Abstract:
Biochar is a porous black carbon material
produced through thermochemical reactions in lowoxygen conditions using agricultural and municipal
waste materials. Methods such as slow pyrolysis, fast
pyrolysis, and hydrothermal carbonization are used.
Biochar offers substantial soil benefits, improving its
physical, chemical, and biological characteristics.
When enriched with liquid fertilizers, biochar becomes
a nutrient-rich organic fertilizer solution. Hence the
present study was executed with the aims of
characterization of various biochar feedstocks
enriched with liquid fertilizer. This experiment was
conducted as a laboratory experiment at Fruit Crops
Research and Development Institute, Kananwila,
Horana, Sri Lanka to select the nutrient retention and
exchange capacity with different biochar feedstocks.
Rice husk, mushroom substrate, banana pseudo stem
and coconut shell were used to make the four types of
biochar. Ammonium Sulfate, monotassium phosphate,
Potassium Chloride, Calcium Chloride, Magnesium
Oxide and Zinc Sulfate Fertilizers were used to prepare
liquid fertilizer solutions. Initially, 4 types of raw
biochar were analyzed for their immediate, chemical,
and nutritional elements. Proximate analysis was done
as per ASTM D1762-84 method. Banana pseudo-stem
biochar showed the best chemical and nutritional
results. The nutrient absorbance capacity of each
biochar has increased with the concentration of the
liquid fertilizer. The nutrient absorbance results
obtained from banana pseudo-stem and coconut shell
biochar gave the best performances. Further, the study
recommended to investigate the nutrient-releasing
efficiency of these two biochar types before field
applications.
