Mohammad I. Al-Wabel

Pyrolysis temperature induced changes in characteristics and chemical composition of biochar produced from conocarpus wastes

Conocarpus wastes were pyrolyzed at different temperatures (200–800 °C) to investigate their impact on characteristics and chemical composition of biochars. As pyrolysis temperature increased, ash content, pH, electrical conductivity, basic functional groups, carbon stability, and total content of C, N, P, K, Ca, and Mg increased while biochar yield, total content of O, H and S, unstable form of organic C and acidic functional groups decreased. The ratios of O/C, H/C, (O + N)/C, and (O + N + S)/C tended to decrease with temperature. The data of Fourier transformation infrared indicate an increase in aromaticity and a decrease in polarity of biochar produced at a high temperature. With pyrolysis temperature, cellulose loss and crystalline mineral components increased, as indicated by X-ray diffraction analysis and scanning electron microscope images. Results suggest that biochar pyrolized at high temperature may possess a higher carbon sequestration potential when applied to the soil compared to that obtained at low temperature.

Cadmium minimization in wheat: A critical review

Cadmium (Cd) accumulation in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and its subsequent transfer to food chain is a major environmental issue worldwide. Understanding wheat response to Cd stress and its management for aiming to reduce Cd uptake and accumulation in wheat may help to improve wheat growth and grain quality. This paper reviewed the toxic effects, tolerance mechanisms, and management of Cd stress in wheat. It was concluded that Cd decreased germination, growth, mineral nutrients, photosynthesis and grain yield of wheat and plant response to Cd toxicity varies with cultivars, growth conditions and duration of stress applied. Cadmium caused oxidative stress and genotoxicity in wheat plants. Stimulation of antioxidant defense system, osmoregulation, ion homeostasis and over production of signalling molecules are important adaptive strategies of wheat under Cd stress. Exogenous application of plant growth regulators, inorganic amendments, proper fertilization, silicon, and organic, manures and biochar, amendments are commonly used for the reduction of Cd uptake in wheat. Selection of low Cd-accumulating wheat cultivars, crop rotation, soil type, and exogenous application of microbes are among the other agronomic practices successfully employed in reducing Cd uptake by wheat. These management practices could enhance wheat tolerance to Cd stress and reduce the transfer of Cd to the food chain. However, their long-term sustainability in reducing Cd uptake by wheat needs further assessment.

Conocarpus biochar as a soil amendment for reducing heavy metal availability and uptake by maize plants.

The objective of this study was to assess the use of Concarpus biochar as a soil amendment for reducing heavy metal accessibility and uptake by maize plants (Zea mays L.). The impacts of biochar rates (0.0, 1.0, 3.0, and 5.0% w/w) and two soil moisture levels (75% and 100% of field capacity, FC) on immobilization and availability of Fe, Mn, Zn, Cd, Cu and Pb to maize plants as well as its application effects on soil pH, EC, bulk density, and moisture content were evaluated using heavy metal-contaminated soil collected from mining area. The biochar addition significantly decreased the bulk density and increased moisture content of soil. Applying biochar significantly reduced NH4OAc- or AB-DTPA-extractable heavy metal concentrations of soils, indicating metal immobilization. Conocarpus biochar increased shoot dry biomass of maize plants by 54.5–102% at 75% FC and 133–266% at 100% FC. Moreover, applying biochar significantly reduced shoot heavy metal concentrations in maize plants (except for Fe at 75% FC) in response to increasing application rates, with a highest decrease of 51.3% and 60.5% for Mn, 28% and 21.2% for Zn, 60% and 29.5% for Cu, 53.2% and 47.2% for Cd at soil moisture levels of 75% FC and 100% FC, respectively. The results suggest that biochar may be effectively used as a soil amendment for heavy metal immobilization and in reducing its phytotoxicity.

