Download Agricultural and Environmental Applications of Biochar: Advances

Published April 22, 2016
Agricultural and Environmental
Applications of Biochar:
Advances and Barriers
Agricultural and Environmental
Applications of Biochar:
Advances and Barriers
Mingxin Guo, Zhongqi He, and Sophie Minori Uchimiya, Editors
Book and Multimedia Publishing Committee
April Ulery, Chair
Elizabeth Guertal, ASA Editor-in-Chief
C. Wayne Smith, CSSA Editor-in-Chief
David Myrold, SSSA Editor-in-Chief
Lajpat Ahuja
Sangamesh Angadi
David Clay
David Fang
Girisha Ganjegunte
Robert Graham
Zhongqi He
Srirama Krishna Reddy
Limei Liu
Shuyu Liu
Sally Logsdon
Trenton Roberts
Nooreldeen Shawqi Ali
Gurpal Toor
Director of Publications: Bill Cook
Managing Editor: Lisa Al-Amoodi
SSSA Special Publication 63
Copyright © 2016 by Soil Science Society of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted without permission from the publisher.
The views expressed in this publication represent those of the
individual Editors and Authors. These views do not necessarily
reflect endorsement by the Publisher(s). In addition, trade names
are sometimes mentioned in this publication. No endorsement of
these products by the Publisher(s) is intended, nor is any criticism
implied of similar products not mentioned.
Soil Science Society of America, Inc.
5585 Guilford Road, Madison, WI 53711-5801 USA
soils.org
dl.sciencesocieties.org
societystore.org
ISBN: 978-0-89118-964-0 (print)
ISBN: 978-0-89118-967-1 (digital)
doi:10.2136/sssaspecpub63
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016936264
SSSA Special Publications
ISSN: 2165-9826 (online)
ISSN: 0081-1904 (print)
Cover design: Patricia Scullion
Printed in the United States of America.
Contents
Foreword vii
Prefaceix
Contributorsxi
Introduction to Biochar as an Agricultural and Environmental
Amendment
Mingxin Guo, Zhongqi He, and Sophie Minori Uchimiya
1
Pyrogenic Carbon in Terra Preta Soils
Mingxin Guo
15
Pyrogenic Organic Matter in Japanese Andosols: Occurrence,
Transformation, and Function
Haruo Shindo and Syusaku Nishimura
29
Production and Characterization of Biochar from Agricultural
By-Products: Overview and Use of Cotton Biomass Residues
Zhongqi He, Sophie Minori Uchimiya, and Mingxin Guo
63
Considerations in Biochar Characterization
Christoph Steiner
87
Application of Biochar for Soil Physical Improvement
Mingxin Guo
101
The Effects of Biochar Amendment on Soil Fertility
Avanthi Deshani Igalavithana, Yong Sik Ok, Adel R.A. Usman,
Mohammad I. Al-Wabel, Patryk Oleszczuk, and Sang Soo Lee
123
Application of Biochar for Soil Biological Improvement
J. Paz-Ferreiro, A. Méndez, and G. Gascó
145
Biochar and Soil Carbon Sequestration
Rattan Lal
175
Use and Impact of Biochar and Charcoal in Animal
Production Systems
John D. Toth and Zhengxia Dou
199
Interaction Mechanisms between Biochar and Organic Pollutants
Xin Xiao and Baoliang Chen
225
Impacts of Biochar Amendment on Greenhouse Gas Emissions
from Agricultural Soils
Sanna Saarnio
259
v
Application of Biochar for Soil Remediation
Tom Sizmur, Richard Quilliam, Aline Peregrina Puga,
Eduardo Moreno-Jiménez, Luke Beesley, and Jose L. Gomez-Eyles
295
Biochar Application for Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation
Christopher D. Peltz and Andrew Harley
325
Aqueous Contaminant Removal and Stormwater Treatment
Using Biochar
Thomas R. Miles, Erin M. Rasmussen, and Myles Gray
341
Research and Application of Biochar in China
Xiaokai Zhang, Yu Luo, Karin Müller, Junhui Chen, Qimei Lin,
Jianming Xu, Yishui Tian, Hongbin Cong, and Hailong Wang
377
Research and Application of Biochar in Europe
Pellegrino Conte, Hans-Peter Schmidt, and Giulia Cimò
409
Research and Application of Biochar in New Zealand
Marta Camps Arbestain, James R. Jones, Leo M. Condron,
and Timothy J. Clough
423
Regional Considerations for Targeted Use of Biochar in Agriculture
and Remediation in Australia
Lynne M. Macdonald, Rai S. Kookana, Lukas van Zwieten,
Bhupinder P. Singh, Balwant Singh, and Mark Farrell
445
Research and Application of Biochar in North America
Wei Zheng, Nancy Holm, and Kurt A. Spokas
475
Agricultural and Environmental Applications of Biochar: Advances
and Barriers
Mingxin Guo, Sophie Minori Uchimiya, and Zhongqi He
495
Foreword
In recent years, interest has spiked in biochar as a useful soil amendment in various agricultural and environmental settings. From the historical
application on Amazonian Terra Preta soils to modern uses in crop production,
horticulture, and bioremediation, the properties and benefits of biochar need to
be described and explained. Biochar material has the potential to address societal
concerns around soil and water quality, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste
management. But there are still technological hurdles and socio-economic challenges, in part because the benefits of biochar materials remain inadequately
defined and quantified.
