Plant growth improvement mediated by nitrate capture in co-composted biochar methods
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Materials and Methods
The biochar was produced from woody chips (80% coniferous, 20% deciduous wood) by Carbon Terra (formerly German Charcoal GmbH) in vertical retorts. Pyrolysis treatment temperature was approx. 700 °C over a period of about 36 hours before passing a fire front at the end of the pyrolysis process. There, highest treatment temperatures of approx. 850 °C were reached for a short final period (biochar properties: ). The initial biomass must have contained some adhering soil which was revealed by the examination of the biochar (BC pure ) with scanning electron microscope ( ), i.e. mineral phases on the carbon matrix must have been present before pyrolysis was carried out. Also, high concentrations of potentially redox active Fe and Mn phases on the sample were revealed ( ). (A more detailed characterization of the biochar before and after composting is the subject...
Compost and biochar-compost production
Production of compost with and without biochar (BC) was carried out in three replicated windrows (2.50 × 10 m) in April-May 2011 at the Ithaka Institute (former Delinat Institute) in Valais, Switzerland. The input materials consisted of animal manures, straw, rock powder, soil and mature compost ( ). The production followed the guidelines of aerobic quality composting with daily turnover of the compost windrows for two weeks, following turnover periods of three days for five more weeks. To three out of six windrows, 20% (vol/vol) woody biochar ( ) was added at the start. After mixing, both variants quickly reached 60-70 °C; temperatures were significantly higher in the biochar-compost during the thermophilic phase. After 6 weeks the composts approached maturity. Pot trials with 8 different plant species during late-summer and autumn 2011 confi...
Plant growth study with composted (BC comp ) versus untreated (BC pure ) biochar
During cultivation the soil mixtures were daily adjusted to 65% of the maximum water holding capacity (WHC). For more detailed information see and and. The plants were kept in the vegetative-growth stage by repeatedly removing tiny emerging flowers to prevent seed formation, and thus termination of the vegetative growth (otherwise the weight difference between undernourished and well-nourished plants would have been even larger); biomass was harvested 81 days after sowing. The plants were divided into shoots and leaves without inflorescences; root biomass was retrieved by washing on day 82. Dry leaves were milled to powder and the C and N concentrations were measured by CN analyzer (VarioMax CNS macro-element analyzer, Elementar Analytical Systems GmbH, Hanau, Germany).
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The biochar was produced from woody chips (80% coniferous, 20% deciduous wood) by Carbon Terra (formerly German Charcoal GmbH) in vertical retorts. Pyrolysis treatment temperature was approx. 700 °C over a period of about 36 hours before passing a fire front at the end of the pyrolysis process. There, highest treatment temperatures of approx. 850 °C were reached for a short final period (biochar properties: ). The initial biomass must have contained some adhering soil which was revealed by the examination of the biochar (BC pure ) with scanning electron microscope ( ), i.e. mineral phases on the carbon matrix must have been present before pyrolysis was carried out. Also, high concentrations of potentially redox active Fe and Mn phases on the sample were revealed ( ). (A more detailed characterization of the biochar before and after composting is the subject of a further paper in preparation.) The biochar can be considered as a class 1 biochar as per the IBI standard (IBI = international biochar initiative), and premium quality as per the EBC standard (EBC = European biochar certificate); for biochar properties (BC pure ) see Ta...
Production of compost with and without biochar (BC) was carried out in three replicated windrows (2.50 × 10 m) in April-May 2011 at the Ithaka Institute (former Delinat Institute) in Valais, Switzerland. The input materials consisted of animal manures, straw, rock powder, soil and mature compost ( ). The production followed the guidelines of aerobic quality composting with daily turnover of the compost windrows for two weeks, following turnover periods of three days for five more weeks. To three out of six windrows, 20% (vol/vol) woody biochar ( ) was added at the start. After mixing, both variants quickly reached 60-70 °C; temperatures were significantly higher in the biochar-compost during the thermophilic phase. After 6 weeks the composts approached maturity. Pot trials with 8 different plant species during late-summer and autumn 2011 confirmed that both composts adhered to existing German/Swiss quality guidelines (plant biomass yields were on average 11% higher with biochar-compost than pure compost). The biochar-compost mostly had improved properties compared to the compost without biochar (either in tendency or significantly, e.g....
During cultivation the soil mixtures were daily adjusted to 65% of the maximum water holding capacity (WHC). For more detailed information see and and. The plants were kept in the vegetative-growth stage by repeatedly removing tiny emerging flowers to prevent seed formation, and thus termination of the vegetative growth (otherwise the weight difference between undernourished and well-nourished plants would have been even larger); biomass was harvested 81 days after sowing. The plants were divided into shoots and leaves without inflorescences; root biomass was retrieved by washing on day 82. Dry leaves were milled to powder and the C and N concentrations were measured by CN analyzer (VarioMax CNS macro-element analyzer, Elementar Analytical Systems GmbH, Hanau, Germany).
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