Quality improvement of acidic soils by biochar derived from renewable materials

Abstract

Biochar derived from waste plant materials and agricultural residues was used to improve the quality of an acidic soil. The acidic soil was treated for 1 month with both soy bean stover-derived biochar and oak-derived biochar in the range of 1 to 5 wt% for pH improvement and exchangeable cation enhancement. Following 1 month of treatment, the soil pH was monitored and exchangeable cations were measured. Moreover, a maize growth experiment was performed for 14 days with selected treated soil samples to confirm the effectiveness of the treatment. The results showed that the pH of the treated acidic soil increased by more than 2 units, and the exchangeable cation values were greatly enhanced upon treatment with 5 wt% of both biochars, after 1 month of curing. Maize growth was superior in the 3 wt% biochar-treated samples compared to the control sample. The presented results demonstrate the effective use of biochar derived from renewable materials such as waste plant materials and agricultural residues for quality improvement of acidic soils.

A critical review on the biochar production techniques, characterization, stability and applications for circular bioeconomy

“…However, no ideal results were observed since both positive and negative effects were obtained. Both increased and decreased carbon emissions were observed [ [141] , [142] , [143] ]. The mineralization of organic matter present in soil was found to be higher in low fertile soil compared to soil with high fertility and also in soils containing high carbon content, the carbon mineralization was higher compared to low carbon content soil [ 8 ].…”

Bio Discarded from Waste to Resource

“…Biochar has been employed to remediate organic pollutants by means of hydrogen binding, surface complexation, electrostatic attractions, and pi-pi and acid-base interactions [26], and the heavy metals in soil by precipitation and surface complexation chemical reduction, cation exchange, and electrostatic attraction [26]. Moreover, biochar can improve cation exchange capacity, neutralize acidic soil, and enhance soil fertility [27,28]. Recent studies have shown biochar's great potential to improve the decomposition of organic solid waste by offering habitats and favorable growing conditions for microorganisms [29] and removing pollutants (i.e., antibacterial drug) from water and wastewater [30,31].…”

Banana pseudo-stem biochar derived from slow and fast pyrolysis process

“…Applying biochar to soil also has been described as a way of sequestering atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) [ 12 , 13 ]. Previous studies also demonstrated that the application of biochar into soil resulted in improved soil fertility [ 14 , 15 ]. The potential of biochar in other applications, such as solid fuel and adsorbents also have been reported in previous works [ 8 , [16] , [17] , [18] , [19] ].…”