TY - JOUR

T1 - Characterization of biochar produced from sewage sludge and its potential use as a substrate and plant growth improver

AU - Hansen, Dennis S.

AU - Turcios, Ariel E.

AU - Klamt, Anna Marie

AU - Wieth, Christian

AU - Reitzel, Kasper

AU - Thomsen, Mette H.

AU - Papenbrock, Jutta

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by the NEPTUN program under Interreg 5a funded by the European Regional Development Fund.The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Mette Thomsen, Christian Wieth and Kaspar Reitzel report financial support was provided by NEPTUN program under Interreg 5a, European Regional Development Fund. Jutta Papenbrock and Ariel Turcios have a patent #Deutsche Patentanmeldung 102022206064.4 pending to Leibniz University Hannover (02126/2-77/09). Funding Information: The authors would like to thank the support from DTU, Denmark, Celabor, Belgium, and the NEPTUN organizers, for data support and the collaboration establishment across the Danish-German border. Also, a thank to our colleagues: L. M. Bondig and J. T. Enas from AAU Energy, Denmark, for their valuable support in the laboratory. We also thank the student Blanca Hollstein for helping in the execution of the plant cultivation experiment.

PY - 2023/12/15

Y1 - 2023/12/15

N2 - Biochar is a product rich in carbon produced by pyrolysis of different kinds of biomass and it modifies the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil. In this study, biochar, produced at different pyrolysis temperatures (590 °C, 665 °C, and 765 °C), was physico-chemically characterized. It was explored whether biochar made from sewage sludge can become an alternative solution for future water and phosphorus management in agricultural production. A pot experiment was conducted using Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis) to investigate the effect of applying different biochars to the substrate, taking into account different growth parameters and the biochemical composition of the plants, as well as the physico-chemical properties of the substrate. According to the results, pyrolysis temperature influences the content of elements in biochar and their availability to plants, with total phosphorus contents in biochar ranging from 4.6% to 4.9%. In addition, applying biochar to the substrate significantly increases the volumetric water content up to 4.5 fold more compared to the control, which indicates a promising application in drought stress conditions and, at the same time, is a source of nutrients and can help to reduce the amount of mineral fertilizer application.

AB - Biochar is a product rich in carbon produced by pyrolysis of different kinds of biomass and it modifies the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil. In this study, biochar, produced at different pyrolysis temperatures (590 °C, 665 °C, and 765 °C), was physico-chemically characterized. It was explored whether biochar made from sewage sludge can become an alternative solution for future water and phosphorus management in agricultural production. A pot experiment was conducted using Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis) to investigate the effect of applying different biochars to the substrate, taking into account different growth parameters and the biochemical composition of the plants, as well as the physico-chemical properties of the substrate. According to the results, pyrolysis temperature influences the content of elements in biochar and their availability to plants, with total phosphorus contents in biochar ranging from 4.6% to 4.9%. In addition, applying biochar to the substrate significantly increases the volumetric water content up to 4.5 fold more compared to the control, which indicates a promising application in drought stress conditions and, at the same time, is a source of nutrients and can help to reduce the amount of mineral fertilizer application.

KW - Biochar

KW - Chinese cabbage

KW - Phosphorus

KW - Sewage sludge

KW - Volumetric water content

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85173582310&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119271

DO - 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119271

M3 - Article

C2 - 37827073

AN - SCOPUS:85173582310

VL - 348

JO - Journal of Environmental Management

JF - Journal of Environmental Management

SN - 0301-4797

M1 - 119271

ER -