Register      Login
Soil Research Soil Research Society
Soil, land care and environmental research
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > SR > SR10058
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 48(7)

Characterisation and evaluation of biochars for their application as a soil amendment

Balwant Singh A D , Bhupinder Pal Singh B and Annette L. Cowie C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.

B Forest Science Centre, Industry and Investment NSW, PO Box 100, Beecroft, NSW 2119, Australia.

C National Centre for Rural Greenhouse Gas Research, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: balwant.singh@sydney.edu.au

Australian Journal of Soil Research 48(7) 516-525 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR10058
Submitted: 10 March 2010  Accepted: 24 May 2010   Published: 28 September 2010

Abstract

Biochar properties can be significantly influenced by feedstock source and pyrolysis conditions; this warrants detailed characterisation of biochars for their application to improve soil fertility and sequester carbon. We characterised 11 biochars, made from 5 feedstocks [Eucalyptus saligna wood (at 400°C and 550°C both with and without steam activation); E. saligna leaves (at 400°C and 550°C with activation); papermill sludge (at 550°C with activation); poultry litter and cow manure (each at 400°C without activation and at 550°C with activation)] using standard or modified soil chemical procedures. Biochar pH values varied from near neutral to highly alkaline. In general, wood biochars had higher total C, lower ash content, lower total N, P, K, S, Ca, Mg, Al, Na, and Cu contents, and lower potential cation exchange capacity (CEC) and exchangeable cations than the manure-based biochars, and the leaf biochars were generally in-between. Papermill sludge biochar had the highest total and exchangeable Ca, CaCO3 equivalence, total Cu, and potential CEC, and the lowest total and exchangeable K. Water-soluble salts were higher in the manure-based biochars, followed by leaf, papermill sludge, and wood biochars. Total As, Cd, Pb, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the biochars were either very low or below detection limits. In general, increase in pyrolysis temperature increased the ash content, pH, and surface basicity and decreased surface acidity. The activation treatment had a little effect on most of the biochar properties. X-ray diffraction analysis showed the presence of whewellite in E. saligna biochars produced at 400°C, and the whewellite was converted to calcite in biochars formed at 550°C. Papermill sludge biochar contained the largest amount of calcite. Water-soluble salts and calcite interfered with surface charge measurements and should be removed before the surface charge measurements of biochar. The biochars used in the study ranged from C-rich to nutrient-rich to lime-rich soil amendment, and these properties could be optimised through feedstock formulation and pyrolysis temperature for tailored soil application.

Additional keywords: carbon sequestration, soil fertility, pyrolysis, Boehm titrations, heavy metals, surface acidity.


Acknowledgements

We thank Tshewang Namgay, Irshad Bibi, Nabeel Niazi, Kamaljeet Kaur, Cheryl Poon, and Blake Hatton for their assistance in the laboratory analyses, and Peter Geelan-Small for his advice on statistical analysis.


References


Baldock JA, Smernik RJ (2002) Chemical composition and bioavailability of thermally altered Pinus resinosa (Red pine) wood. Organic Geochemistry 33, 1093–1109.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Boehm HP (1994) Some aspects of the surface-chemistry of carbon-blacks and other carbons. Carbon 32, 759–769.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Chan KY , Xu Z (2009) Biochar: nutrient properties and their enhancement. In ‘Biochar for environmental management: science and technology’. (Eds J Lehmann, S Joseph) pp. 67–84. (Earthscan: London)

Chan KY, Van Zwieten L, Meszaros IA, Downie A, Joseph S (2007) Agronomic values of greenwaste biochar as a soil amendment. Australian Journal of Soil Research 45, 629–634.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Chan KY, Van Zwieten L, Meszaros IA, Downie A, Joseph S (2008) Using poultry litter biochars as soil amendments. Australian Journal of Soil Research 46, 437–444.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Cheng C-H, Lehmann J, Engelhard MH (2008) Natural oxidation of black carbon in soils: changes in molecular form and surface charge along a climosequence. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 72, 1598–1610.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Cheng C-H, Lehmann J, Thies JE, Burton SD, Engelhard MH (2006) Oxidation of black carbon by biotic and abiotic processes. Organic Geochemistry 37, 1477–1488.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Chun Y, Sheng G, Chiou CT, Xing B (2004) Compositions and sorptive properties of crop residue-derived chars. Environmental Science & Technology 38, 4649–4655.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Contescu A, Contescu C, Putyera K, Schwarz JA (1997) Surface acidity of carbons characterized by their continuous pK distribution and Boehm titration. Carbon 35, 83–94.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Contescu A, Vass M, Contescu C, Putyera K, Schwartz JA (1998) Acid buffering capacity of basic carbons revealed by their continuous pK distribution. Carbon 36, 247–258.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Gaskin JW, Steiner C, Harris K, Das KC, Bibens B (2008) Effect of low-temperature pyrolysis conditions on biochars for agricultural use. Transactions of the ASABE 51, 2061–2069. open url image1

