TY - JOUR
T1 - Gasification biochar as a valuable by-product for carbon sequestration and soil amendment
AU - Hansen, Veronika
AU - Müller-Stöver, Dorette Sophie
AU - Ahrenfeldt, Jesper
AU - Holm, Jens Kai
AU - Henriksen, Ulrik Birk
AU - Hauggaard-Nielsen, Henrik
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - Thermal gasification of various biomass residues is a promising technology for combining
bioenergy production with soil fertility management through the application of the
resulting biochar as soil amendment. In this study, we investigated gasification biochar
(GB) materials originating from two major global biomass fuels: straw gasification biochar
(SGB) and wood gasification biochar (WGB), produced by a Low Temperature Circulating
Fluidized Bed gasifier (LT-CFB) and a TwoStage gasifier, respectively, optimized for energy
conversion. Stability of carbon in GB against microbial degradation was assessed in a shortterm
soil incubation study and compared to the traditional practice of direct incorporation
of cereal straw. The GBs were chemically and physically characterized to evaluate their
potential to improve soil quality parameters. After 110 days of incubation, about 3% of the
added GB carbon was respired as CO2, compared to 80% of the straw carbon added. The
stability of GB was also confirmed by low H/C and O/C atomic ratios with lowest values for
WGB (H/C 0.12 and O/C 0.10). The soil application of GBs exhibited a liming effect increasing
the soil pH from ca 8 to 9. Results from scanning electron microscopy and BET analyses
showed high porosity and specific surface area of both GBs, indicating a high potential to
increase important soil quality parameters such as soil structure, nutrient and water
retention, especially for WGB. These results seem promising regarding the possibility to
combine an efficient bioenergy production with various soil aspects such as carbon
sequestration and soil quality improvements.
AB - Thermal gasification of various biomass residues is a promising technology for combining
bioenergy production with soil fertility management through the application of the
resulting biochar as soil amendment. In this study, we investigated gasification biochar
(GB) materials originating from two major global biomass fuels: straw gasification biochar
(SGB) and wood gasification biochar (WGB), produced by a Low Temperature Circulating
Fluidized Bed gasifier (LT-CFB) and a TwoStage gasifier, respectively, optimized for energy
conversion. Stability of carbon in GB against microbial degradation was assessed in a shortterm
soil incubation study and compared to the traditional practice of direct incorporation
of cereal straw. The GBs were chemically and physically characterized to evaluate their
potential to improve soil quality parameters. After 110 days of incubation, about 3% of the
added GB carbon was respired as CO2, compared to 80% of the straw carbon added. The
stability of GB was also confirmed by low H/C and O/C atomic ratios with lowest values for
WGB (H/C 0.12 and O/C 0.10). The soil application of GBs exhibited a liming effect increasing
the soil pH from ca 8 to 9. Results from scanning electron microscopy and BET analyses
showed high porosity and specific surface area of both GBs, indicating a high potential to
increase important soil quality parameters such as soil structure, nutrient and water
retention, especially for WGB. These results seem promising regarding the possibility to
combine an efficient bioenergy production with various soil aspects such as carbon
sequestration and soil quality improvements.
KW - Gasification
KW - Bioenergy efficiency
KW - Biochar soil amendment
KW - Carbon sequestration
KW - Soil quality improvement
U2 - 10.1016/j.biombioe.2014.10.013
DO - 10.1016/j.biombioe.2014.10.013
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0961-9534
VL - 72
SP - 300
EP - 308
JO - Biomass & Bioenergy
JF - Biomass & Bioenergy
ER -