Production of nutrient-rich biochar from a residual material WO 2014189433 A1
ABSTRACT: The present invention describes a process for the treatment of a residual product for the production of a biochar, said process comprising: - providing a residual product material comprising at least phosphorous; said process also involving - performing a thermal treatment of the residual product material in a temperature of 800 – 1100°C in at least a low oxygen containing environment, for the for the separation of volatiles in a stream also comprising at least cadmium (Cd), if present, and for the production of a nutrient -rich biochar comprising phosphorous.
Answer to question 1. The first thing is to consider the feedstock. Let use rice husk biochar as an example it is very low in nitrogen. It can be enhanced by using organic materials such as poultry manure or use straight inorganic fertilizer. But because of greenhouse gasses emission I will suggest organic materials.
Answer to question 2. Yes, it will because of the charges on the biochar surface but yet to work on this because of fund and I am also a masters student.
Answer to question 3. Biochar releases nutrient slowly but it can be altered depend on the farm practices. In fact, I found significant effect of this slow release on soybean nodulation.
There was a question long back, if we make biochar out of manure or alternatively, we can add nutrient balue addition to biochar incorporating some compost...
Animal manures have high contents of labile organic and inorganic compounds, resulting in biochars with high ash content, which is positively related to the nutrient and chemical composition of the biomass. Higher ash, N, S, Na, and P concentration have been observed in poultry litter biochar. High nutrient concentrations in the biomass can generate biochars with more ash content and alkalizing capacity. Thus, biochar can be used in soils to correct acidity, increase soil cation exchange capacity (CEC), retain water, and regulate C and N dynamics.