scholarly journals Pyrolysis Temperature Effects on Biochar–Water Interactions and Application for Improved Water Holding Capacity in Vineyard Soils

Soil Systems ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Marshall ◽  
Richard Muhlack ◽  
Benjamin J. Morton ◽  
Lewis Dunnigan ◽  
David Chittleborough ◽  
...  

Grapevine cane and stalks were considered for pyrolysis at 400 to 700 °C to produce biochar for increasing the water holding capacity of vineyard soil. Feedstocks were pyrolysed using a continuous feed reactor and the resulting biochars characterized in terms of physico-chemical properties, including water retention performance. Hydrophobicity was found in biochar from both feedstocks pyrolysed at 400 °C, but not at higher temperatures. At low soil matric potential, the pyrolysis temperature was the defining variable in determining water retention whereas at higher pressures, the feedstock was the more important variable. Available water content (AWC) of biochar increased with increasing pyrolysis temperatures, with optimal results obtained from grapevine cane at a pyrolysis temperature of 700 °C, which had an AWC 23% higher than a typical clay type soil. Principal component analysis showed variability in water retention of these biochars to be closely associated with the zeta potential, as well as the carbon and ionic content, suggesting that surface charge and hydrophobicity are key properties determining water holding capacity. Pure biochars were superior in water retention performance to typical sandy soils, and so biochar amendment of these soil types may improve water holding (particularly at field capacity). Further study with pot or field trials is recommended to confirm water retention behaviour and assess the feasibility of application under different viticultural scenarios.

2001 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
T D Moskal ◽  
L. Leskiw ◽  
M A Naeth ◽  
D S Chanasyk

Quantification of the effects of organic carbon (OC) addition to reclaimed soils is an important reclamation issue. Such effects on soil texture, field capacity (FC), wilting point (PWP) and water-holding capacity (WHC), all expressed both on a gravimetric and volumetric basis, were quantified using both in situ soil samples and laboratory-prepared peat:mineral mixes. Soil samples were collected from both natural and reclaimed areas within the Oil Sands region of Alberta; peat was obtained from the same area. Organic carbon was determined for laboratory-created mixtures and expressed as volume ratios; for the in situ samples it was expressed as % OC. Bulk density, an important factor in the effects of OC on water retention, was measured in situ.Water retention parameters of in situ samples on a gravimetric basis were significantly related to % OC, but those on a volume basis were not. Trends in volumetric WHC for in situ, coarse-textured samples were similar to those for gravimeteric WHC, due to similar bulk densities ranging from 1.30 to 1.40 Mg m–3. However, for in situ peaty soils, trends in volumetric water retention did not mimic those expressed on a gravimetric basis due to low and irregular bulk densities. For laboratory-constructed peat:mineral mixes, FC and WHC were significantly impacted by % OC, however, PWP was not.  The addition of peat material resulted in minor textural changes for sand and loamy sand; hence, the change in texture could not be responsible for the increases in WHC as the result of peat additions. The results for sandy loam were variable. Key words: Bulk density, field capacity, reclamation, water-holding capacity


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
He Huang ◽  
Narala Gangadhara Reddy ◽  
Xilong Huang ◽  
Peinan Chen ◽  
Peiying Wang ◽  
...  

AbstractRecent studies on water retention behaviour of biochar amended soil rarely considers the effect of pyrolysis temperature and also feedstock type into account. It is well known that pyrolysis temperature and feedstock type influences the physical and chemical properties of biochar due to stagewise decomposition of structure and chemical bonds. Further, soil density, which is in a loose state (in agricultural applications) and dense (in geo-environmental engineering applications) can also influence water retention behaviour of biochar amended soils. The major objective of this study is to investigate the water retention properties of soil amended with three different biochars in both loose and dense state. The biochars, i.e. water hyacinth biochar (WHB), chicken manure biochar (CMB) and wood biochar (WB) were produced in-house at different pyrolysis temperature. After then, biochars at 5% and 10% (w/w%) were amended to the soil. Water retention behaviour (soil suction and gravimetric water content) was studied under drying and wetting cycle simulated by varying relative humidity (RH, 50–90%). Results show that 10% WHB produced at 300 °C were found to possess highest water retention. CMB is found to possess higher water retention than WB for 10% amendment ratio. In general, the addition of three biochars (at both 300 °C and 600 °C) at 10% (w/w) significantly improved the water retention at all suction ranges in both loose and dense compaction state as compared to that of the bare soil. The adsorption (wetting) and desorption (drying) capacity of biochar amended soils is constant at corresponding RH.


