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Widespread tropical agrowastes as novel feedstocks for biochar production: characterization and priority environmental uses

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Abstract

Biochar, a carbon-rich pyrolytic product, has demonstrated positive results as a soil improver and carbon sequestration agent. Its production could be an appropriate and innovative practice for agricultural waste management in the context of environmentally smart agriculture. However, considering the relevant effect of the production conditions on the final biochar properties, its characterization is a necessary step, moreover, if an unknown feedstock is being used. Coffee hulls (CH), pineapple stubble (PS), and palm oil fiber (PF) are typical tropical agro-industrial wastes, and biochar from the first two are not reported before. In this work, biochars from them were obtained after 1 h of pyrolysis at 600 °C. Surface area and pH of biochars were close to 60 m2g−1 and 9, respectively (except for PF which was 29 m2g−1), while torrefied biomass (charred material prepared at 300 °C) presented a surface area close to 1 m2g−1 and neutral pH. Fixed C was approximately 80% (PF and CH) and 59% (PS) for biochars and close to 40% in torrefied biomass. It was concluded that key properties of biochars were mostly determined by the feedstock’s origin. Due to its high ash content and surface area, PS biochar was identified as a suitable soil amendment, while PF and CH biochars showed a higher potential for carbon sequestration in soil due to their high fixed carbon content, demonstrating that the production of biochars from widespread tropical wastes tailored for specific environmental uses is possible.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Centro de Investigación en Contaminación Ambiental, the Vicerrectoría de Investigación, UCR (project, ref. 802-B6-529), the Centre for Research on Ecology and Forestry Applications (CREAF), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (FERTICHAR project, ref. AGL2015-70393-R), the Joint FAO/IAEA project TC COS5/033 “Assessing and implementing biochar use in climate smart and environmentally friendly pineapple production using isotopic techniques,” and by the PhD scholarship awarded to the first author funded by the UCR-World Bank (project Improving Higher Education in Costa Rica). The authors thank the staff of the Alfredo Volio Mata Experimental Station of the University of Costa Rica for their collaboration with the analysis of lignin and cellulose content.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigación en Contaminación Ambiental (CICA), Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro de Montes de Oca, San José, Costa Rica

    Juan S. Chin-Pampillo, Marta Perez-Villanueva & Cristina Chinchilla-Soto

  2. CREAF, Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals, Bellaterra, E-08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain

    Juan S. Chin-Pampillo, Josep M. Alcañiz & Xavier Domene

  3. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, E-08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain

    Juan S. Chin-Pampillo, Josep M. Alcañiz & Xavier Domene

  4. Regencia Química, Escuela de Química, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro de Montes de Oca, San José, Costa Rica

    Ariel Alfaro-Vargas

  5. INFIQC-CONICET, Departamento de Fisicoquímica. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Ciudad Universitaria, X5000HUA, Córdoba, Argentina

    Ricardo Rojas & Carla E. Giacomelli

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  1. Juan S. Chin-Pampillo
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  2. Ariel Alfaro-Vargas
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  4. Carla E. Giacomelli
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  5. Marta Perez-Villanueva
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  6. Cristina Chinchilla-Soto
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  7. Josep M. Alcañiz
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  8. Xavier Domene
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Correspondence to Juan S. Chin-Pampillo.

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Highlights

• Novel tropical feedstocks (coffee hull and pineapple stubble) and oil palm fiber for biochar production were studied.

• Only slow pyrolysis at 600 °C, and not 300 °C, produced biochar from the tropical agrowastes.

• Higher C in oil palm and coffee biochars was found compared to pineapple biochar.

• Pineapple biochar had a higher surface area and ash content and a high pH.

• Coffee and oil palm biochars are more suitable for soil carbon sequestration.

• Pineapple biochar is more appropriate as a soil amendment.

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Chin-Pampillo, J.S., Alfaro-Vargas, A., Rojas, R. et al. Widespread tropical agrowastes as novel feedstocks for biochar production: characterization and priority environmental uses. Biomass Conv. Bioref. 11, 1775–1785 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-020-00714-0

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