Carbon Fixation and Soil Aggregation Affected by Biochar Oxidized with Hydrogen Peroxide: Considering the Efficiency of Pyrolysis Temperature

Mohammad Ghorbani (), Reinhard W. Neugschwandtner, Gerhard Soja, Petr Konvalina and Marek Kopecký
Additional contact information
Mohammad Ghorbani: Department of Agroecosystems, Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, Branišovská 1645/31A, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
Reinhard W. Neugschwandtner: Institute of Agronomy, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Konrad-Lorenz-Straße 24, 3430 Tulln, Austria
Gerhard Soja: Institute for Chemical and Energy Engineering, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Muthgasse 107/I, 1190 Vienna, Austria
Petr Konvalina: Department of Agroecosystems, Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, Branišovská 1645/31A, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
Marek Kopecký: Department of Agroecosystems, Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, Branišovská 1645/31A, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: Biochar, as a carbon-rich material, may have a notable influence on carbon balance, especially that in soil mediums. The oxidation of biochar modifies the biochar’s effects on the soil’s carbon dynamics. To evaluate the alteration in soil carbon storage, biochars derived from wheat straw (WS) and wood residues (WR) produced at 350, 450, and 550 °C (marked BWS 350 , BWS 450 , BWS 550 , BWR 350 , BWR 450 , and BWR 550 ) were oxidized with hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) and applied on a loamy soil (2% d.m.) for a 180-day greenhouse incubation period. The highest organic carbon (OC) concentration and carbon pool index (CPI) were obtained from the oxidized BWS 550 , with 154% and 70% increases, respectively, compared to the unamended control. For both the WS and WR biochars, applying oxidation significantly improved the soil’s aggregation indices, i.e., the mean weight diameter (MWD), water stable aggregates (WSA), and fractal dimension (D). BWS 350 , BWS 450 , and BWS 550 showed significantly higher WSAs, with percentages of 68, 74, and 76% compared to the control (41%). The fractal dimensions decreased with an increasing pyrolysis temperature in both the biochar types. All the biochar treatments significantly decreased the soil bulk density (BD), while for both the pristine and oxidized biochars, the lowest BD was related to the biochars produced at high temperatures. The structural qualities of the biochars were enhanced by oxidation, particularly their specific surface areas and porosities, and this had a substantial impact on the soil structure and carbon status. The wheat straw biochar was more effective than the wood residue biochar and a higher pyrolysis temperature was more effective than lower ones for supporting the enhancement of the soil carbon pool.

Keywords: biochar oxidation; soil porosity; organic carbon; soil fractal dimension; carbon dynamic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/9/7158/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/9/7158/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:9:p:7158-:d:1132302

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().