The feasibility of using biochar as a sorbent to remove nitro explosives and metals from contaminated water was investigated through batch experiments. Biochar, synthesized using various biomasses, showed a porous structure and a high surface area and includes embedded carbonate minerals. Compared with granular activated carbon, biochar was competitive as a sorbent for removing Cd, Cu, Pb, and ...

The role of biochar as a soil amendment on the transport of acetamiprid, a widely used neonicotinoid pesticide, is little known. We conducted saturated column experiments to examine cotransport of acetamiprid and silica nanoparticles (NPs) in pure and biochar-amended sands. Retention of acetamiprid was minor in the pure sand, whereas application of biochar in the sand significantly increased re...

In the last decade, an increasing number of studies have reported that soil nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions can be reduced by adding biochar. However, the effect of biochar amendment on soil N2O emissions during freeze-thaw cycle (FTC) is still unknown. In this laboratory study, biochar (0%, 2% and 4%, w/w) was added into a cultivated sandy loam soil and then treated with 15 times of FTC (each FT...

This study was designed to investigate the effect of anaerobic digestion on biochar produced from sugarcane bagasse. Sugarcane bagasse was anaerobically digested to produce methane. The digested residue and fresh bagasse was pyrolyzed separately into biochar at 600 degrees C in nitrogen environment. The digested bagasse biochar (DBC) and undigested bagasse biochar (BC) were characterized to det...

This study aimed to investigate the effects of mixed biochar on the nitrification rate in acidic soils. A 15N tracer experiment with (15NH4)2SO4 was conducted to determine the nitrification rates of four acidic agricultural soils with pH 4.03–6.02 in Yunnan Province, Southern China. The accumulation of 15N-NO3− and nitrification rates decreased with the addition of biochar at the end of incubat...

This report has been put together for the Interreg IVB project: Biochar: climate saving soils The objectives for this report were: Objective 4.2.1: Systems to screen biochar–plant interactions-The effect of biochar on root architecture and the localisation of soil mineral nitrogen in the rhizosphere, characterized using mesocosms. Objective 4.2.2: Testing the simulation of physical ageing of bi...

Biochar produced during pyrolysis has the potential to enhance soil fertility and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The influence of biochar properties (e.g., particle size) on both short- and long-term carbon (C) mineralization of biochar remains unclear. There is minimal information on the potential effects of biochar particle sizes on their breakdowns by soil microorganism, so it is unknown i...

BACKGROUND Claims about the environmental benefits of charring biomass and applying the resulting "biochar" to soil are impressive. If true, they could influence land management worldwide. Alleged benefits include increased crop yields, soil fertility, and water-holding capacity; the most widely discussed idea is that applying biochar to soil will mitigate climate change. This claim rests on th...

Twenty seven methods currently used to characterize biochar were assessed in terms of their usefulness to determine the stability of biochar carbon in the environment. The International Biochar Initiative (IBI), which led the effort, gathered fourteen world-class experts in different fields of biochar relevant to stability, who guided the process for obtaining a simple, yet reliable, measure fo...

A commercial scale biochar field trial was established on a farm in Québec, Canada in May 2008. A very fine, commercially available biochar from fast pyrolysis of wood waste was applied as received from the manufacturer using standard farm machinery. The target application rate was 5.6 t/ha, but an estimated 30% of the material was wind-blown and lost during handling, transport to the field, so...