S.C. Buisma-Yi
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1
The ratio of nitrogen (N2) to argon (Ar) in landfill gas was compared to the atmospheric gas ratio to quantify the balance between N2 generating (anaerobic ammonium oxidation, denitrification) and N2 consuming (nitrogen fixation) processes on three landfills undergoing in-situ stabilization. In the aerated landfills, as much as 22% of the extracted N2 could be explained by net denitrification, with coexisting aerobic and anaerobic domains fostering nitrification-dependent denitrification. Nitrogen fixation was also occasionally observed. Removal of nitrogen via the gas phase exceeded nitrogen removed via the leachate by up to a factor of 33. Contrastingly, the anaerobic landfill under leachate recirculation showed a net reduction of N2 in relation to Ar, indicating nitrogen fixation as the dominant mechanism, equivalent up to 28% of the nitrogen in the extracted landfill gas. The balance between denitrification and nitrogen fixation in the aerated sites varied seasonally, likely caused by increased evapotranspiration in the summer, allowing greater air intrusion through the cover soil, resulting in higher NO3– and NO2– availability for denitrification and anammox. No such variability was observed for the landfill under liquid recirculation. The nitrogen transforming microbial community comprised of species responsible for nitrification, ammonification, denitrification, and anammox, indicating all processes may coexist. The findings show aeration supports nitrogen removal through the gas phase, but also suggest that nitrogen fixation adds nitrogen to the waste body in anaerobic domains. This could delay reaching environmental compliance criteria for leachate nitrogen, both for in-situ treatment by aeration and by leachate recirculation.
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The ratio of nitrogen (N2) to argon (Ar) in landfill gas was compared to the atmospheric gas ratio to quantify the balance between N2 generating (anaerobic ammonium oxidation, denitrification) and N2 consuming (nitrogen fixation) processes on three landfills undergoing in-situ stabilization. In the aerated landfills, as much as 22% of the extracted N2 could be explained by net denitrification, with coexisting aerobic and anaerobic domains fostering nitrification-dependent denitrification. Nitrogen fixation was also occasionally observed. Removal of nitrogen via the gas phase exceeded nitrogen removed via the leachate by up to a factor of 33. Contrastingly, the anaerobic landfill under leachate recirculation showed a net reduction of N2 in relation to Ar, indicating nitrogen fixation as the dominant mechanism, equivalent up to 28% of the nitrogen in the extracted landfill gas. The balance between denitrification and nitrogen fixation in the aerated sites varied seasonally, likely caused by increased evapotranspiration in the summer, allowing greater air intrusion through the cover soil, resulting in higher NO3– and NO2– availability for denitrification and anammox. No such variability was observed for the landfill under liquid recirculation. The nitrogen transforming microbial community comprised of species responsible for nitrification, ammonification, denitrification, and anammox, indicating all processes may coexist. The findings show aeration supports nitrogen removal through the gas phase, but also suggest that nitrogen fixation adds nitrogen to the waste body in anaerobic domains. This could delay reaching environmental compliance criteria for leachate nitrogen, both for in-situ treatment by aeration and by leachate recirculation.
Journal article
(2024)
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Sraboni Chowdhury, Derya Akpinar, Seyyed Ali Akbar Nakhli, Marcus Bowser, Elizabeth Imhoff, Susan C. Yi, Paul T. Imhoff
Urban development often results in compacted soils, impairing soil structure and reducing the infiltration and retention of stormwater runoff from impervious features. Biochar is a promising organic soil amendment to improve infiltration and retention of stormwater runoff. Soil at the disconnection between impervious and pervious surfaces represents a critical biochar application point for stormwater management from urban impervious features. This study tested the hypothesis that biochar would significantly improve water retention and transmission at four sites, where varying percentages (0%, 2%, and 4% w/w) of biochar were amended to soils between impervious pavement, and pervious grassed slopes. Field-saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) and easily drainable water storage capacity were monitored at these sites for five months (two sites) and 15 months (two sites). At the end of the monitoring periods, the physical, chemical, and biological properties of each site's soil were assessed to understand the impact of biochar on soil aggregation, which is critical for improved soil structure and water infiltration. Results indicated that the field Ksat, drainable water storage capacity, and plant available water content (AWC) were 7.1 ± 3.6 SE, 2.0 ± 0.3 SE, and 2.1 ± 0.3 SE times higher in soils amended with 4% biochar, respectively, compared to the undisturbed soil. Factor analysis elucidated that biochar amendment increased the organic matter content, aggregate mean weight diameter, organo-mineral content, and fungal hyphal length while decreasing the bulk density. Across the 12 biochar/soil combinations, the multiple linear regression models derived from factor analysis described the changes in Ksat and AWC reasonably well with R2 values of 0.51 and 0.71, respectively. Using soil and biochar properties measured before biochar addition, two recent models, developed from laboratory investigations, were found helpful as screening tools to predict biochar's effect on Ksat and AWC at the four field sites. Overall, the findings illustrate that biochar amendment to compacted urban soils can significantly improve soil structure and hydraulic function at impervious/pervious surface disconnections, and screening models help to predict biochar's effectiveness in this context.
