Al-Wabel Mohammad I, Rafique Muhammad Imran, Ahmad Mahtab, Ahmad Munir, Hussain Abid, Usman Adel R A
Soil Sciences Department, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan.
Saudi J Biol Sci. 2019 May;26(4):665-672. doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2018.05.017. Epub 2018 May 26.
Biochar has vital importance as soil additives due to its characteristics, which are responsible for alleviating environmental problems and climate change. These additives should be evaluated to understand their physico-chemical properties and their ecotoxicological effects on plant growth. Therefore, this study aimed to (i) distinguish the properties of biochar produced from date palm and its derivative hydrochar, and (ii) investigate their ecotoxicological effects. Specifically, the biochar and hydrochar were produced from date palm leaflets by pyrolysis and hydrothermal carbonization, respectively. The produced chars were evaluated for their characteristics before and after water washing, and for their ecotoxicological effects on seed germination of lettuce ( L). The results show that water washing lowered biochar's pH and increased hydrochar's pH. Moreover, water washing of hydrochar caused a significant reduction in the total content of essential elements such as Ca, Mg, Mn, and Zn. Lettuce germination was significantly inhibited to 20% by hydrochar, whereas biochar enhanced lettuce growth by increasing shoot length (by 51%) and dry biomass (by 114%). Hydrochar toxicity was correlated (R > 0.95 at = 0.05) with high contents of total polyaromatic hydrocarbons (98.8 mg kg). Pre-treatment and assessment of hydrochar should be taken into account prior to application as a soil amendment.
生物炭作为土壤添加剂具有至关重要的意义，这归因于其特性，这些特性有助于缓解环境问题和气候变化。应对这些添加剂进行评估，以了解其物理化学性质及其对植物生长的生态毒理学影响。因此，本研究旨在（i）区分枣椰树产生的生物炭及其衍生水炭的特性，以及（ii）研究它们的生态毒理学影响。具体而言，生物炭和水炭分别通过热解和水热碳化由枣椰树小叶制成。对所制备的炭在水洗前后的特性及其对生菜（L.）种子萌发的生态毒理学影响进行了评估。结果表明，水洗降低了生物炭的pH值，提高了水炭的pH值。此外，水炭水洗导致钙、镁、锰和锌等必需元素的总含量显著降低。水炭显著抑制生菜发芽至20%，而生物炭通过增加茎长（51%）和干生物量（114%）促进生菜生长。水炭毒性与高含量的总多环芳烃（98.8 mg kg）相关（在α = 0.05时，R > 0.95）。在将水炭用作土壤改良剂之前，应考虑对其进行预处理和评估。
