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Scientia Silvae Sinicae ›› 2020, Vol. 56 ›› Issue (8): 107-120.doi: 10.11707/j.1001-7488.20200813

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Properties and Application Potential of Biochar from Urban Green Wastes

Yanyan Ju1,Yuanjun Ding1,Qianqian Shao1,Xiaochun Zhang2,Hongyan Gao2,1,Mengying Lian2,1,Rongjun Bian1,2,Xiaoming Wang3,2,Genxing Pan1,2,*   

  1. 1. Institute of Resource, Ecosystem and Environment of Agriculture, Nanjing Agricultural University Nanjing 210095
    2. Shenzhen-NJAU Center of Green Technology of Urban Biowastes Shenzhen 518000
    3. Shenzhen Association of Landscape Architecture Shenzhen 518000
  • Received:2018-04-28 Online:2020-08-25 Published:2020-09-15
  • Contact: Genxing Pan

Abstract:

Objective: This study analyzed biochars pyrolyzed from urban green wastes of wood bark, branch, leaf and grass biomass in a bench pyrolyzer, in order to explore its value for potential application to urban soil and environment improvement in recycling green waste through biomass carbonization. Method: Physico-chemical, and elemental analysis of carbon and metals as well as nutrients, surface morphology and tomography analysis and proximate analysis of biochar particles, and GC/MS analysis of dissolvable organic matter (DOM) pool of biochars were conducted to characterize the organic composition, particle adsorption capacity and moisture retention, existence of bioactive molecules and potentially toxic metal elements (PTEs) of the biochars. Result: The organic carbon content of the urban green waste biochars varied from 46.8% to 76.1%. With high thermal value up to 30 MJ·kg-1, wood bark and branch biochars contained higher organic carbon by over 20% than leaf and grass derived biochars. However, the leaf and grass biochars were rich in N, P and K nutrients, with higher porosity and surface area, than the wood and branch ones. DOM pool of the biochars ranged from 2.86 to 31.20 g·kg-1, with totally 177 chemical compounds, including organic acid, alcohols and saccharide. Contents of the PTEs were all beyond the guideline limits for organic amendments in agriculture. Concerning the significant content of PTEs, green waste biochars could not directly applied to agricultural soils, but meet the guideline limit for non-agricutural lands. Conclusion: The biochars from urban green wastes are rich in organic carbon with bioactive molecules, inorganic nutrients and micropores, but limited concentration of PTEs, indicating a great potential utilization use to improve urban soils. Particularly, the bark and branch biochars could be used as biomass fuels or water-absorbing materials, while the leaf and grass derived biochars could be applied as soil conditioner and nutritional growth media for enhancing urban vegetation. Furthermore, the bioactive components from leaf and grass would be expected to be used as foliar conditioners for plant growth in urban green zones.

Key words: green waste, bio-waste, biochar, pyrolysis, organic matter, pore structure, urban soil

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