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Urban development often results in compacted soils, impairing soil structure and reducing the infiltration and retention of stormwater runoff from impervious features. Biochar is a promising organic soil amendment to improve infiltration and retention of stormwater runoff. Soil at the disconnection between impervious and pervious surfaces represents a critical biochar application point for stormwater management from urban impervious features. This study tested the hypothesis that biochar would significantly improve water retention and transmission at four sites, where varying percentages (0%, 2%, and 4% w/w) of biochar were amended to soils between impervious pavement, and pervious grassed slopes. Field-saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) and easily drainable water storage capacity were monitored at these sites for five months (two sites) and 15 months (two sites). At the end of the monitoring periods, the physical, chemical, and biological properties of each site's soil were assessed to understand the impact of biochar on soil aggregation, which is critical for improved soil structure and water infiltration. Results indicated that the field Ksat, drainable water storage capacity, and plant available water content (AWC) were 7.1 ± 3.6 SE, 2.0 ± 0.3 SE, and 2.1 ± 0.3 SE times higher in soils amended with 4% biochar, respectively, compared to the undisturbed soil. Factor analysis elucidated that biochar amendment increased the organic matter content, aggregate mean weight diameter, organo-mineral content, and fungal hyphal length while decreasing the bulk density. Across the 12 biochar/soil combinations, the multiple linear regression models derived from factor analysis described the changes in Ksat and AWC reasonably well with R2 values of 0.51 and 0.71, respectively. Using soil and biochar properties measured before biochar addition, two recent models, developed from laboratory investigations, were found helpful as screening tools to predict biochar's effect on Ksat and AWC at the four field sites. Overall, the findings illustrate that biochar amendment to compacted urban soils can significantly improve soil structure and hydraulic function at impervious/pervious surface disconnections, and screening models help to predict biochar's effectiveness in this context.
In the Netherlands, three full-scale pilots have been in operation for approximately five years to understand the effects of leachate recirculation or aeration on waste stabilisation. This study employs the ratio of N2 to Ar in the landfill gas in comparison to the ratio in atmospheric air to derive the share of N2 that originates from denitrification. We collected samples from the three pilot landfills from different gas wells, gas collector systems and from the total bulk extracted gas and measured its composition using gas chromatography. We estimated the aeration efficiency of the two landfills under in situ aeration based on the CO2/CH4 ratio as an indicator of aerobic processes. Denitrification dominated in the aerated landfills, with as much as 13% of N2 being explained by the net effect of denitrification, whereas the landfill under leachate recirculation showed a net ‘loss’ of N2, indicating N2 fixation to be a dominant mechanism. There was a seasonal variability of the balance between denitrification and N2 fixation in the aerated sites, likely caused by increased aeration efficiency and hence increased availability of NO3- for denitrification under summer conditions with lower moisture content in the cover soil, allowing for increased air ingress. No such variability was observed for the landfill under liquid recirculation. Future evaluation of the microbial community composition will further elucidate N transformation pathways in landfills under different in-situ stabilisation treatments.
...
In the Netherlands, three full-scale pilots have been in operation for approximately five years to understand the effects of leachate recirculation or aeration on waste stabilisation. This study employs the ratio of N2 to Ar in the landfill gas in comparison to the ratio in atmospheric air to derive the share of N2 that originates from denitrification. We collected samples from the three pilot landfills from different gas wells, gas collector systems and from the total bulk extracted gas and measured its composition using gas chromatography. We estimated the aeration efficiency of the two landfills under in situ aeration based on the CO2/CH4 ratio as an indicator of aerobic processes. Denitrification dominated in the aerated landfills, with as much as 13% of N2 being explained by the net effect of denitrification, whereas the landfill under leachate recirculation showed a net ‘loss’ of N2, indicating N2 fixation to be a dominant mechanism. There was a seasonal variability of the balance between denitrification and N2 fixation in the aerated sites, likely caused by increased aeration efficiency and hence increased availability of NO3- for denitrification under summer conditions with lower moisture content in the cover soil, allowing for increased air ingress. No such variability was observed for the landfill under liquid recirculation. Future evaluation of the microbial community composition will further elucidate N transformation pathways in landfills under different in-situ stabilisation treatments.