The Soil Science Society of America promotes good science and practice
related to soils and believes that the application of biochar materials offers promising solutions to agricultural and environmental concerns like climate change,
soil health, and water contamination. This book addresses these questions by
reporting on the latest research related to the characteristics, effects, and uses
of biochar materials in various environments and applications. It is an excellent
example of how science can support practical applications, and we are therefore
pleased to make the technical reports herein available to the broader community.
Harold van Es, 2016 President, Soil Science Society of America
vii
Preface
The identification of pyrogenic carbon abundant in the Amazonian
dark soil Terra Preta has kindled worldwide research and application of charcoal in agriculture for long-term soil conditioning and fertility enhancement.
As climate change and food security become eye-catching challenges that may
devastate the sustainability of the natural environment and the human society, charcoal arouses further interest from the agricultural and environmental
communities in its promises for enhancing soil carbon sequestration and crop
productivity. The term biochar was coined, referring to biomass-derived charcoal to be used as a soil amendment for various agricultural and environmental
benefits. Especially in the past decade, biochar has been intensively explored
for its potential uses as a durable soil quality enhancer and environmental ameliorator. According to the statistics by Scopus, there are 2,518 peer-reviewed
research papers, 113 review articles, and 99 book chapters published on biochar
during 2006 through 2015. Through research advocacy, biochar has gained the
nickname “new black gold.” Relative to its high popularity as a research topic,
however, biochar remains minimal in practical utilization and field application. The gap is mainly caused by inadequate understanding of biochar quality
and biochar production. Common misconcepts are exemplified as: “biochar
can be generated by simply baking plant materials,” “all blackened plant materials including cinders and activated carbon are biochar,” “biochar is rich in
plant nutrients,” and “biochar alone will significantly stimulate plant growth
in whatever application scenarios.”
This book aims to push forward the practical use of biochar by recognizing
the gap between biochar research and application and pinpointing the barriers to
field uses of biochar. Fifty-seven international scientists and professionals active
in biochar research and application were invited to contribute. The 21 chapters in
the book report on the recent advances of biochar research and the global status
of biochar application. It presents the whole picture of biochar in its production, characterization, application, and development, deliberating the scientific
findings, uncertainties, and barriers to practice of biochar amendment for sustaining soil fertility, improving crop production, promoting animal performance,
remediating water and land, and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. With
emphasis on the mechanisms and processes of biochar amendment for achieving
various agricultural and environmental benefits, the book elucidates the chemical composition and quality characteristics of biochar as influenced by feedstock,
production conditions, and post-handling; the interactions of biochar with contaminants and soil constituents; and the prospective achievements of biochar
amendment in improving soil physical, chemical, and biological quality and
animal health; reducing soil greenhouse gas emissions; and decontaminating
stormwater and mine sites. Additional emphasis is given to the pyrogenic carbon
in Terra Preta soils and Japanese Andosols, the pyrolysis technology for convert-
ix
ing agricultural byproducts to biochar, and the existing economic and technical
barriers to wide application of biochar in Australia, China, New Zealand, North
America, and Europe. Readers will appreciate the comprehensive review on the
up-to-date biochar research and application and gain critical guidance in best
biochar generation and utilization.
This book involved tremendous efforts from a team of authors, reviewers, and editors. We would like to express our sincere thanks to all the authors
for composing the enlightening chapters. All the chapters were peer-reviewed
twice or more by anonymous professionals. The constructive comments from the
reviewers significantly improved the quality of this publication. Special thanks
are conveyed to Lisa Al-Amoodi and Nicole Sandler at the Soil Science Society
of America for their superb coordination efforts during execution of this book
project. Additional thanks are extended to Brent Hill and Lisa Van de Water, who
provided excellent editorial assistance to the book compilation.