Biochar soil amendment on alleviation of drought and salt stress in plants: a critical review

Drought and salt stress negatively affect soil fertility and plant growth. Application of biochar, carbon-rich material developed from combustion of biomass under no or limited oxygen supply, ameliorates the negative effects of drought and salt stress on plants. The biochar application increased the plant growth, biomass, and yield under either drought and/or salt stress and also increased photosynthesis, nutrient uptake, and modified gas exchange characteristics in drought and salt-stressed plants. Under drought stress, biochar increased the water holding capacity of soil and improved the physical and biological properties of soils. Under salt stress, biochar decreased Na+ uptake, while increased K+ uptake by plants. Biochar-mediated increase in salt tolerance of plants is primarily associated with improvement in soil properties, thus increasing plant water status, reduction of Na+ uptake, increasing uptake of minerals, and regulation of stomatal conductance and phytohormones. This review highlights both the potential of biochar in alleviating drought and salt stress in plants and future prospect of the role of biochar under drought and salt stress in plants.

Carbon mineralization and nutrient availability in calcareous sandy soils amended with woody waste biochar

Many studies have reported the positive effect of biochar on soil carbon sequestration and soil fertility improvement in acidic soils. However, biochar may have different impacts on calcareous sandy soils. A 90-day incubation experiment was conducted to quantify the effects of woody waste biochar (10 g kg(-1)) on CO2-C emissions, K2SO4-extractable C and macro-(N, P and K) and micro-(Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu) nutrient availability in the presence or absence of poultry manure (5 g kg(-1) soil). The following six treatments were applied: (1) conocarpus (Conocarpus erectus L.) waste (CW), (2) conocarpus biochar (BC), (3) poultry manure (PM), (4) PM+CW, (5) PM+BC and (6) untreated soil (CK). Poultry manure increased CO2-C emissions and K2SO4-extractable C, and the highest increases in CO2-C emission rate and cumulative CO2-C and K2SO4-extractable C were observed for the PM+CW treatment. On the contrary, treatments with BC halted the CO2-C emission rate, indicating that the contribution of BC to CO2-C emissions is negligible compared with the soils amended with CW and PM. Furthermore, the combined addition of PM+BC increased available N, P and K compared with the PM or BC treatments. Overall, the incorporation of biochar into calcareous soils might have benefits in carbon sequestration and soil fertility improvement.

Chemically Modified Biochar Produced from Conocarpus Wastes: An Efficient Sorbent for Fe(II) Removal from Acidic Aqueous Solutions

Fe(II) removal from acidic aqueous solutions using Conocarpus sp. biochar or chemically modified biochar prepared by synthesizing Mg(OH)2 on biochar surface as well as their comparison with zeolite sorbent (natural clinoptilolite) was investigated. Batch experiments were conducted as a function of initial pH of 2–5, contact time of 5–180 minutes and initial concentration of 10–200 mg l−1 (0.18–3.58 mmol l−1). The sorption data indicated that the pseudo-second-order kinetic model was the best model to simulate adsorption of Fe(II) onto the all sorbents and could generally be described by the Freundlich model. The higher sorption capacities for Fe(II) ions were generally pronounced for chemically modified biochar (84.6–99.8%) followed by biochar (38.3–97.6%) than those that were achieved by zeolite (12.3–95.5%). Thus, remediating acidic wastewater contaminated with Fe(II) might be possible using Conocarpus biochar, especially the chemically modified biochar.

Conocarpus Biochar Induces Changes in Soil Nutrient Availability and Tomato Growth Under Saline Irrigation

