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One Step Forward toward Characterization: Some Important Material Properties to Distinguish Biochars
Author(s) -
Schimmelpfennig Sonja,
Glaser Bruno
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq2011.0146
Subject(s) - biochar , charcoal , amendment , environmental science , carbon sequestration , hydrothermal carbonization , soil water , carbon fibers , carbon black , organic matter , total organic carbon , carbonization , slash and char , soil organic matter , environmental chemistry , pyrolysis , chemistry , adsorption , soil science , materials science , carbon dioxide , natural rubber , organic chemistry , composite number , political science , law , composite material
Terra Preta research gave evidence for the positive influence of charred organic material (biochar) on infertile tropical soils. Facing global challenges such as land degradation, fossil energy decline, water shortage, and climate change, the use of biochar as a soil amendment embedded into regional matter cycles seems to provide an all‐round solution. However, little is known about biochar effects on individual ecosystem processes. Besides, the term biochar is used for a variety of charred products. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate principal material properties of different chars to establish a minimum set of analytical properties and thresholds for biochar identification. For this purpose, chars from different production processes (traditional charcoal stack, rotary kiln, Pyreg reactor, wood gasifier, and hydrothermal carbonization) were analyzed for physical and chemical properties such as surface area, black carbon, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and elemental composition. Our results showed a significant influence of production processes on biochar properties. Based on our results, to identify biochar suitable for soil amendment and carbon sequestration, we recommend using variables with the following thresholds: O/C ratio <0.4, H/C ratio <0.6, black carbon >15% C, polyaromatic hydrocarbons lower than soil background values, and a surface area >100 m 2 g −1 .