Pine sawdust biomass and biochars at different pyrolysis temperatures change soil redox processes

Yasser Mahmoud Awad; Yong Sik Ok; Jens Abrigata; Jingzi Beiyuan; Felix Beckers; Daniel C W Tsang; Jörg Rinklebe

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.12.194

Pine sawdust biomass and biochars at different pyrolysis temperatures change soil redox processes

Sci Total Environ. 2018 Jun 1:625:147-154. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.12.194. Epub 2017 Dec 27.

Authors

Yasser Mahmoud Awad¹, Yong Sik Ok², Jens Abrigata³, Jingzi Beiyuan⁴, Felix Beckers³, Daniel C W Tsang⁵, Jörg Rinklebe⁶

Affiliations

¹ O-Jeong Eco-Resilience Institute (OJERI) & Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea; Faculty of Agriculture, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt.
² O-Jeong Eco-Resilience Institute (OJERI) & Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea; University of Wuppertal, School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Institute of Foundation Engineering, Water- and Waste-Management, Soil- and Groundwater-Management, Pauluskirchstraße 7, 42285 Wuppertal, Germany. Electronic address: yongsikok@korea.ac.kr.
³ University of Wuppertal, School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Institute of Foundation Engineering, Water- and Waste-Management, Soil- and Groundwater-Management, Pauluskirchstraße 7, 42285 Wuppertal, Germany.
⁴ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
⁵ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Electronic address: dan.tsang@polyu.edu.hk.
⁶ University of Wuppertal, School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Institute of Foundation Engineering, Water- and Waste-Management, Soil- and Groundwater-Management, Pauluskirchstraße 7, 42285 Wuppertal, Germany; Department of Environment and Energy, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: rinklebe@uni-wuppertal.de.

PMID: 29289000
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.12.194

Abstract

To date, no investigation has been carried out to explore the effects of biochars produced at different pyrolysis temperatures on the dynamics of redox potential (E_H) and pH in a contaminated floodplain soil. Thus, we aimed to quantify the dynamics of E_H and pH in contaminated flooded soils treated with 70tha^-1 of pine sawdust biomass (S&BM) and biochars pyrolyzed at 300°C (S&BC300) and 550°C (S&BC550) and pre-incubated for 105days in an automated biogeochemical microcosm system. Microbial community composition was also determined via analyzing phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA).We found that BC300 and BC550 treatments substantially decreased (3-6.5%) and BM increased (~37%) the mean of soil E_H compared to the untreated contaminated soil (CS).·The largest E_H decline in S&BC550 was at the rate of -80mVh^-1 at 10h while it was observed at 25h in S&BC300 and 20-25h in S&BM or CS, respectively. At high E_H, a higher total PLFA biomass and microbial groups in the CS (71-87%) were found in comparison to treated soils. Higher aromaticity and ash content in BC550 than BC300 and BM led to the greater PLFA biomass and microbial groups which contributed to higher capacity of accepting and donating electrons in soil slurry and were probably one reason for the largest decrease in E_H. Pine sawdust biomass and BCs have a noticeable influence in soil biogeochemical processes relevant to fluctuating redox conditions.

Keywords: Phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA); Pine sawdust waste; Pyrolytic temperature; Redox potential; Soil microbial community.