Journal article
(2023)
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Susan C. Yi, Anne Heijbroek, Luis Cutz, Stephanie Pillay, Wiebren de Jong, Thomas Abeel, Julia Gebert
Application of biochar to landfill cover soils can purportedly improve methane (CH4) oxidation rates, but understanding the combined effects of soil texture, compaction, and biochar on the activity and composition of the methanotrophs is limited. The amendment of wood biochar on two differently textured landfill cover soils at three compaction levels of the Proctor density was explored by analyzing changes in soil physical properties relevant to methane oxidation, the effects on CH4 oxidation rates, and the composition of the methanotrophic community. Loose soils with and without biochar were pre-incubated to equally elevate the CH4 oxidation rates. Hereafter, soils were compacted and re-incubated. Methane oxidation rates, gas diffusivity, water retention characteristics, and pore size distribution were analyzed on the compacted soils. The relative abundance of methanotrophic bacteria (MOB) was determined at the end of both the pre-incubation and incubation tests of the packed samples. Biochar significantly increased porosity at all compaction levels, enhancing diffusion coefficients. Also, a re-distribution in pore sizes was observed. Increased gas diffusivity from low compaction and amendment of biochar, though, did not reflect higher methane oxidation rates due to high diffusive oxygen fluxes over the limited height of the compacted soil specimens. All soils, with and without biochar, were strongly dominated by Type II methanotrophs. In the sandy soil, biochar amendment strongly increased MOB abundance, which could be attributed to a corresponding increase in the relative abundance of Methylocystis species, while no such response was observed in the clayey soil. Compaction did not change the community composition in either soil. Fir-wood biochar addition to landfill cover soils may not always enhance methanotrophic activity and hence reduce fugitive methane emissions, with the effect being soil-specific. However, especially in finer and more compacted soils, biochar amendment can maintain soil diffusivity above a critical level, preventing the collapse of methanotrophy.
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Application of biochar to landfill cover soils can purportedly improve methane (CH4) oxidation rates, but understanding the combined effects of soil texture, compaction, and biochar on the activity and composition of the methanotrophs is limited. The amendment of wood biochar on two differently textured landfill cover soils at three compaction levels of the Proctor density was explored by analyzing changes in soil physical properties relevant to methane oxidation, the effects on CH4 oxidation rates, and the composition of the methanotrophic community. Loose soils with and without biochar were pre-incubated to equally elevate the CH4 oxidation rates. Hereafter, soils were compacted and re-incubated. Methane oxidation rates, gas diffusivity, water retention characteristics, and pore size distribution were analyzed on the compacted soils. The relative abundance of methanotrophic bacteria (MOB) was determined at the end of both the pre-incubation and incubation tests of the packed samples. Biochar significantly increased porosity at all compaction levels, enhancing diffusion coefficients. Also, a re-distribution in pore sizes was observed. Increased gas diffusivity from low compaction and amendment of biochar, though, did not reflect higher methane oxidation rates due to high diffusive oxygen fluxes over the limited height of the compacted soil specimens. All soils, with and without biochar, were strongly dominated by Type II methanotrophs. In the sandy soil, biochar amendment strongly increased MOB abundance, which could be attributed to a corresponding increase in the relative abundance of Methylocystis species, while no such response was observed in the clayey soil. Compaction did not change the community composition in either soil. Fir-wood biochar addition to landfill cover soils may not always enhance methanotrophic activity and hence reduce fugitive methane emissions, with the effect being soil-specific. However, especially in finer and more compacted soils, biochar amendment can maintain soil diffusivity above a critical level, preventing the collapse of methanotrophy.
Designing methane oxidation systems (MOS) requires an understanding of soil physical properties and their changes to create an optimal habitat for methanotrophs. A short-term study was carried out to investigate the suitability of biochar as an additive to improve soil properties for use in MOS. The results from our batch experiments showed the effects of biochar on the particle size distribution, compaction and methane oxidation rates on two Dutch landfill cover soils collected from Braambergen landfill (fine-grained soil) and Wieringermeer landfill (more coarsely grained soil). When soils were amended with 6% (w/w) biochar, the particle size distribution curves shifted to enlarge the median diameter (D50) in both soils. The methane oxidation rate increase was observed only on fined-grained soil with biochar with compaction, but both soils showed reduction in bulk density. Biochar addition enhanced methane oxidation rate in fine-grained soils when moisture content was kept constant at 17.8%, corresponding to a capillary pressure of >1000 hPa. Contrastingly, in coarsely grained soil, cumulated methane oxidation was reduced by 88.5% with biochar addition, despite the median diameter increase by 6%. Possibly, too high capillary pressures inhibited methanotrophic activity. The Procter density (DPr) decreased in both soils, but the optimum water content increased in the fine soil and decreased when biochar was added to the coarse soil. As expected, the biochar improved D50, and optimum water content and methane oxidation in fine-grained landfill cover soil.