Glaser B, Haumaier L, Guggenberger G, Zech W (2001) The Terra Preta phenomenon: a model for sustainable agriculture in the humic tropics. Naturwissenschaften 88, 37–41.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Glaser B, Lehmann J, Zech W (2002) Ameliorating physical and chemical properties of highly weathered soils in the tropics with charcoal – a review. Biology and Fertility of Soils 35, 219–230.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Guo Y, Rockstraw DA (2007) Activated carbons prepared from rice hull by one-step phosphoric acid activation. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials 100, 12–19.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Horne PA, Williams PT (1996) Influence of temperature on the products from the flash pyrolysis of biomass. Fuel 75, 1051–1059.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Knicker H (2007) How does fire affect the nature and stability of soil organic nitrogen and carbon? A review. Biogeochemistry 85, 91–118.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Lal R (2009) Challenges and opportunities in soil organic matter research. European Journal of Soil Science 60, 158–169.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Lehmann J, Gaunt J, Rondon M (2006) Bio-char sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems – a review. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 11, 403–427.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Lehmann J, Pereira da Silva J, Steiner C, Nehls T, Zech W, Glaser B (2003) Nutrient availability and leaching in an archaeological Anthrosol and a Ferralsol of the Central Amazon basin: fertilizer, manure and charcoal amendments. Plant and Soil 249, 343–357.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Liang B, Lehmann J, Solomon D, Kinyangi J, Grossman J, O’Neill B, Skjemstad JO, Thies J, Luizão FJ, Peterson J, Neves EG (2006) Black carbon increases cation exchange capacity in soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal 70, 1719–1730.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

McBeath AV, Smernik RJ (2009) Variation in the degree of aromatic condensation of chars. Organic Geochemistry 40, 1161–1168.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Miller R (1998) Nitric-perchloric acid wet digestion in an open vessel. In ‘Handbook of reference methods for plant analysis’. (Ed. YP Kalra) pp. 57–61. (CRC Press: New York)

NEPM (1999) ‘National Environment Protection (Assessment of site contamination) Measure 1999.’ (National Environment Protection Council: Adelaide, S. Aust.)

Nguyen BT, Lehmann J, Hockaday WC, Joseph S, Masiello CA (2010) Temperature sensitivity of black carbon decomposition and oxidation. Environmental Science & Technology 44, 3324–3331.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Novak JM, Lima I, Xing B, Gaskin JW, Steiner C, Das KC, Ahmedna M, Rehrah D, Watts DW, Busscher WJ, Schomberg H (2009) Characterization of designer biochar produced at different temperatures and their effects on a loamy sand. Annals of Environmental Science 3, 195–206.
|  CAS |
open url image1

Orians GH, Milewski AV (2007) Ecology of Australia: the effects of nutrient-poor soils and intense fires. Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society 82, 393–423.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Payne RW , Murray DA , Harding SA , Baird DB , Soutar DM (2009) ‘Genstat for Windows.’ 12th edn. (VSN International: Hemel Hempstead, UK)

Rayment GE , Higginson FR (1992) ‘Australian laboratory handbook of soil and water chemical methods.’ (Inkata Press: Melbourne, Vic.)

Rodriguez-Navarro C, Ruiz-Agudo E, Luque A, Rodriguez-Navarro AB, Alejandro B, Ortega-Huertas M (2009) Thermal decomposition of calcite: mechanisms of formation and textural evolution of CaO nanocrystals. American Mineralogist 94, 578–593.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Shinogi Y, Yoshida H, Koizumi T, Yamaoka N, Saito T (2003) Basic characteristics of low-temperature carbon products from waste sludge. Advances in Environmental Research 7, 661–665.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Singh BP , Cowie AL (2008) A novel approach, using 13C natural abundance, for measuring decomposition of biochars in soil. In ‘Carbon and Nutrient Management in Agriculture, Fertilizer and Lime Research Centre Workshop Proceedings’. Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand. Occasional Report No. 21. (Eds LD Currie, LJ Yates) (Massey University: New Zealand)

Singh BP, Hatton BJ, Singh B, Cowie AL, Kathuria A (2010) Influence of biochars on nitrous oxide emission and nitrogen leaching from two contrasting soils. Journal of Environmental Quality 39, 1224–1235.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Sombroek WG (1966) Amazon soils. A reconnaissance of the soils of the Brazilian Amazon region. Versl Landbouwkd Onderz No. 672, p.292.

Steiner C, Teixeira WG, Lehmann G, Nehls T, de Macedo JLV, Blum WEH, Zech W (2007) Long-term effects of manure, charcoal and mineral fertilization on crop production and fertility on a highly weathered central Amazonian upland soil. Plant and Soil 291, 275–290.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Stevenson FJ , Cole MA (1999) ‘Cycles of soil: carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur and micronutrients.’ 2nd edn (John Wiley & Sons Inc.: New York)

Tsai WT, Lee MK, Chang YM (2006) Fast pyrolysis of rice straw, sugarcane bagasse and coconut shell in an induction–heating reactor. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis 76, 230–237.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Tyron EH (1948) Effect of charcoal on certain physical, chemical and biological properties of forest soils. Ecological Monographs 18, 81–115.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Van Zwieten L, Kimber S, Morris S, Chan YK, Downie A, Rust J, Joseph S, Cowie A (2010) Effects of biochar from slow pyrolysis of papermill waste on agronomic performance and soil fertility. Plant and Soil 327, 235–246.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1