Thermally modified organic materials commonly known as biochar have gained popularity of being used as a soil amendment. Little information, however, is available on the role of biochar in alleviating the negative impacts of saline water on soil productivity and plant growth. This study, therefore, was conducted to investigate the effects of Conocarpus biochar (BC) and organic farm residues (FR) at different application rates of 0.0% (control), 4.0% and 8.0% (weight/weight) on yield and quality of tomatoes grown on a sandy soil under drip irrigation with saline or non-saline water. The availability of P, K, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu to plants was also investigated. The results demonstrated clearly that addition of BC or FR increased the vegetative growth, yield and quality parameters in all irrigation treatments. It was found that salt stress adversely affected soil productivity, as indicated by the lower vegetative growth and yield components of tomato plants. However, this suppressing effect on the vegetative growth and yield tended to decline with application of FR or BC, especially at the high application rate and in the presence of biochar. Under saline irrigation system, for instance, the total tomato yield increased over the control by 14.0%–43.3% with BC and by 3.9%–35.6% with FR. These could be attributed to enhancement effects of FR or BC on soil properties, as indicated by increases in soil organic matter content and nutrient availability. Therefore, biochar may be effectively used as a soil amendment for enhancing the productivity of salt-affected sandy soils under arid conditions.

Dynamics of CO2 Emission and Biochemical Properties of a Sandy Calcareous Soil Amended with Conocarpus Waste and Biochar

ABSTRACT Biochar is a carbon-rich product obtained by biomass pyrolysis and considered a mean of carbon sequestration. In this research, a sandy calcareous soil from the Farm of the College of Food & Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia, was amended with either woody waste of Conocarpus erectus L. (CW) or the biochar (BC) produced from CW at rates of 0 (control), 10, 30 and 50 g kg−1. The effects of the amendments on soil pH, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), CO2 emission and metabolic quotient (qCO2) of the sandy calcareous soil were studied in a 60-d incubation experiment. The results showed that the addition of CW led to a significant decrease in soil pH compared to the control and the addition of BC. The CO2-C emission rate was higher in the first few days of incubation than when the incubation time progressed. The cumulative CO2-C emission from the soil amended with CW, especially at higher rates, was higher (approximately 3- to 6-fold) than that from the control and the soil amended with BC. The BC-amended soil showed significant increases in CO2-C emission rate during the first days of incubation as compared to the non-amended soil, but the increase in cumulative CO2-C emission was not significant after 60 d of incubation. On the other hand, CW applications resulted in considerably higher cumulative CO2-C emission, MBC and DOC than the control and BC applications. With the exception of 0 day (after 1 h of incubation), both CW and BC applications led to lower values of qCO2 as compared to the control. The power function kinetic model satisfactorily described the cumulative CO2-C emission. Generally, the lowest values of CO2 emission were observed in the soil with BC, suggesting that the contribution of BC to CO2 emission was very small as compared to that of CW.

High-efficiency remediation of cadmium (Cd2+) from aqueous solution using poultry manure- and farmyard manure-derived biochars

ABSTRACT Farmyard manure (FYM-BC) and poultry manure (PM-BC) derived biochars were applied as adsorbents to remove Cd2+ from water. Results indicated that PM-BC was a more efficient adsorbent than FYM-BC at all experimental conditions. Maximum Cd2+ adsorption was observed at pH 4, temperature 318 K and contact time 1 h, regardless of biochar type. The Langmuir model predicted maximum adsorption capacity of 90.09 mg g−1 for PM-BC. The data fitting to pseudo-second-order model proposed chemisorption of Cd2+ onto biochars. Thermodynamics indicated that adsorption was spontaneous and endothermic. Post-adsorption analysis provided evidences of strong chemical interactions between biochars’ functional groups and Cd2+ ions.

Advances and future directions of biochar characterization methods and applications

ABSTRACT Biochar is a carbon-rich by-product of the thermal conversion of organic feedstocks and is primarily used as a soil amendment. Identification and quantification of biochar properties are important to ensure optimal outcomes for agricultural or environmental applications. Advanced spectroscopic techniques have recently been adopted in biochar characterization. However, biochar characterization approaches rely entirely on the users choice and accessibility to the new technology. The selection of proper methods is vital to accurately and consistently assess biochar properties. This review critically evaluates current biochar characterization methods of proximate, ultimate, physicochemical, surface and structural analyses, and important biochar properties for various applications.