Feasibility of Biochar Derived from Sewage Sludge to Promote Sustainable Agriculture and Mitigate GHG Emissions—A Review

Mohammad Ghorbani (), Petr Konvalina, Anna Walkiewicz, Reinhard W. Neugschwandtner, Marek Kopecký, Kazem Zamanian, Wei-Hsin Chen and Daniel Bucur
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Mohammad Ghorbani: Department of Agroecosystems, Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, Branišovská 1645/31A, 370 05 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
Petr Konvalina: Department of Agroecosystems, Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, Branišovská 1645/31A, 370 05 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
Anna Walkiewicz: Department of Natural Environment Biogeochemistry, Institute of Agrophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Doświadczalna 4, 20-290 Lublin, Poland
Reinhard W. Neugschwandtner: Department of Crop Sciences, Institute of Agronomy, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Konrad-Lorenz-Straße 24, 3430 Tulln, Austria
Marek Kopecký: Department of Agroecosystems, Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, Branišovská 1645/31A, 370 05 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
Kazem Zamanian: Department of Soil Science of Temperate Ecosystems, Georg August University of Goettingen, Büsgenweg 2, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
Wei-Hsin Chen: Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, National Cheng Kung University, University Road/70101, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
Daniel Bucur: Department of Pedotechnics, Faculty of Agriculture, Iasi University of Life Sciences, 3 Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700490 Iasi, Romania

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 19, 1-23

Abstract: Sewage sludge (SS) has been connected to a variety of global environmental problems. Assessing the risk of various disposal techniques can be quite useful in recommending appropriate management. The preparation of sewage sludge biochar (SSB) and its impacts on soil characteristics, plant health, nutrient leaching, and greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) are critically reviewed in this study. Comparing the features of SSB obtained at various pyrolysis temperatures revealed changes in its elemental content. Lower hydrogen/carbon ratios in SSB generated at higher pyrolysis temperatures point to the existence of more aromatic carbon molecules. Additionally, the preparation of SSB has an increased ash content, a lower yield, and a higher surface area as a result of the rise in pyrolysis temperature. The worldwide potential of SS output and CO 2 -equivalent emissions in 2050 were predicted as factors of global population and common disposal management in order to create a futuristic strategy and cope with the quantity of abundant global SS. According to estimations, the worldwide SS output and associated CO 2 -eq emissions were around 115 million tons dry solid (Mt DS) and 14,139 teragrams (Tg), respectively, in 2020. This quantity will rise to about 138 Mt DS sewage sludge and 16985 Tg CO 2 -eq emissions in 2050, a 20% increase. In this regard, developing and populous countries may support economic growth by utilizing low-cost methods for producing biochar and employing it in local agriculture. To completely comprehend the benefits and drawbacks of SSB as a soil supplement, further study on long-term field applications of SSB is required.

Keywords: waste management; carbon cycle; GHG emissions; soil amendment; plant health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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