A Comprehensive Review of Biochar Production Methods and Its Application to Enhance Soil Fertility
Abstract
A census of the biomass on Earth is key for understanding the structure and dynamics of the biosphere. The overall biomass composition of the biosphere establishes a census of the ≈550 gigatons of carbon (Gt C) of biomass distributed among all of the kingdoms of life. It includes plants (≈450 Gt C, the dominant kingdom) which are primarily terrestrial, whereas animals (≈2 Gt C) are mainly marine, and bacteria (≈70 Gt C) and archaea (≈7 Gt C) are predominantly located in deep subsurface environments.
Biochar plays a crucial role in enhancing crop growth and yield primarily through its effects on soil health and nutrient availability. When incorporated into soil, biochar improves water retention, increases nutrient retention capacity, and promotes microbial activity, thereby enhancing soil fertility. Its porous structure provides a habitat for beneficial microorganisms and promotes aeration, which supports root development and nutrient uptake by plants. Moreover, biochar helps mitigate soil acidity and can bind harmful substances, reducing their availability to plants. These combined benefits contribute to improved crop productivity, resilience to environmental stresses, and sustainable agricultural practices.
In developing countries, the large quantities of agricultural residues are currently utilised either as raw material for paper industry, or as animal feed sources. But generally since the collection and disposal of these residues are becoming more difficult and expensive, it is left unused as waste material or simply burned in the fields, thereby creating significant environmental problems. Pyrolysis of biomass is one of the most efficient technologies used to produce biofuels).The amount of crop residue produced in the world is estimated at 2802×106 Mg/year for cereal crops, 3107×106 Mg/year for 17 cereals and legumes, and 3758×106 Mg/year for 27 food crops.
India alone generates ~500 million metric tonnes (MT) of crop residue annually, of which 100 MT is burned. The practice of residue burning primarily occurs following the wheat and Rice harvest mostly in north western India. This is due to the tight schedule of the harvest-to-sowing transition under the predominant rice-wheat rotation cropping system in north western India has limited the rate of adoption of alternatives. Crop residue burning allows cheap and fast disposal of crop residue and therefore remains a recurring issue, as revealed by a ~60% increase in the number of agricultural fires detected by NASA’s Aqua satellite from 2002 to 2016. Several important reasons like short time span for sowing wheat, limited farm mechanisation, scarce manpower and poor acceptability of paddy straw as fodder are the root causes behind this residue burning. The consequences of residue burning leading to respiratory infections are among the leading causes of death and disability globally. Respirable aerosol particles released by agricultural crop-residue burning (ACRB), practiced by farmers in all global regions, are potentially harmful to human health.
References
2. Armah, E. K., Chetty, M., Adedeji, J. A., Estrice, E., Mutsvene, B., Singh, N., & Tshemese, Z. (2022). Biochar: Production, Application and the Future.
3. Aysu, T., & Küçük, M. M. (2014). Biomass pyrolysis in a fixed-bed reactor: Effects of pyrolysis parameters on product yields and characterization of products. Energy, 64, 1002–1025. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2013.11.053
4. Aysu, T., & Küçük, M. M. (2014). Biomass pyrolysis in a fixed-bed reactor: Effects of pyrolysis parameters on product yields and characterization of products. Energy, 64, 1002–1025. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2013.11.053
5. Balwinder-Singh, McDonald, A. J., Srivastava, A. K., & Gerard, B. (2019). Tradeoffs between groundwater conservation and air pollution from agricultural fires in northwest India. Nature Sustainability, 2(7), 580–583. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0304-4
6. Bhuvaneshwari, S., Hettiarachchi, H., & Meegoda, J. N. (2019). Crop Residue Burning in India: Policy Challenges and Potential Solutions. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(5). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16050832
7. Biswas, B., Pandey, N., Bisht, Y., Singh, R., Kumar, J., & Bhaskar, T. (2017). Pyrolysis of agricultural biomass residues: Comparative study of corn cob, wheat straw, rice straw and rice husk. Bioresource Technology, 237, 57–63. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2017.02.046
8. Cao, X., & Harris, W. (2010). Properties of dairy-manure-derived biochar pertinent to its potential use in remediation. Bioresource Technology, 101(14), 5222–5228. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2010.02.052
9. Cárdenas- Aguiar, E., Gascó, G., Paz-Ferreiro, J., & Méndez, A. (2017). The effect of biochar and compost from urban organic waste on plant biomass and properties of an artificially copper polluted soil. International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation, 124, 223–232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibiod.2017.05.014
10. Chen, Y., Zhang, X., Chen, W., Yang, H., & Chen, H. (2017). The structure evolution of biochar from biomass pyrolysis and its correlation with gas pollutant adsorption performance. Bioresource Technology, 246, 101–109. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2017.08.138
11. Enders, A., Hanley, K., Whitman, T., Joseph, S., & Lehmann, J. (2012). Characterization of biochars to evaluate recalcitrance and agronomic performance. Bioresource Technology, 114, 644–653. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2012.03.022
12. Gabhane, J. W., Bhange, V. P., Patil, P. D., Bankar, S. T., & Kumar, S. (2020). Recent trends in biochar production methods and its application as a soil health conditioner: a review. SN Applied Sciences, 2(7), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-020-3121-5
13. Ghodake, G. S., Shinde, S. K., Kadam, A. A., Saratale, R. G., Saratale, G. D., Kumar, M., Palem, R. R., AL-Shwaiman, H. A., Elgorban, A. M., Syed, A., & Kim, D.-Y. (2021). Review on biomass feedstocks, pyrolysis mechanism and physicochemical properties of biochar: State-of-the-art framework to speed up vision of circular bioeconomy. Journal of Cleaner Production, 297, 126645. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126645