Mingxin Guo, Zhongqi He, and Sophie M. Uchimiya, Editors
Contributors
Al-Wabel,
Mohammad I.
Arbestain, Marta
Camps
Soil Sciences Dep., College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud Univ., P.O.
Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia ([email protected])
New Zealand Biochar Research Centre, Inst. of Agriculture and Environment,
Riddet Rd., Massey Univ., Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand (m.camps@massey.
ac.nz)
Beesley, Luke
The James Hutton Inst., Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH, UK (luke.beesley@
hutton.ac.uk)
Chen, Baoliang
Dep. of Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Univ., 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou
310058, China ([email protected])
Chen, Junhui
School of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang A & F Univ., 88 Huancheng-bei-lu Lin’an, Lin’an, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311300, China ([email protected])
Cimò, Giulia
Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, v.le
delle Scienze ed.4, 90128–Palermo, Italy ([email protected])
Clough, Timothy Dep. of Soil and Physical Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Farm
J.
Rd., Lincoln Univ., Lincoln 7647, New Zealand ([email protected])
Condron, Leo M. Dep. of Soil and Physical Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences and BioProtection Research Centre, P.O. Box 84, Lincoln Univ., Lincoln 7647, New Zealand
([email protected])
Cong, Hongbin
Inst. of Energy and Environmental Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural
Engineering, 41, Maizidian Road, Beijing 100125, China ([email protected])
Conte, Pellegrino Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Univ. degli Studi di Palermo, v.le delle
Scienze ed.4, 90128–Palermo, Italy ([email protected])
Dou, Zhengxia
Univ. of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine, Ctr. for Animal Health and
Productivity, 382 West Street Rd., Kennett Square, PA 19348 (douzheng@vet.
upenn.edu)
Farrell, Mark
CSIRO Agriculture, Gate 5, Waite Campus, Urrbrae, SA 5064, Australia (Mark.
[email protected])
Gascó, Gabriel
Dep. de Producción Agraria, ETSI Agrónomos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid,
Avenida Complutense 3, 28040, Madrid, Spain ([email protected])
Gomez-Eyles,
Integral Consulting, Inc., 719 2nd Ave., Suite 700, Seattle, WA 98104 (jgeyles@
Jose L.
integral-corp.com)
Gray, Myles
Oregon State Univ., 2707 N. Watts St., Portland, OR, 97217 ([email protected])
Guo, Mingxin
Dep. of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Delaware State Univ., 1200 N. DuPont
Hwy., Dover, DE 19901 ([email protected])
Harley, Andrew Andrew Harley, Ascension Soil Co., LLC, 1151 Evergreen Parkway, Evergreen, CO
80439 ([email protected])
He, Zhongqi
USDA-ARS Commodity Utilization Research, 1100 Robert E. Lee Blvd., New Orleans,
LA 70124 ([email protected])
Holm, Nancy
Illinois Sustainable Technology Ctr., Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1
Hazelwood Dr., Champaign, IL 61820 ([email protected])
Igalavithana,
Korea Biochar Research Ctr. and Dep. of Biological Environment and, Kangwon
Avanthi Deshani National Univ., Chuncheon 24341, South Korea ([email protected])
Jones, James R.
New Zealand Biochar Research Centre, School of Engineering and Advanced
Technology, Riddet Rd., Massey Univ., Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand
([email protected])
Kookana, Rai S. CSIRO Land and Water, Waite Campus, Urrbrae, SA 5064, Australia (Rai.Kookana@
csiro.au)
Lal, Rattan
Carbon Management and Sequestration Ctr., The Ohio State Univ., 210 Kottman
Hall, 2021 Coffey Rd., Columbus, OH 43210 ([email protected])
Lee, Sang Soo
Korea Biochar Research Ctr. and Dep. of Biological Environment and, Kangwon
National Univ., Chuncheon 24341, South Korea ([email protected])
Lin, Qimei
College of Resources & Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural Univ., 2
Yuanmingyuan Xilu, Beijing 100193, China ([email protected])
Luo, Yu
College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang Univ., 866 Yuhangtang
Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China ([email protected])
Macdonald,
CSIRO Agriculture, Gate 5, Waite Campus, Urrbrae, SA 5064, Australia (lynne.
Lynne M.
[email protected])
Méndez, Ana
Dep. de Producción Agraria, ETSI Agrónomos, Univ. Politécnica de Madrid, Avenida
Complutense 3, 28040, Madrid, Spain ([email protected])
xi
Miles, Thomas R.
