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2025 Vol.58, Issue 2 Preview Page

Original research article

Potential role of pyrolysis temperature for brewer’s spent grain biochar on mitigating ammonia emissions from urea-fertilized soils
Yun-Gu Kang1†
,
Jun-Ho Kim2†
,
Jun-Yeong Lee1
,
Ji-Hoon Kim2
,
Jiwon Choi2
,
Taek-Keun Oh3*
1Doctoral Student, Department of Bio-Environmental Chemistry, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Korea
2Master Student, Department of Bio-Environmental Chemistry, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Korea
3Professor, Department of Bio-Environmental Chemistry, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Korea
*Corresponding Author
†These two authors equally contributed for this research paper.
31 May 2025. pp. 190-201
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Abstract

Nitrogen (N) management in urea-fertilized soils is essential for enhancing crop productivity and preventing secondary environmental pollutions. This study aimed to evaluate the potential role of pyrolysis temperature for biochar production and its effect on ammonia (NH3) volatilization and soil chemical properties. The biochar was produced by brewer’s spent grain (BSG) and pyrolyzed at 300°C, 500°C, and 700°C, abbreviated as BSG300, BSG500, and BSG700, respectively. The aforementioned biochars were treated at 3% (by soil weight) in urea-fertilized soils. The pH and nutrient content of BSG biochars were improved by the increase in the pyrolysis temperature from 300°C to 700°C, whereas the EC value was the lowest in BSG700 at 0.71 d‧Sm-1. Additionally, total carbon content of BSG biochars had the positive correlation with the pyrolysis temperature, resulting from BSG300, BSG500, and BSG700 were represented the 59.40%, 66.12%, and 69.23%, respectively. The soil chemical properties represented the similar trend with the chemical characteristics of BSG biochars, and the soil pH and organic matter content in the BSG700 treatment were the highest at pH 6.54 and 4.02%, respectively. However, despite the BSG biochar treatment, the soil pH, exchangeable Ca2+, and exchangeable Mg2+ contents in the BSG300 and BSG500 treatments did not exhibit the statistically significant differences with the initial soil. The NH3 volatilization decreased significantly by the BSG300 and BSG500 amendments at 7.34 kg‧ha-1 and 10.36 kg‧ha-1, respectively, while the BSG700 treatment (11.83 kg‧ha-1) was 1.12-fold higher than urea-only treatment (10.57 kg‧ha-1). Therefore, although BSG300 had the relatively low improvement in soil fertility and carbon sequestration, the BSG biochars pyrolyzed at below 500°C were recommended for effectively N management in urea-fertilized soils.

Ammonia (NH3) volatilization by urea-fertilization and mechanisms of brewer’s spent grain biochar for NH3 mitigation in agricultural soils.
Keywords
Biochar, Pyrolysis
Secondary pollutants
Soil amendment
Sustainable agriculture
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Information
  • Publisher :Korean Society of Soil Science and Fertilizer
  • Publisher(Ko) :한국토양비료학회
  • Journal Title :Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
  • Journal Title(Ko) :한국토양비료학회 학회지
  • Volume : 58
  • No :2
  • Pages :190-201
  • Received Date : 2025-03-21
  • Revised Date : 2025-04-10
  • Accepted Date : 2025-05-08
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.7745/KJSSF.2025.58.2.190
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