14. Information, T., & Tifac, A. C. (n.d.). Personal use only Personal use only.
15. Ivanova, N., Gugleva, V., Dobreva, M., Pehlivanov, I., Stefanov, S., & Andonova, V. (2016). We are IntechOpen , the world ’ s leading publisher of Open Access books Built by scientists , for scientists TOP 1 %. Intech, i(tourism), 13.
16. Jiang, X., Lyu, J., & Tang, H. (2022). Differential Analysis of Biochar Effects on Soil Physicochemical Properties. Highlights in Science, Engineering and Technology, 26, 21–28. https://doi.org/10.54097/hset.v26i.3635
17. Jyoti Rawat, J. S. and P. S. (2019). We are IntechOpen , the world ’ s leading publisher of Open Access books Built by scientists , for scientists TOP 1 % Biochar : A Sustainable Approach for Improving Plant Growth and. Biochar: A Sustainable Approach for Improving Plant Growth and Soil Properties, 1–9. https://www.intechopen.com/online-first/biochar-a-sustainable-approach-for-improving-plant-growth-and-soil-properties
18. Jiang, X., Lyu, J., & Tang, H. (2022). Differential Analysis of Biochar Effects on Soil Physicochemical Properties. Highlights in Science, Engineering and Technology, 26, 21–28. https://doi.org/10.54097/hset.v26i.3635
19. Jyoti Rawat, J. S. and P. S. (2019). We are IntechOpen , the world ’ s leading publisher of Open Access books Built by scientists , for scientists TOP 1 % Biochar : A Sustainable Approach for Improving Plant Growth and. Biochar: A Sustainable Approach for Improving Plant Growth and Soil Properties, 1–9. https://www.intechopen.com/online-first/biochar-a-sustainable-approach-for-improving-plant-growth-and-soil-properties
20. Kaushal, L. A. (2020). Examining the policy-practice gap- The issue of crop burning induced Particulate Matter pollution in Northwest India. Ecosystem Health and Sustainability, 6(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/20964129.2020.1846460
21. Kazawadi, D., Ntalikwa, J., & Kombe, G. (2021). A Review of Intermediate Pyrolysis as a Technology of Biomass Conversion for Coproduction of Biooil and Adsorption Biochar. Journal of Renewable Energy, 2021, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/5533780
22. Kim, K. H., Kim, J.-Y., Cho, T.-S., & Choi, J. W. (2012). Influence of pyrolysis temperature on physicochemical properties of biochar obtained from the fast pyrolysis of pitch pine (Pinus rigida). Bioresource Technology, 118, 158–162. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2012.04.094
23. Kim, K. H., Kim, J.-Y., Cho, T.-S., & Choi, J. W. (2012). Influence of pyrolysis temperature on physicochemical properties of biochar obtained from the fast pyrolysis of pitch pine (Pinus rigida). Bioresource Technology, 118, 158–162. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2012.04.094
24. Kim, K. H., Kim, J.-Y., Cho, T.-S., & Choi, J. W. (2012). Influence of pyrolysis temperature on physicochemical properties of biochar obtained from the fast pyrolysis of pitch pine (Pinus rigida). Bioresource Technology, 118, 158–162. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2012.04.094
25. S. J. Lehmann, Biochar for Environmental Management, Earth-scan, Oxford, UK, 2009
26. Li, H., Dong, X., da Silva, E. B., de Oliveira, L. M., Chen, Y., & Ma, L. Q. (2017). Mechanisms of metal sorption by biochars: Biochar characteristics and modifications. Chemosphere, 178, 466–478. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.03.072
27. Li, A., Liu, H. L., Wang, H., Xu, H. Bin, Jin, L. F., Liu, J. L., & Hu, J. H. (2016). Effects of temperature and heating rate on the characteristics of molded Bio-Char. BioResources, 11(2), 3259–3274. https://doi.org/10.15376/biores.11.2.3259-3274
28. Mullen, C. A., Boateng, A. A., Goldberg, N. M., Lima, I. M., Laird, D. A., & Hicks, K. B. (2010). Bio-oil and bio-char production from corn cobs and stover by fast pyrolysis. Biomass and Bioenergy, 34(1), 67–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2009.09.012
29. Nimbalkar.S, Patil.D and Rajwade.P (2023) Effect of Microbial Enriched biochar with Fertilizer Doses on Soil Properties and Yield Unnder Soybean ( Glycine Max ) - Wheat ( Triticum aestivum ) Cropping Sequence. Vol.35 ( 5 ), 1-11.International Journal Of Plant and Soil Science.
