JOURNAL OF NANJING FORESTRY UNIVERSITY ›› 2020, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (6): 193-200.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1000-2006.201910005

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Analysis and evaluation on physicochemical properties of poplar biochar at different pyrolysis temperatures

DING Sihui1(), FANG Shengzuo1,2,*(), TIAN Ye1,2, SONG Ziqi2, ZHANG Yanhua2   

  1. 1. Co-Innovation Center for the Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
    2. College of Forestry, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
  • Received:2019-10-09 Revised:2020-05-08 Online:2020-11-30 Published:2020-12-07
  • Contact: FANG Shengzuo E-mail:1207582702@qq.com;fangsz@njfu.edu.cn

Abstract:

【Objective】The characteristics and structure of polar leaf, twig, and bark and straw biochar at different pyrolysis temperatures were analyzed, the types and pyrolysis temperature of agricultural and forestry wastes which are more suitable for forest soil improvement were selected. 【Method】We selected four kinds of agricultural and forestry residues as raw materials, namely leaves, twigs, bark harvested from different components of poplar, and straw harvested from rice. Furnace temperatures were respectively set at 300, 500 and 700 ℃. We studied the properties of biochar, including yield, pH, total C content, total N content, cation exchange capacity (CEC), specific surface area, and surface functional group. 【Result】The results of this study showed that with an increase in pyrolysis temperature, the yield of biochar of the four selected materials gradually decreased, whereas the ash content and pH value continuously increased. At the same pyrolysis temperature, the total C content of twig biochar and bark biochar was evidently higher than that of leaf biochar and straw biochar, while the total N content, total P content, and total K content were lower than those of leaf biochar and straw biochar. The water-soluble and exchangeable base cations of the four kinds of biochar increased with an increase in pyrolysis temperature. The CEC of leaf biochar was higher than that of the other three feedstock biochar. The specific surface area and total pore volume of leaf biochar and bark biochar were generally larger than those of twig biochar and straw biochar. The specific surface area of bark biochar and leaf biochar at 700 ℃ was as high as 597.02 m2/g and 121.01 m2/g, respectively. The surface functional groups, particularly the aromatic skeleton, of the four kinds of biochar were almost the same. We found that with an increase in pyrolysis temperature, the type and number of surface functional groups decreased; however, the degree of aromatization increased. 【Conclusion】Through a comprehensive analysis, we found that among biochar of different raw materials and pyrolysis temperatures, ash content, pH, N, K and base ion content of leaf and straw biochar are relatively higher; the values are more suitable for improving acidic soil and increasing soil nutrients. However, the higher carbon content in poplar twigs and bark is suitable for soil carbon sequestration for improving soil organic matter content. Overall, poplar leaf biochar at 500 ℃ had the highest N, P, and K content, strong CEC, and large specific surface area, and is thus more suitable for soil improvement in woodlands.

Key words: poplar, biotic components, biochar, pyrolysis temperature, soil improvement

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