixed effects on phosphate and dissolved C leaching. Biochar filters urban runoff, adsorbs organic pollutants, and reduces pesticide losses. More field data on the effectiveness of biochar for improving water quality are needed.

show abstract

Section: Water Repellencymentioning

confidence: 99%

Biochar and Water Quality

Blanco‐Canqui¹

2019

J of Env Quality

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…2), the changes in the repellency of the crust were probably not due to BCs' direct hydrophobic effect. Much of the hydrophobic compounds of BC may have been lost to percolating soil water (Yi et al, 2015). Such loss of hydrophobic compounds from BC may explain the lack of significant effect of BC on severity of water repellency of the crust measured using ethanol solution (Fig.…”

Section: Effect Of Biochar On Soil Water Repellency and Soil K Satmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At pyrolysis temperature of above 500°C, certain BCs such as those from corn stover and apple wood can become nonrepellent (Kinney et al, 2012). Recently, Yi et al (2015) reported that the water repellency of poultry litter BC originated from surface coating by semi-volatile organic compounds while Kinney et al (2012) found that water repellency of BC was due to alkyl groups on BC surfaces. How the water repellent nature of BC affects soil water repellency has only recently received attention (Abel et al, 2013;Eibisch et al, 2015;Herath et al, 2013;Page-Dumroese et al, 2015;Yi et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of biochar on crust formation, penetration resistance and hydraulic properties of two coarse-textured tropical soils

Obia

Børresen

Martinsen

et al. 2017

Soil and Tillage Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Biochar (BC) has been reported to improve a number of soil structural and hydraulic properties but detailed studies are scant on how BC affects crust formation, penetration resistance, water repellency and saturated hydraulic conductivity (K sat). The objective of this study was to quantify the effect of maize cob BC of three different particle sizes on soil crusting (penetration resistance), water repellency, and K sat of loamy fine sand and sandy loam in Zambia. The BC particle sizes were < 0.5 and 1-5 mm applied at 17.5 and 35 t ha −1 in the two soils and intermediate size of 0.5-1 mm applied at lower rates (17.5 and 28 t ha −1 in the loamy fine sand and 13.3 and 26.7 t ha −1 in the sandy loam). Water repellency included both water drop penetration time (WDPT) and minimum molarity of the ethanol droplet at which rapid infiltration into the soil occurs. The BC was produced by slow pyrolysis of corn cobs at a temperature of 350°C. Biochar, added homogeneously to the upper 7 cm of the soil, reduced the penetration resistance of surface soil of sandy loam with both the crust intact (−2.1 ± 0.6 N cm −2 per percent BC added; p = 0.001 in March 2015 and slightly smaller in October 2014) and the crust removed (−2.9 ± 0.6 N cm −2 per percent BC added; p = 0.0001). This effect occurred irrespective of particle size of BC (p > 0.05). No effect of BC on penetration resistance was found in the loamy fine sand (p > 0.05). In dry sandy loam with moisture content < 1% v/v, the proportion of wettable crusted surface was significantly smaller (25%) than in moist soil (98%) with moisture content of ∼ 10% v/v. Only fine BC of < 0.5 mm increased WDPT of the crusted surface of sandy loam (p < 0.05), reducing the proportion of wettable surface from 98 to 80% in moist soil and from 25 to 18% in dry soil. Coarser BCs, instead, increased the proportion of wettable crusted surface from 25% to 45% and 90% for 3% 0.5-1 mm BC and 4% 1-5 mm BC addition, respectively, in dry soil. Biochar significantly reduced K sat (p < 0.05) in sandy loam below the crust by 0.17 ± 0.07 cm h −1 per percent BC added. However, no effect was found in loamy fine sand. Since BC amended sandy loam below the crust showed no water repellency, reduction in K sat cannot be explained by water-repellent nature of BC. Instead, this may be due to clogging of soil pores by BC or to collapse of soil structure near water saturation.

show abstract

“…In general, water affinity for biochar is also referred to as biochar wettability . Wettability can be considered as a qualitative indication of the strength of the water‐biochar interface interactions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Up to now, the only direct macroscopic way to measure wettability of biochar has been through the evaluation of contact angle (CA) . The latter is the angle between the intersection of the liquid–solid and the liquid–vapor interfaces.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of the surface affinity of water in three biochars using fast field cycling NMR relaxometry

Bubici

Korb

Kučerík

et al. 2016

Magnetic Reson in Chemistry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Many soil functions depend on the interaction of water with soil. The affinity of water for soils can be altered by applying soil amendments like stone meal, manure, or biochar (a carbonaceous material obtained by pyrolysis of biomasses). In fact, the addition of hydrophobic biochar to soil may increase soil repellency, reduce water-adsorbing capacity, inhibit microbial activity, alter soil filter, buffer, storage, and transformation functions. For this reason, it is of paramount importance to monitor water affinity for biochar surface (also referred to as 'wettability') in order to better address its applications in soil systems. In this study, we propose the use of fast field cycling NMR relaxometry technique with the application of a new mathematical model for data interpretation, as a valid alternative to the traditional contact angle (CA) measurements for biochar wettability evaluation. Either NMR or CA results revealed the same wettability trend for the biochars studied here. The advantage of NMR relaxometry over CA measurements lies in the possibility to obtain at the microscopic level a variety of different information in only one shot. In fact, while CA provides only wettability evaluation, NMR relaxometry also allows achievement of the mechanisms for water molecular dynamics on biochar surface, thereby leading to the possibility to understand better, in future research, the role of biochar in increasing soil quality and plant nutrition.

show abstract

The Origin and Reversible Nature of Poultry Litter Biochar Hydrophobicity

Cited by 32 publications

References 62 publications

Biochar and Water Quality

Biochar and Water Quality

Effect of biochar on crust formation, penetration resistance and hydraulic properties of two coarse-textured tropical soils

Evaluation of the surface affinity of water in three biochars using fast field cycling NMR relaxometry

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About