30. Noor, N. M., Shariff, A., Abdullah, N., & Aziz, N. S. M. (2019). Temperature effect on biochar properties from slow pyrolysis of coconut flesh waste. Malaysian Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences, 15(2), 153–158. https://doi.org/10.11113/mjfas.v15n2.1015
31. Pappu, A., Saxena, M., & Asolekar, S. R. (2007). Solid wastes generation in India and their recycling potential in building materials. Building and Environment, 42(6), 2311–2320. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2006.04.015
32. Rafiq, M. K., Bachmann, R. T., Rafiq, M. T., Shang, Z., Joseph, S., & Long, R. L. (2016). Influence of pyrolysis temperature on physico-chemical properties of corn stover (zea mays l.) biochar and feasibility for carbon capture and energy balance. PLoS ONE, 11(6), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0156894
33. R.S.Oak, D.D Sarode, J.B Joshi annd S.A Chavan.(2021) Impact of co-application of biomethanated spent wash with bio-char on soil micro-nutrient and crop growth. Journal Of Sugarcane research (2021)
34. R.S.Oak, D.D. Sarode, J.B.Joshi and S.A. Chavan. Effect Of Biochar On Soybean Yield And Soil Properties In A Semi-Arid Vertisol. (2020).Biochem. Cell. Arch Vol.20,no 1 pp. 111-115.
35. Singh, B. P., Hatton, B., Singh, B., Cowie, A., & Kathuria, A. (2010). Influence of Biochars on Nitrous Oxide Emission and Nitrogen Leaching from Two Contrasting Soils. Journal of Environmental Quality, 39, 1224–1235. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2009.0138
36. Singh, B. P., Hatton, B., Singh, B., Cowie, A., & Kathuria, A. (2010). Influence of Biochars on Nitrous Oxide Emission and Nitrogen Leaching from Two Contrasting Soils. Journal of Environmental Quality, 39, 1224–1235. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2009.0138
37. Thies, J. E., & Rillig, M. C. (2012). Characteristics of biochar: Biological properties. Biochar for Environmental Management: Science and Technology, March, 85–105. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781849770552
38. Thies, J. E., & Rillig, M. C. (2012). Characteristics of biochar: Biological properties. Biochar for Environmental Management: Science and Technology, March, 85–105. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781849770552
39. Tomczyk, A., Sokołowska, Z., & Boguta, P. (2020a). Biochar physicochemical properties: pyrolysis temperature and feedstock kind effects. Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/Technology, 19(1), 191–215. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11157-020-09523-3
40. Tomczyk, A., Sokołowska, Z., & Boguta, P. (2020b). Biochar physicochemical properties: pyrolysis temperature and feedstock kind effects. Reviews in Environmental Science and Biotechnology, 19(1), 191–215. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11157-020-09523-3
41. Velichkova, R., Pushkarov, M., Angelova, R. A., Sandov, O., Markov, D., Simova, I., & Stankov, P. (2022). Exploring the Potential of Straw Biochar for Environmentally Friendly Fertilizers. Sustainability (Switzerland), 14(10). https://doi.org/10.3390/su14106323
42. Zhang, J., Kan, X., Pu, J., Li, L., & Zheng, T. (2022). Chemical properties of biochars prepared from corn and wheat straw at different temperatures. Highlights in Science, Engineering and Technology, 26, 162–171. https://doi.org/10.54097/hset.v26i.3942
43. Zhang, J., Kan, X., Pu, J., Li, L., & Zheng, T. (2022). Chemical properties of biochars prepared from corn and wheat straw at different temperatures. Highlights in Science, Engineering and Technology, 26, 162–171. https://doi.org/10.54097/hset.v26i.3942
