There is a lot of literature on determining the quality of charcoal, however the dynamics of use are entirely different.
Monitoring the changes in the soil quality (changes in the physical and chemical characters) by biochar can be one of the ways to assess the quality. Field trials and pot trials can also be viable options. What do you think? I would also love to hear about the use of spectroscopy (of which I don't have any idea) to examine the structure of biochar.
You may also look to the guidelines of the European Biochar Certificate to found here: www.european-biochar.org
Hi Vijay,
If you want to do some quality research for soil or biochar, spectroscopy technique would be one of the best option. According to all the work has done so far, I suggest you to use IR spectroscopy, you will find most of the information you need from IR spectra. This work could be a long shoot if you dont have any spctroscoopy and chemometrics background. So it's all your call!
Good luck!
The quality of biochar can be assessed like any other organic materials in the lab. However, the International Biochar Initiative (IBI) has already developed the Standardized Product Definition and Product Testing Guidelines for Biochar which can be used in soil. If you visit the IBI website you can find more information about biochar testing and quality standards.
Efectivamente IBI ha desarrollado todos los protocolos para el BIOCHAR. Consultelos
You may also look to the guidelines of the European Biochar Certificate to found here: www.european-biochar.org
http://www.plusgroup.co.nz/cost.html
Hi Vijay,
Visit the above website. My associate Allister Holmes has done some great research.
I hope this is of help.
Best wishes
Philip Barlow
Rightly said by Getachew Agegnehu that the quality of biochar can be assessed in the lab by analyzing its physico-chemical properties. Moreover The it can also be assessed by evaluating its effect on crop performance and soil quality over a some period of time with specific emphasis on soil C and N cycling.
I am also enclosing an article which may be of some help to you.
There is no one good test for biochar quality, but rather, many - and the best tests to use depend on what you intend to use the biochar for. In general, I agree that the IBI guidelines are adequate in most cases.
It depends on what you plan to use biochars for. Say, for soil acidity correction, you should know pH and CaCO3 equivalent of biochars, also surface functional groups, such as COOH or phenolic OH, using Boehm tritration or FTIR. For plant nutrient retention or microbial stimulation, you should look for surface area and pore size of biochars, using scanning electron microscopy, for example.
Bruno Marangoni University of Bologna Italy
IBI standarized analysis are fine. Biochard is not a fertilizer so on field trial wiill be fondamental the interaction with soil caractericts expecilly the ph and clay level.
There are a number of quality standards of biochar. One is the Biochar Qulaity mandate (BQM) by the British Biochar Foundation (BBF) which is closely linked to the International Biochar Institute (IBI) standards. You can find the BQM on the BBF website. Hope this helps.
The quality of biochar can be determined in the laboratory. For further details, one may consult the quality standard for biochar drafted by the International Biochar Initiative.
Once you know what exactly your interests are with reference to biochar application, the best way to determine the quality of biochar and its characterization is to conduct a laboratory analysis.
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