Moreno-Jiménez,
Eduardo
Müller, Karin
Nishimura,
Syusaku
Ok, Yong Sik
1470 SW Woodward Way, Portland, OR 97225 ([email protected])
Dep. de Química Agrícola y Bromatología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad
Autónoma de Madrid 28049, Madrid, Spain ([email protected])
New Zealand Inst. for Plant & Food Research Ltd., Ruakura Research Centre, Bisley
Road Hamilton 3214, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton, New Zealand (Karin.Mueller@
plantandfood.co.nz)
Yamaguchi Univ., 1677-1 Yoshida, Yamaguchi 753-8515, Japan ([email protected])
Korea Biochar Research Ctr. and Dep. of Biological Environment and, Kangwon
National Univ., Chuncheon 24341, South Korea ([email protected])
Oleszczuk, Patryk Dep. of Environmental Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, 3 Maria Curie-Skłodowska
Square, 20-031 Lublin, Poland ([email protected])
Paz-Ferreiro,
School of Engineering, RMIT Univ., 124 Latrobe St., GPO Box 2476, Melbourne, VIC,
Jorge
3000, Australia ([email protected])
Peltz,
Research Services LLC, 1027 Mineral St., Silverton, CO 81433 (chris@
Christopher D. researchservicesco.com)
Peregrina Puga, Instituto Agronômico de Campinas, Avenida Barão de Itapura, 1481, CEP 13012Aline
970, Campinas (SP), 13020-902, Brazil ([email protected])
Quilliam, Richard Biological & Environmental Sciences, Cottrell Bldg., Univ. of Stirling, Stirling, FK9
4LA, UK ([email protected])
Rasmussen, Erin
1470 SW Woodward Way, Portland, OR 97225 ([email protected])
M.
Saarnio, Sanna
Dep. of Biology, Univ. of Eastern Finland, Yliopistokatu 7, FI-80101 Joensuu,
Finland ([email protected])
Schmidt, HansIthaka Inst. for Carbon Intelligence, Ancienne Eglise 9, 1974–Arbaz, Switzerland
Peter
([email protected])
Shindo, Haruo
Emeritus Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, Yamaguchi Univ., Yamaguchi 753-8515,
Japan ([email protected])
Singh, Balwant
The Univ. of Sydney, Australian Technology Park, Central Ave., Eveleigh, NSW 2015,
Australia ([email protected])
Singh, Bhupinder NSW Dep. of Primary Industries, Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Inst., Menangle,
P.
NSW 2568, Australia ([email protected])
Sizmur, Tom
Soil Research Centre, Dep. of Geography and Environmental Science, School
of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science, Russell Bldg., Univ. of
Reading, UK ([email protected])
Spokas, Kurt A. K.A. Spokas, USDA-ARS-Soil and Water Management Unit, 1991 Upper Buford
Circle, 439 Borlaug Hall, St. Paul, MN 55108 ([email protected])
Steiner,
Organic Plant Production and Agroecosystems Research in the Tropics and
Christoph
Subtropics, Univ. of Kassel, Steinstr. 19, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany (steiner@
uni-kassel.de)
Tian, Yishui
Inst. of Energy and Environmental Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural
Engineering, 41, Maizidian Road, Beijing 100125, China ([email protected])
Toth, John D.
Univ. of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine, Ctr. for Animal Health and
Productivity, 382 West Street Rd., Kennett Square, PA 19348 ([email protected])
Uchimiya, Sophie USDA-ARS Commodity Utilization Research, 1100 Robert E. Lee Blvd., New Orleans,
Minori
LA 70124 ([email protected])
Usman, A.R.A.
Dep. of Soils and Water, Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut Univ., Assiut 71526, Egypt
([email protected])
van Zwieten,
Wollongbar Primary Industries Inst., NSW Dep. of Primary Industries, 1243 Bruxner
Lukas
Highway, Wollongbar NSW 2477, Australia ([email protected])
Wang, Hailong
Key Lab. of Soil Contamination Bioremediation of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang
A & F Univ., 88 Huan-cheng-bei-lu, Lin’an, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311300, China
([email protected])
Xiao, Xin
Dep. of Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Univ., 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou
310058, China ([email protected])
Xu, Jianming
College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang Univ., 866 Yuhangtang
Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China ([email protected])
Zhang, Xiaokai
Key Lab. of Soil Contamination Bioremediation of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang
A & F Univ., 88 Huan-cheng-bei-lu, Lin’an, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311300, China
([email protected])
Zheng, Wei
Illinois Sustainable Technology Ctr., Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1
Hazelwood Dr., Champaign, IL 61820 ([email protected])