2014 ◽  
Vol 941-944 ◽  
pp. 952-955 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dao Yuan Wang ◽  
Deng Hua Yan ◽  
Xin Shan Song ◽  
Hao Wang

Adding biochar to agricultural soil has been suggested as an approach to enhance soil carbon sequestration. Biochar has also been used as a soil amendment to reduce nutrient leaching, reduce soil acidity and improve water holding capacity. Walnut shells and woody material are waste products of orchards that are cheap, carbon-rich and good feedstock for production of biochar. The effectiveness of biochar as an amendment varies considerably as a function of its feedstock, temperature during pyrolysis, the biochar dose to soil, and mechanical composition. Biochar was produced from pyrolysis of walnut shell at 900 °C and soft wood at 600 to 700 °C. We measured the effect of these different parameters in two types of agricultural soil in Jilin and Beijing, China, a silt clay loam and a sandy loam, on the soils’ particle size distribution and water retention characteristics. Biochars with two different doses were applied to each soil type. Soil field capacity and permanent wilting point were measured using a pressure plate extractor for each combination of biochar and soil type. The results show that the effect of biochar amendment on soil water retention characteristics depend primarily on soil particle size distribution and surface characteristics of biochar. High surface area biochar can help raise the water holding capacity of sandy soil.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Pan ◽  
Shuai Hou ◽  
Yujie Liu ◽  
Qinghua Tan

AbstractSoil water retention curve (SWRC) plays an important role in simulating soil water movement and assessing soil water holding capacity and availability. Comparison of fitness between different models to determine the best SWRC model of specific regions is required. In this study, three popular models, van Genuchten, Brooks Corey and Gardner model, were selected for comparing in a degraded alpine meadow region on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Fitness, error distribution along with key parameters were compared. For each soil horizon, the soil moisture content at all soil water potentials decreased consistently with degradation, thereby integrally moving the SWRCs of all soil depths downward with degradation. The differences in SWRCs across various degradation degrees diminished along with soil depth and soil water potential. The Adj.r2 values of van Genuchten, Brooks Corey and Gardner models ranged in 0.971–0.995, 0.958–0.997, and 0.688–0.909, respectively. The van Genuchten and Brooks Corey models significantly (p < 0.05) outperformed the Gardner model, and have no significant differences in fitness. The fitness of all three models showed no significant changes with degradation. Regardless of degradation degree and soil depth, the fitting error of van Genuchten and Brooks Corey models was mainly distributed in the higher (from –100 hPa to –500 hPa) and lower (below –10000 hPa) potential sections. With regard to the parameters of van Genuchten and Brooks Corey models, the field capacity (θs), and permanent wilting moisture were highly coherent with Adj.r2 values of higher than 0.98, while the curve shape parameter (θr), and air entry pressure of the Brooks Corey model were much lower than those of the van Genuchten model with Adj.r2 values of lower than 0.91. The SWRCs with varying degrees of degradation are best fitted by both van Genuchten and Brooks Corey models but cannot be fitted by Gardner model. Soil water holding capacity decreased with degradation especially in the top soil (0 cm to 30 cm), but the curve shape of all SWRCs did not change significantly with degradation.


2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stella Gypser ◽  
Maik Veste ◽  
Thomas Fischer ◽  
Philipp Lange

AbstractInvestigations were done on two former open-cast lignite mining sites under reclamation, an artificial sand dune in Welzow Süd, and a forest plantation in Schlabendorf Süd (Brandenburg, Germany). The aim was to associate the topsoil hydrological characteristics of green algae dominated as well as moss and soil lichen dominated biological soil crusts during crustal succession with their water retention and the repellency index on sandy soils under temperate climate and different reliefs.The investigation of the repellency index showed on the one hand an increase due to the cross-linking of sand particles by green algae which resulted in clogging of pores. On the other hand, the occurrence of moss plants led to a decrease of the repellency index due to absorption caused by bryophytes. The determination of the water retention curves showed an increase of the water holding capacity, especially in conjunction with the growth of green algae layer. The pore-related van Genuchten parameter indicate a clay-like behaviour of the developed soil crusts. Because of the inhomogeneous distribution of lichens and mosses as well as the varying thickness of green algae layers, the water retention differed between the study sites and between samples of similar developmental stages. However, similar tendencies of water retention and water repellency related to the soil crust formation were observed.Biological soil crusts should be considered after disturbances in the context of reclamation measures, because the initial development of green algae biocrusts lead to an increasing repellency index, while the occurrence of mosses and a gain in organic matter enhance the water holding capacity. Thus, the succession of biocrusts and their small-scale succession promote the development of soil and ecosystem.


HortScience ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 448F-448
Author(s):  
D. Wees ◽  
R. Lowe ◽  
D. Donnelly

Textile fiber residues spun into small (2 to 5 mm), soft pellets (Flocagro®), through a patented process, were evaluated for horticultural use. Pellets alone and in mixtures with other substrates, were assessed using standard criteria including cation exchange capacity (CEC), aeration porosity, bulk density, and water-holding capacity. The physical and chemical properties of these textile pellets were acceptable as a horticultural growing medium when mixed with substrates such as peat; it was light-weight, had a high water-holding capacity, moderately high aeration porosity, neutral pH, low inherent fertility, low buffering capacity, and mixed easily with other substrates. The potential of Flocagro® in potting mixtures for radish and tomato seedlings and micropropagated potato plantlets was demonstrated.


