Irewale Adewale T, Dimkpa Christian O, Elemike Elias E, Oguzie Emeka E
Africa Center of Excellence in Future Energies and Electrochemical Systems (ACEFUELS), Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria.
Department of Analytical Chemistry, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, CT 06511 United States.
Heliyon. 2024 Aug 27;10(17):e36966. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e36966. eCollection 2024 Sep 15.
The widespread proliferation of water hyacinth () in aquatic ecosystems has raised significant ecological, environmental, and socioeconomic concerns globally. These concerns include reduced biodiversity, impeded water transportation and recreational activities, damage to marine infrastructure, and obstructions in power generation dams and irrigation systems. This review critically evaluates the challenges posed by water hyacinth (WH) and investigates potential strategies for converting its biomass into value-added agricultural products, specifically nanonutrients-fortified, biochar-based, green fertilizer. The review examines various methods for producing functional nanobiochar and green fertilizer to enhance plant nutrient uptake and improve soil nutrient retention. These methods include slow or fast pyrolysis, gasification, laser ablation, arc discharge, or chemical precipitation used for producing biochar which can then be further reduced to nano-sized biochar through ball milling, a top-down approach. Through these means, utilization of WH-derived biomass in economically viable, eco-friendly, sustainable, precision-driven, and smart agricultural practices can be achieved. The positive socioeconomic impacts of repurposing this invasive aquatic plant are also discussed, including the prospects of a circular economy, job creation, reduced agricultural input costs, increased agricultural productivity, and sustainable environmental management. Utilizing WH for nanobiochar (or nano-enabled biochar) for green fertilizer production offers a promising strategy for waste management, environmental remediation, improvement of waterway transportation infrastructure, and agricultural sustainability. To underscore the importance of this work, a metadata analysis of literature carried out reveals that an insignificant section of the body of research on WH and biochar have focused on the nano-fortification of WH biochar for fertilizer development. Therefore, this review aims to expand knowledge on the upcycling of non-food crop biomass, particularly using WH as feedstock, and provides crucial insights into a viable solution for mitigating the ecological impacts of this invasive species while enhancing agricultural productivity.
凤眼蓝（水葫芦）在水生生态系统中的广泛扩散已在全球范围内引发了重大的生态、环境和社会经济问题。这些问题包括生物多样性减少、水上运输和娱乐活动受阻、海洋基础设施受损以及发电大坝和灌溉系统受到阻碍。本综述批判性地评估了凤眼蓝带来的挑战，并研究了将其生物质转化为增值农产品的潜在策略，特别是纳米营养素强化的、基于生物炭的绿色肥料。该综述考察了生产功能性纳米生物炭和绿色肥料以增强植物养分吸收和改善土壤养分保持的各种方法。这些方法包括用于生产生物炭的慢速或快速热解、气化、激光烧蚀、电弧放电或化学沉淀，然后可通过球磨（一种自上而下的方法）将其进一步还原为纳米级生物炭。通过这些方式，可以实现以经济可行、生态友好、可持续、精准驱动和智能的农业实践利用凤眼蓝衍生的生物质。还讨论了重新利用这种入侵性水生植物的积极社会经济影响，包括循环经济的前景、创造就业机会、降低农业投入成本、提高农业生产力以及可持续环境管理。利用凤眼蓝生产纳米生物炭（或纳米功能生物炭）用于绿色肥料，为废物管理、环境修复、改善水路运输基础设施和农业可持续性提供了一个有前景的策略。为强调这项工作的重要性，所进行的文献元分析表明，关于凤眼蓝和生物炭的研究主体中，只有微不足道的一部分关注了用于肥料开发的凤眼蓝生物炭的纳米强化。因此，本综述旨在扩展关于非粮食作物生物质升级利用的知识，特别是以凤眼蓝为原料，并为减轻这种入侵物种的生态影响同时提高农业生产力的可行解决方案提供关键见解。
