Particulate matter emissions from biochar-amended soils as a potential tradeoff to the negative emission potential

Ravi, Sujith; Sharratt, Brenton; Li, Junran; Olshevski, Stuart; Meng, Zhongju; Jian-guo, Zhang

doi:10.1038/srep35984

Cited by 46 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 33 publications

(47 reference statements)

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“…Fine biochar particles may also be released into the atmosphere during production, transportation and distribution by wind. These black carbon aerosols can reduce air quality and cause a positive direct and indirect radiative forcing which would further reduces the net mitigation effect of biochar application (Ravi et al 2016, Genesio et al 2016.…”

Section: Biocharmentioning

confidence: 99%

Negative emissions—Part 2: Costs, potentials and side effects

Fuss

Lamb

Callaghan

et al. 2018

Environ. Res. Lett.

1,101

901

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Section: Biocharmentioning

confidence: 99%

Negative emissions—Part 2: Costs, potentials and side effects

Fuss

Lamb

Callaghan

et al. 2018

Environ. Res. Lett.

1,101

901

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“…Because of these benefits, biochar is increasingly used for stormwater capture, treatment, and reuse in water‐stressed urban areas (Mohanty et al, ). However, several potential negative impacts of large‐scale application have also been reported (Lian & Xing, ), including particulate emission via air (Ravi et al, ) and remobilization of contaminated biochar particles from amended medium (Mohanty & Boehm, ; Mukherjee & Lal, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic effects of biochar concentration and particle size on hydraulic properties of sand

et al. 2018

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Large‐scale application of biochar has been promoted as a strategy for improving soil quality in agricultural and contaminated lands, as biochar has the potential to alter soil physical and biogeochemical properties. Biochar at different concentrations has been shown to have inconsistent effects on soil hydrological properties, yet the cause of the inconsistency is not well understood. To investigate the relative roles of biochar size and concentration, we mixed pure sand with a commercially available biochar varying its concentrations and particle sizes and measured saturated (Ksat) and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity and water‐retention characteristics. An increase in the concentration of fine biochar (<2 mm) consistently decreased Ksat and increased saturated moisture content. In contrast, an increase in the concentration of unsieved (mixture of coarse and fine) biochar up to 5% (by volume) increased Ksat, whereas any further increases in unsieved biochar concentration decreased Ksat. Increase in biochar concentration, irrespective of particle size, consistently decreased the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. Measuring the changes in the characteristics of water‐retention curves of biochar–sand mixtures with biochar particle size, we showed that added biochar can either decrease (clog) or increase pore spaces in the mixture on the basis of the quantity of fine biochar fraction, which in turn could decrease or increase the hydraulic conductivity of the mixture. Thus, biochar concentration and particle size must be taken into consideration to maximize the intended hydrological benefits of biochar amendment.

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“…On the other hand, fragmentation involves the release of fine and ultrafine particulate in atmosphere, something that has the potential to fully reverse its mitigation potential [12]. The release of particulate matter from biochar in the atmosphere was demonstrated to also occur after incorporation into soil in a wind-tunnel experiment [14,15,21]. In particular, the finest particles (≤2.5 μm) fall in the category of black carbon aerosol, which is defined as a refractory, water insoluble carbonaceous material strongly absorbing shortwave radiation at wavelength of 550 nm [16].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Biochar Formulation on the Release of Particulate Matter and on Short-Term Agronomic Performance

et al. 2017

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When applied in agriculture, the solid carbonaceous residue of anoxic thermochemical conversion of biomass (biochar) has variable effects on soil, crop yields, and climate mitigation. Biochar can be added to soil as powder or as pellets. While powdered forms have demonstrated effects on crop yields, they may release coarse and fine particulate that can be transported into the atmosphere during production, packaging, storage, transport, and distribution. Biochar weathering and wind erosion may also cause the release of particles. Particulate matter (PM) released from biochar may have negative effects on human health and increase the atmospheric burden of shortwave absorbing black carbon aerosols with non-negligible effects on atmospheric radiative forcing. Pelletizing feedstock before the thermochemical conversion and moistening of biochar are expected to reduce the emission of PM in the processing and post-processing phases while also increasing the mean residence time of Carbon in soils. The impact of biochar formulation (pellet and non-pellet) on the release of coarse and fine particulate in wet and dry conditions was assessed in a laboratory experiment. In parallel, the effects of pellet and non-pellet formulations on growth and yield of processing tomato plants were tested in a pot experiment. Results show that pelletization and moistening substantially reduce the amount of fine particles released and are therefore practices that should be adopted to maximize the mitigation potential of biochar. A reduction of tomato yield was observed in pellet treatment, suggesting that the higher interface area of powdered biochar may boost productivity in the short term. This work points to the existence of a tradeoff between the short-term maximization of agronomic benefits and the minimization of harmful effects due to particulate release.

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Particulate matter emissions from biochar-amended soils as a potential tradeoff to the negative emission potential

Cited by 46 publications

References 33 publications

Negative emissions—Part 2: Costs, potentials and side effects

Negative emissions—Part 2: Costs, potentials and side effects

Dynamic effects of biochar concentration and particle size on hydraulic properties of sand

Impact of Biochar Formulation on the Release of Particulate Matter and on Short-Term Agronomic Performance

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