Alessandro G. Rombolà
University of Bologna
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Publication
Featured researches published by Alessandro G. Rombolà.
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry | 2016
Hans Jörg Bachmann; Thomas D. Bucheli; Alba Dieguez-Alonso; Daniele Fabbri; Heike Knicker; Hans-Peter Schmidt; Axel Ulbricht; Roland Becker; Alessandro Buscaroli; Diane Buerge; Andrew Cross; Dane Dickinson; Akio Enders; Valdemar I. Esteves; Michael W.H. Evangelou; Guido Fellet; K. Friedrich; Gabriel Gasco Guerrero; Bruno Glaser; Ulrich Michael Hanke; Kelly Hanley; Isabel Hilber; Dimitrios Kalderis; Jens Leifeld; Ondrej Masek; Jan Mumme; Marina Paneque Carmona; Roberto Calvelo Pereira; Frédéric Rees; Alessandro G. Rombolà
Biochar produced by pyrolysis of organic residues is increasingly used for soil amendment and many other applications. However, analytical methods for its physical and chemical characterization are yet far from being specifically adapted, optimized, and standardized. Therefore, COST Action TD1107 conducted an interlaboratory comparison in which 22 laboratories from 12 countries analyzed three different types of biochar for 38 physical-chemical parameters (macro- and microelements, heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, pH, electrical conductivity, and specific surface area) with their preferential methods. The data were evaluated in detail using professional interlaboratory testing software. Whereas intralaboratory repeatability was generally good or at least acceptable, interlaboratory reproducibility was mostly not (20% < mean reproducibility standard deviation < 460%). This paper contributes to better comparability of biochar data published already and provides recommendations to improve and harmonize specific methods for biochar analysis in the future.
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry | 2015
Alessandro G. Rombolà; Giovanni Marisi; Cristian Torri; Daniele Fabbri; Alessandro Buscaroli; Michele Ghidotti; Andreas Hornung
Three biochars were prepared by intermediate pyrolysis from poultry litter at different temperatures (400, 500, and 600 °C with decreasing residence times) and compared with biochars from corn stalk prepared under the same pyrolysis conditions. The phytotoxicity of these biochars was estimated by means of seed germination tests on cress (Lepidium sativum L.) conducted in water suspensions (at 2, 5, and 40 g/L) and on biochars wetted according to their water-holding capacity. Whereas the seeds germinated after 72 h in water suspensions with corn stalk biochar were similar to the control (water only), significant inhibition was observed with poultry litter biochars. In comparison to corn stalk, poultry litter generated biochars with higher contents of ash, ammonium, nitrogen, and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and a similar concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Results from analytical pyrolysis (Py-GC-MS) indicated that nitrogen-containing organic compounds (NCCs) and aliphatic components were distinctive constituents of the thermally labile fraction of poultry litter biochar. The inhibition of germination due to poultry litter biochar produced at 400 °C (PL400) was suppressed after solvent extraction or treatment with active sludge. A novel method based on solid-phase microextraction (SPME) enabled the identification of mobile organic compounds in PL400 capable of being released in air and water, including VFAs and NCCs. The higher phytotoxicity of poultry litter than corn biochars was tentatively attributed to hydrophilic biodegradable substances derived from lipids or proteins removable by water leaching or microbial treatments.
Environmental Science & Technology | 2015
Alessandro G. Rombolà; Will Meredith; Colin E. Snape; Silvia Baronti; Lorenzo Genesio; Francesco Primo Vaccari; Franco Miglietta; Daniele Fabbri
The effect of biochar addition on the levels of black carbon (BC) and polcyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in a vineyard soil in central Italy was investigated within a two year period. Hydropyrolysis (HyPy) was used to determine the contents of BC (BCHyPy) in the amended and control soils, while the hydrocarbon composition of the semi-labile (non-BCHyPy) fraction released by HyPy was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, together with the solvent-extractable PAHs. The concentrations of these three polycyclic aromatic carbon reservoirs changed and impacted differently the soil organic carbon over the period of the trial. The addition of biochar (33 ton dry biochar ha(-1)) gave rise to a sharp increase in soil organic carbon, which could be accounted for by an increase in BCHyPy. Over time, the concentration of BCHyPy decreased significantly from 36 to 23 mg g(-1) and as a carbon percentage from 79% to 61%. No clear time trends were observed for the non-BCHyPy PAHs varying from 39 to 34 μg g(-1) in treated soils, not significantly different from control soils. However, the concentrations of extractable PAHs increased markedly in the amended soils and decreased with time from 153 to 78 ng g(-1) remaining always higher than those in untreated soil. The extent of the BCHyPy loss was more compatible with physical rather than chemical processes.
Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis | 2013
Daniele Fabbri; Alessandro G. Rombolà; Cristian Torri; Kurt A. Spokas
Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis | 2014
Roberto Conti; Alessandro G. Rombolà; Alberto Modelli; Cristian Torri; Daniele Fabbri
Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis | 2016
Alessandro G. Rombolà; Daniele Fabbri; Will Meredith; Colin E. Snape; Alba Dieguez-Alonso
Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis | 2017
Emma Bianchini; Daniele Fabbri; Alessandro G. Rombolà; Cristian Torri; Franca Guerrini; Rossella Pistocchi; Raffaela Calabria; Patrizio Massoli
Archive | 2018
Alba Dieguez-Alonso; Axel Funke; Andrés Anca-Couce; Alessandro G. Rombolà; Gerardo Ojeda; Jörg Bachmann; Frank Behrendt
XXVI CONGRESSO NAZIONALE SCI | 2017
Alessandro G. Rombolà; Daniele Fabbri; Cristian Torri; Ivano Vassura; Elisa Venturini
Archive | 2017
Daniele Fabbri; Ivano Vassura; Cristian Torri; Alessandro G. Rombolà; Elisa Venturini