Effects of Biochar and Synthetic Polymer on the Hydro-Physical Properties of Sandy Soils

Arafat Alkhasha, Abdulrasoul Al-Omran and Anwar Aly
Additional contact information
Arafat Alkhasha: Soil Science Department, College of Food & Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Abdulrasoul Al-Omran: Soil Science Department, College of Food & Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Anwar Aly: Soil Science Department, College of Food & Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 12, 1-18

Abstract: Synthetic polymers, such as polyacrylamide (PAM), and biochar are generally used as soil amendments to improve soil properties. This paper explores a laboratory column experiment conducted to investigate the effects of biochar (pyrolysis at 400–450 °C) and polymers, with different application rates, on the hydro-physical properties of sandy soil. The experiment evaluated four rates each of biochar (0.0% (C), 2% (B 1 ), 4% (B 2 ), 6% (B 3 ) and 8% (B 4 )) and polymers (0.0% (C), 0.2% (P 1 ), 0.4% (P 2 ), 0.6% (P 3 ), and 0.8%(P 4 )), as well as a mixture of them. The infiltration rate decreased significantly when a mixture of biochar and polymers was adopted. B 1 showed a decrease of 32.73% while a mixture of 8% (B 4 ) and (0.8%) P 4 exhibited a decrease of 57.31%. The polymers increased the infiltration rate at low concentrations (P 1 and P 2 ) and reduced it at high concentrations (P 3 and P 4 ). The cumulative evaporation decreased significantly for most treatments. B 1 recorded the highest decrease in cumulative evaporation with a percentage decrease of 31.9%. The highest decrease in hydraulic conductivity (Ks) was for B 1 . However, the mixture of B 4 and P 4 resulted in the highest increase in soil moisture content at field capacity compared to the control and other treatments. P 4 and the mixture of B 2 and P 2 showed significant ( p < 0.05) increases in the percentage of stable aggregate (SA) in fraction size (0.25–0.125 mm). Although the mixture of B 4 and P 4 had the highest increase in soil moisture content, this study recommends using the B 1 treatment on sandy soil in arid environments due to its strong hydro-physical properties and affordability.

Keywords: soil amendments; polymer; biochar; infiltration rate; soil hydraulic properties; aggregate stability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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