Abstract
Large-scale biochar field trials have been conducted worldwide to test for “carbon negative strategy” in the event of carbon credit and if other subsidies become enacted in the future. Once amended to the soil, biochar engages in complex organo-mineral interactions, fragmentation, transport, and other aging mechanisms exhibiting interactions with treatments including the irrigation and fertilizer application. As a result, quantitative tracing of biochar carbon relying on the routinely measured soil parameters, e.g., total/particulate organic carbon, poses a significant analytical uncertainty. This study utilized two biochar field trial sites to calibrate for the biochar carbon structure and quantity based on the infrared- and fluorescence-based chemometrics: (1) slow pyrolysis biochar pellets on kaolinitic Greenville fine sandy loam in Georgia and (2) fast pyrolysis biochar powder on Crider silt loam in Kentucky. Partial least squares-based calibration was constructed to predict the amount of solvent (toluene/methanol)-extractable fluorescence fingerprint (290/350 nm excitation and emission peak) attributed to biochar based on the comparison with the authentic standard. Near-infrared-based detection was sensitive to the C–H and C–C bands, as a function of biochar loading and the particulate organic carbon content (< 53 μm) of the bulk soil. Developed chemometrics could be used to validate tarry carbon structures intrinsic to biochar additives, as the impact of biochar additives on soil chemical properties (pH, electric conductivity, and dissolved organic carbon) becomes attenuated over time.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen RM, Laird DA (2013) Quantitative prediction of biochar soil amendments by near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy. Soil Sci Soc Am J 77:1784–1794
Andrade CR, Trugilho PF, Hein PRG, Lima JT, Napoli A (2012) Near infrared spectroscopy for estimating eucalyptus charcoal properties. J Near Infrared Spectrosc 20:657–666
ASTM D5159 (2014) Standard guide for dusting attrition of granular activated carbon. American Society for Testing and Materials, West Conshohocken
Bednarz CW, Harris GH, Shurley WD (2000) Agronomic and economic analyses of cotton starter fertilizers. Agron J 92:766–771
Brewer CE, Schmidt-Rohr K, Satrio JA, Brown RC (2009) Characterization of biochar from fast pyrolysis and gasification systems. Environ Prog Sustain Energy 28:386–396
Brewer CE, Unger R, Schmidt-Rohr K, Brown RC (2011) Criteria to select biochars for field studies based on biochar chemical properties. Bioenergy Res 4:312–323
Christensen JH, Hansen AB, Mortensen J, Andersen O (2005) Characterization and matching of oil samples using fluorescence spectroscopy and parallel factor analysis. Anal Chem 77:2210–2217
Davis-Carter JG, Shuman LM (1993) Influence of texture and pH of kaolinitic soils on zinc fractions and zinc uptake by peanuts. Soil Sci 155:376–384
Faber NM, Bro R (2002) Standard error of prediction for multiway PLS: 1. Background and a simulation study. Chemom Intell Lab Syst 61:133–149
Fu H, Liu H, Mao J, Chu W, Li Q, Alvarez PJJ, Qu X, Zhu D (2016) Photochemistry of dissolved black carbon released from biochar: reactive oxygen species generation and phototransformation. Environ Sci Technol 50:1218–1226
Fukushi K, Sakai H, Itono T, Tamura A, Arai S (2014) Desorption of intrinsic cesium from smectite: inhibitive effects of clay particle organization on cesium desorption. Environ Sci Technol 48:10743–10749
Gimbert LJ, Haygarth PM, Beckett R, Worsfold PJ (2005) Comparison of centrifugation and filtration techniques for the size fractionation of colloidal material in soil suspensions using sedimentation field-flow fractionation. Environ Sci Technol 39:1731–1735
Hanke UM, Reddy CM, Braun ALL, Coppola AI, Haghipour N, McIntyre CP, Wacker L, Xu L, McNichol AP, Abiven S, Schmidt MWI, Eglinton TI (2017) What on earth have we been burning? Deciphering sedimentary records of pyrogenic carbon. Environ Sci Technol 51:12972–12980
Ishii SKL, Boyer TH (2012) Behavior of reoccurring PARAFAC components in fluorescent dissolved organic matter in natural and engineered systems: a critical review. Environ Sci Technol 46:2006–2017
Jaffé R, Ding Y, Niggemann J, Vähätalo AV, Stubbins A, Spencer RGM, Campbell J, Dittmar T (2013) Global charcoal mobilization from soils via dissolution and riverine transport to the oceans. Science 340:345–347
Jonker MT, Koelmans AA (2002) Extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from soot and sediment: solvent evaluation and implications for sorption mechanism. Environ Sci Technol 36:4107–4113
Kusumo BH, Arbestain MC, Mahmud AF, Hedley MJ, Hedley CB, Pereira RC, Wang T, Singh BP (2014) Assessing biochar stability indices using near infrared spectroscopy. J Near Infrared Spectrosc 22:313–328
Laird DA, Fleming P, Davis DD, Horton R, Wang B, Karlen DL (2010) Impact of biochar amendments on the quality of a typical midwestern agricultural soil. Geoderma 158:443–449