2011 ◽  
Vol 396-398 ◽  
pp. 1652-1656
Author(s):  
Wei Jun Wang ◽  
Lan Wei Zhang ◽  
Yan Hua Li ◽  
Xue Han ◽  
Rong Bo Fan ◽  
...  

The texture properties of rennet gels made with different concentrations of milk fat and protein were investigated. The textural variables, water-holding capacity and apparent viscosity of rennet gels were closely correlated with the reduced fat ratio in the reconstituted milk powder. The demonstrable difference in textural variables was found using the principal component analysis. The apparent viscosity of these gels significantly decreased and the water-holding capacity showed less change compared to the rennet gel made with raw milk. Totally, the gel produced by reconstituted milk powder had less hardness and adhesive, low gumminess, chewiness and viscosity, and more cohesiveness.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie S. Miller ◽  
M. Anne Naeth

Using waste materials from industrial activities to build anthroposols (soils built or altered by humans) can provide soil for reclamation and reduce amounts of materials stored in landfills. Mines and other large industrial disturbances requiring anthroposols usually have large amounts of nonorganic waste materials with low water holding capacity and large amounts of coarse fragments. Thus, water holding capacity is a key property to build into anthroposols as all aspects of revegetation are strongly influenced by soil water content. This research assessed the effectiveness of hydrogel and organic amendments to increase the water retention in common mine wastes used to build anthroposols for reclamation in three greenhouse experiments. Waste materials were crushed rock, lakebed sediment, and processed kimberlite, from a northern diamond mine in Canada. Amendments were hydrogel, sewage, salvaged soil, and peat. Pots were filled with the material and weighed and saturated, followed by periodic weighing until the weight was near constant. Water retention was consistently highest in processed kimberlite, with and without amendments. Water retention increased most with hydrogel in processed kimberlite and crushed rock. Hydrogel application method impacted the initial water retention, but over time, the effect was limited. Water retention in lakebed sediment showed little difference relative to no amendment addition and had lowest increases relative to other substrates. Type of waste material and amendment, application rate, and application method impacted water retention and can be adapted to build anthroposols in the field using waste materials suitable for reclamation.


2011 ◽  
Vol 236-238 ◽  
pp. 2560-2563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Chao Liu ◽  
Zhong Gao Jiao ◽  
Xin Hong Liang ◽  
Lei Han ◽  
Hui Liu

Ultrafine pulverization technology was applied for producing apple pomace powder, and the physical-chemical properties of the ultrafine powder including fluidity, water solubility, water holding capacity, fat binding capacity, and solubility of total phenolics and sugars were investigated. Results suggested that ultrafine pulverization had distinct effect on surface properties of apple pomace powder. With decreasing the size of apple pomace powder, the flow behavior and water solubility were improved, and the dissolubility of total phenolics and sugars increased significantly, while the water holding capacity and fat binding capacity decreased. These results would provide useful insight for exploiting the potential applications of apple pomace ultrafine powder in functional foods as well as extracting polyphenols and polysaccharides for commercial practices.


2021 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 123-129
Author(s):  
Hao Fu ◽  
V.S. Lyutenko ◽  
V.V. Zhmurko ◽  
R. L. Bohuslavskyi

Aim. On the basis of multivariate analysis, to differentiate einkorn wheat accessions by the water-holding capacity of leaves and ears and the parameters of these organs at the level of species and genotypes. Methods. The water-holding capacity was assessed by the moisture-yielding coefficient which was determined by the method of N.N. Kozhushko (Kozhushko, 1988). Differentiation of einkorn samples was carried out by the method of principal components in the interpretation of A.V. Korosov (Korosov, 1996). Results. Triticum monococcum UA0300113, Syria, and UA0300282, Hungary were characterized by the lowest specific moisture-yielding coefficients: for the second and flag leaves, respectively, (mg / cm2) 10.9, 7.0 and 11.4, 10.7; ears – the same samples as well as Triticum boeoticum UA0300401, Ukraine-Crimea: (mg / cm) 29.6, 28.2, 25.4. With an increase in the size of the lamina, there is a tendency to a decrease in its specific moisture yield. The samples of eincorn are differentiated into 4 clusters corresponding to the species. Conclusions. T. monococcum UA0300113, Syria, and UA0300282, Hungary are relatively drought tolerant. The complex of features characterizing leaf and spike size in combination with the moisture-yielding coefficients processed by the method of principal components makes it possible to differentiate einkorn oaccessions by species and genotype. Keywords: einkorns, moisture yield, drought resistance, leaf, ear.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document