Elemental Composition of Biochar Obtained from Agricultural Waste for Soil Amendment and Carbon Sequestration

Abstract

For an agricultural country such as Thailand, converting agricultural waste into biochar offers a potential solution to manage massive quantities of crop residues following harvest. This research studied the structure and chemical composition of biochar obtained from cassava rhizomes, cassava stems and corncobs, produced using a patented locally-manufactured biochar kiln using low-cost appropriate technology designed to be fabricated locally by farmers. The research found that cassava stems yielded the highest number of Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area in the biochar product, while chemical analysis indicated that corncobs yielded the highest amount of C (81.35%). The amount of H in the corncob biochar was also the highest (2.42%). The study also showed biochar produced by slow pyrolysis was of a high quality, with stable C and low H/C ratio. Biochar’s high BET surface area and total pore volume makes it suitable for soil amendment, contributing to reduced soil density, higher soil moisture and aeration and reduced leaching of plant nutrients from the rhizosphere. Biochar also provides a conducive habitat for beneficial soil microorganisms. The findings indicate that soil incorporation of biochar produced from agricultural crop residues can enhance food security and mitigate the contribution of the agricultural sector to climate change impacts.

The residual impact of straw mulch and biochar amendments on soil physiochemical properties and yield of maize under rainfed system

“…The decrease in the bulk density of the biochar‐amended soil was accompanied by an increase in saturated volumetric water content (Usowicz et al., 2016). According to Wijitkosum and Jiwnok (2019), important properties of biochar are the high surface area and porosity, low bulk density, nutrient content, high stability, high CEC, neutral to high pH, and high carbon content. These properties make it suitable as an amendment for tropical sandy and clay soil in the northern area of China.…”

“…However, Hardie, Clothier, Bound, Oliver, and Close (2014) indicated that the contribution of biochar porosity to soil pore volume was not observed consistently. Soil structure can be also improved by increased soil microbial biomass and enhanced microbial activity which reduces the soil bulk density (Ajayi et al., 2016; Ventura et al., 2012; Wijitkosum & Jiwnok, 2019). Our results suggest that the use of higher rates of biochar application (36 tons ha −1 ) results in a relatively low soil bulk density (Table 3), which is unfavorable for water storage.…”

Incorporation of Biochar to Improve Mechanical, Thermal and Electrical Properties of Polymer Composites

“…Each feedstock source has a distinctive morphology which is retained in the biochar after carbonization. This image is taken from [ 29 ] from Applied Sciences Open Access journal MDPI publications.…”

“…Figure 2 here shows the honeycomb structure of biochar derived from different feedstocks like corncob, cassava rhizome and cassava stem [ 29 ].…”

Surface Complexation Models of Pertechnetate on Biochar/Montmorillonite Composite—Batch and Dynamic Sorption Study

“…Biochar composition is highly heterogeneous. The major constituents are volatile matter, mineral matter (ash), adsorbed gases, and moisture [ 35 , 36 ]. In BC1, elements Ar, K, Ca, Zn, Rb, Sr and Ag were found.…”