Biochar industry to circular economy

Qiang Hu; Janelle Jung; Dexiang Chen; Ken Leong; Shuang Song; Fanghua Li; Babu Cadiam Mohan; Zhiyi Yao; Arun Kumar Prabhakar; Xuan Hao Lin; Ee Yang Lim; Le Zhang; Gupta Souradeep; Yong Sik Ok; Harn Wei Kua; Sam F Y Li; Hugh T W Tan; Yanjun Dai; Yen Wah Tong; Yinghong Peng; Stephen Joseph; Chi-Hwa Wang

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143820

Biochar industry to circular economy

Sci Total Environ. 2021 Feb 25:757:143820. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143820. Epub 2020 Nov 19.

Authors

Qiang Hu¹, Janelle Jung², Dexiang Chen², Ken Leong³, Shuang Song⁴, Fanghua Li¹, Babu Cadiam Mohan⁵, Zhiyi Yao⁵, Arun Kumar Prabhakar¹, Xuan Hao Lin⁶, Ee Yang Lim⁵, Le Zhang¹, Gupta Souradeep⁷, Yong Sik Ok⁸, Harn Wei Kua⁹, Sam F Y Li⁶, Hugh T W Tan⁴, Yanjun Dai¹⁰, Yen Wah Tong⁵, Yinghong Peng¹¹, Stephen Joseph¹², Chi-Hwa Wang¹³

Affiliations

¹ NUS Environmental Research Institute, National University of Singapore, 1 Create Way, Create Tower #15-02, Singapore 138602, Singapore.
² Research & Horticulture Department, Gardens by the Bay, 18 Marina Gardens Drive, Singapore 018953, Singapore.
³ Mursun PTE. LTD, 14 Robinson Road, Singapore 048545, Singapore.
⁴ Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 16 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117558, Singapore.
⁵ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 4, Singapore 117585, Singapore.
⁶ Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117543, Singapore.
⁷ School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Kingsford, NSW 2032, Australia.
⁸ Korea Biochar Research Center & APRU Sustainable Waste Management Program & Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, South Korea.
⁹ Department of Building, School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore, 4 Architecture Drive, Singapore 117566, Singapore.
¹⁰ Institute of Refrigeration and Cryogenics, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China.
¹¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China.
¹² School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia.
¹³ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 4, Singapore 117585, Singapore. Electronic address: chewch@nus.edu.sg.

PMID: 33248779
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143820

Abstract

Biochar, produced as a by-product of pyrolysis/gasification of waste biomass, shows great potential to reduce the environment impact, address the climate change issue, and establish a circular economy model. Despite the promising outlook, the research on the benefits of biochar remains highly debated. This has been attributed to the heterogeneity of biochar itself, with its inherent physical, chemical and biological properties highly influenced by production variables such as feedstock types and treating conditions. Hence, to enable meaningful comparison of results, establishment of an agreed international standard to govern the production of biochar for specific uses is necessary. In this study, we analyzed four key uses of biochar: 1) in agriculture and horticulture, 2) as construction material, 3) as activated carbon, and 4) in anaerobic digestion. Then the guidelines for the properties of biochar, especially for the concentrations of toxic heavy metals, for its environmental friendly application were proposed in the context of Singapore. The international status of the biochar industry code of practice, feedback from Singapore local industry and government agencies, as well as future perspectives for the biochar industry were explained.

Keywords: Activated carbon; Agriculture and horticulture; Anaerobic digestion; Biochar; Construction material.

MeSH terms

Agriculture*
Biomass
Charcoal*
Singapore
Soil

Substances

Soil
biochar
Charcoal