Leblanc J, Uchimiya M, Ramakrishnan G, Castaldi MJ, Orlov A (2016) Across-phase biomass pyrolysis stoichiometry, energy balance, and product formation kinetics. Energy Fuel 30:6537–6546
Lehmann J (2007) A handful of carbon. Nature 447:143–144
Major J, Lehmann J, Rondon M, Goodale C (2010) Fate of soil-applied black carbon: downward migration, leaching and soil respiration. Glob Change Biol 16:1366–1379
McNeil VH, Cox ME (2000) Relationship between conductivity and analysed composition in a large set of natural surface-water samples, Queensland, Australia. Environ Geol 39:1325–1333
Metrohm AG (2013) A guide to near-infrared spectroscopic analysis of industrial manufacturing processes, Herisau, Switzerland. https://www.metrohm.com/en/documents/81085026
Miller RW, Donahue RL (1990) Soils: an introduction to soils and plant growth. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs
Mochidzuki K, Soutric F, Tadokoro K, Antal MJ Jr, Tóth M, Zelei B, Várhegyi G (2003) Electrical and physical properties of carbonized charcoals. Ind Eng Chem Res 42:5140–5151
Morita S (2004–2005) 2Dshige 1.3. Kwansei-Gakuin University. https://sites.google.com/site/shigemorita/home/2dshige. Accessed 18 May 2018
Murphy KR, Stedmon CA, Graeber D, Bro R (2013) Fluorescence spectroscopy and multi-way techniques. PARAFAC Anal Methods 5:6557–6566
National Academy of Sciences (2018) Science breakthroughs to advance food and agricultural research by 2030. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC. http://nap.edu/25059. Accessed 9 Oct 2018
Noda I (2018) Chapter 2—advances in two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2DCOS). In: Laane J (ed) Frontiers and advances in molecular spectroscopy. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 47–75
Noda I, Dowrey AE, Marcott C, Story GM, Ozaki Y (2000) Generalized two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy. Appl Spectrosc 54:236A–248A
Pignatello JJ, Uchimiya M, Abiven S, Schmidt MWI (2015) Evolution of black carbon properties in soil. In: Lehmann J, Joseph S (eds) Biochar for environmental management: science, technology, and implementation. Taylor & Frances, London, pp 195–234
Sainju UM, Whitehead WF, Singh BP (2003) Cover crops and nitrogen fertilization effects on soil aggregation and carbon and nitrogen pools. Can J Soil Sci 83:155–165
Siebers N, Abdelrahman H, Krause L, Amelung W (2018) Bias in aggregate geometry and properties after disintegration and drying procedures. Geoderma 313:163–171
Sigmund G, Huber D, Bucheli TD, Baumann M, Borth N, Guebitz GM, Hofmann T (2017) Cytotoxicity of biochar: a workplace safety concern? Environ Sci Technol Lett 4:362–366
Sorensen RB, Lamb MC (2016) Crop yield response to increasing biochar rates. J Crop Improv 30:703–712
Stedmon CA, Bro R (2008) Characterizing dissolved organic matter fluorescence with parallel factor analysis: a tutorial. Limnol Oceanogr Methods 6:572–579
Uchimiya M (2014) Influence of pH, ionic strength, and multidentate ligand on the interaction of CdII with biochars. ACS Sustain Chem Eng 2:2019–2027
Uchimiya M, Ohno T, He Z (2013a) Pyrolysis temperature-dependent release of dissolved organic carbon from plant, manure, and biorefinery wastes. J Anal Appl Pyrol 104:84–94
Uchimiya M, Orlov A, Ramakrishnan G, Sistani K (2013b) In situ and ex situ spectroscopic monitoring of biochar’s surface functional groups. J Anal Appl Pyrol 102:53–59
Uchimiya M, Hiradate S, Antal MJ (2015) Influence of carbonization methods on the aromaticity of pyrogenic dissolved organic carbon. Energy Fuel 29:2503–2513
Uchimiya M, Liu Z, Sistani K (2016) Field-scale fluorescence fingerprinting of biochar-borne dissolved organic carbon. J Environ Manag 169:184–190
Uchimiya M, Pignatello JJ, White JC, Hu S, Ferreira PJ (2017) Structural transformation of biochar black carbon by C60 superstructure: environmental implications. Sci Rep 7:11787
Wang C, Walter MT, Parlange JY (2013) Modeling simple experiments of biochar erosion from soil. J Hydrol 499:140–145
Wetzel DL (1983) Near-infrared reflectance analysis. Anal Chem 55(12):1165A–1176A
Yi P, Pignatello JJ, Uchimiya M, White JC (2015) Heteroaggregation of cerium oxide nanoparticles and nanoparticles of pyrolyzed biomass. Environ Sci Technol 49:13294–13303
Zhang W, Niu J, Morales VL, Chen X, Hay AG, Lehmann J, Steenhuis TS (2010) Transport and retention of biochar particles in porous media: effect of pH, ionic strength, and particle size. Ecohydrology 3:497–508
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Disclaimer: Mention of trade names or commercial products in this publication is solely for the purpose of providing specific information and does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Uchimiya, M., Franzluebbers, A.J., Liu, Z. et al. Detection of Biochar Carbon by Fluorescence and Near-Infrared-Based Chemometrics. Aquat Geochem 24, 345–361 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10498-018-9347-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10498-018-9347-9