BIOCHAR :A GUIDE TO ANALYTICAL METHODS

Description

Interest in biochar among soil and environment researchers has increased dramatically over the past decade. Biochar initially attracted attention for its potential to improve soil fertility and to uncouple the carbon cycle, by storing carbon from the atmosphere in a form that can remain stable for hundreds to thousands of years. Later it was found that biochar had applications in environmental and water science, mining, microbial ecology and other fields. Beneficial effects of biochar and its environmental applications cannot be fully realised unless the chemical, physical, structural and surface properties of biochar are known. Currently many of the analytical procedures used for biochar analysis are not well defined, which makes it difficult to choose the right biochar for an intended use and to compare the existing data for biochars. Also, in some instances the use of inappropriate procedures has led to erroneous or inaccurate values for biochars in the scientific literature. Biochar: A Guide to Analytical Methods fills this gap and provides procedures and guidelines for routine and advanced characterisation of biochars. Written by experts, each chapter provides background to a technique or procedure, a stepwise guide to analyses, and includes data for biochars made from a range of feedstocks common to all presented methods. Discussion about the unique features, disadvantages and advantages of a particular technique is an explicit focus of this handbook for biochar analyses. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 4 Preface and acknowledgements......Page 6 List of contributors......Page 8 1 Sampling, storage and preparation of biochar for laboratory analysis......Page 12 2 Proximate analyses for characterising biochars......Page 20 3 Biochar pH, electrical conductivity and liming potential......Page 34 4 Analysis of biochars for C, H, N, O and S by elemental analyser......Page 50 5 Inorganic carbon......Page 62 6 Dissolved carbon and LC-OCD of biochar......Page 75 7 Determination of cation exchange capacity in biochar......Page 85 8 Determining acidic groups at biochar surfaces via the Boehm titration......Page 96 9 Total elemental analysis of metals and nutrients in biochars......Page 106 10 Available nutrients in biochar......Page 120 11 Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in biochar......Page 137 12 Analysis of biochar porosity by pycnometry......Page 143 13 Guiding principles for measuring sorption of organic compounds on biochars......Page 152 14 Analysis of biochars by 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy......Page 162 15 Analysis of biochars using benzene polycarboxylic acids......Page 173 16 Pyrolysis-GC-MS of biochar......Page 181 17 Analysis of biochars by hydropyrolysis......Page 198 18 Biochar analysis by Fourier-transform infra-red spectroscopy......Page 210 19 Carbon near-edge absorption fine structureas a tool for understanding chemical differences in biochars......Page 225 20 X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of biochar......Page 240 21 X-ray diffraction analysis of biochar......Page 256 22 Stable isotope analysis of biochars......Page 264 23 Application of scanning electron microscopy to the analysis of biochar-related materials......Page 283 24 Thermal analysis for biochar characterisation......Page 294 Appendix 1. Biochar samples and their preparation for laboratory analysis......Page 306 Appendix 2. Specific surface area and porosity measurements......Page 308 Index......Page 311