...
Designing methane oxidation systems (MOS) requires an understanding of soil physical properties and their changes to create an optimal habitat for methanotrophs. A short-term study was carried out to investigate the suitability of biochar as an additive to improve soil properties for use in MOS. The results from our batch experiments showed the effects of biochar on the particle size distribution, compaction and methane oxidation rates on two Dutch landfill cover soils collected from Braambergen landfill (fine-grained soil) and Wieringermeer landfill (more coarsely grained soil). When soils were amended with 6% (w/w) biochar, the particle size distribution curves shifted to enlarge the median diameter (D50) in both soils. The methane oxidation rate increase was observed only on fined-grained soil with biochar with compaction, but both soils showed reduction in bulk density. Biochar addition enhanced methane oxidation rate in fine-grained soils when moisture content was kept constant at 17.8%, corresponding to a capillary pressure of >1000 hPa. Contrastingly, in coarsely grained soil, cumulated methane oxidation was reduced by 88.5% with biochar addition, despite the median diameter increase by 6%. Possibly, too high capillary pressures inhibited methanotrophic activity. The Procter density (DPr) decreased in both soils, but the optimum water content increased in the fine soil and decreased when biochar was added to the coarse soil. As expected, the biochar improved D50, and optimum water content and methane oxidation in fine-grained landfill cover soil.
Review
(2021)
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Vandit Vijay, Sowmya Shreedhar, P. V. Aravind, Komalkant Adlak, Sachin Payyanad, Vandana Sreedharan, Girigan Gopi, Tessa Sophia van der Voort, P. Malarvizhi, Susan Yi, Julia Gebert
Increasing pressure on farming systems due to rapid urbanization and population growth has severely affected soil health and fertility. The need to meet the growing food demands has also led to unsustainable farming practices with the intensive application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, resulting in significant greenhouse gas emissions. Biochar, a multifunctional carbon material, is being actively explored globally for simultaneously addressing the concerns related to improving soil fertility and mitigating climate change. Reviews on biochar, however, mainly confined to lab-scale studies analyze biochar production and its characteristics, its effects on soil fertility, and carbon sequestration. The present review addresses this gap by focusing on biochar field trials to enhance the current understanding of its actual impact on the field, w.r.t. agriculture and climate change. The review presents an overview of the effects of biochar application as observed in field studies on soil health (soil’s physical, chemical, and biological properties), crop productivity, and its potential role in carbon sequestration. General trends from this review indicate that biochar application provides higher benefits in soil properties and crop yield in degraded tropical soils vis-a-vis the temperate regions. The results also reveal diverse observations in soil health properties and crop yields with biochar amendment as different studies consider different crops, biochar feedstocks, and local climatic and soil conditions. Furthermore, it has been observed that the effects of biochar application in lab-scale studies with controlled environments are not always distinctly witnessed in corresponding field-based studies and the effects are not always synchronous across different regions. Hence, there is a need for more data, especially from well-designed long-term field trials, to converge and validate the results on the effectiveness of biochar on diverse soil types and agro-climatic zones to improve crop productivity and mitigate climate change.
...
Increasing pressure on farming systems due to rapid urbanization and population growth has severely affected soil health and fertility. The need to meet the growing food demands has also led to unsustainable farming practices with the intensive application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, resulting in significant greenhouse gas emissions. Biochar, a multifunctional carbon material, is being actively explored globally for simultaneously addressing the concerns related to improving soil fertility and mitigating climate change. Reviews on biochar, however, mainly confined to lab-scale studies analyze biochar production and its characteristics, its effects on soil fertility, and carbon sequestration. The present review addresses this gap by focusing on biochar field trials to enhance the current understanding of its actual impact on the field, w.r.t. agriculture and climate change. The review presents an overview of the effects of biochar application as observed in field studies on soil health (soil’s physical, chemical, and biological properties), crop productivity, and its potential role in carbon sequestration. General trends from this review indicate that biochar application provides higher benefits in soil properties and crop yield in degraded tropical soils vis-a-vis the temperate regions. The results also reveal diverse observations in soil health properties and crop yields with biochar amendment as different studies consider different crops, biochar feedstocks, and local climatic and soil conditions. Furthermore, it has been observed that the effects of biochar application in lab-scale studies with controlled environments are not always distinctly witnessed in corresponding field-based studies and the effects are not always synchronous across different regions. Hence, there is a need for more data, especially from well-designed long-term field trials, to converge and validate the results on the effectiveness of biochar on diverse soil types and agro-climatic zones to improve crop productivity and mitigate climate change.
Journal article
(2020)
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Susan Yi, Naomi Y. Chang, Paul T. Imhoff
Biochar is black carbon produced from pyrolysis of biomass and may be added to soil to sequester carbon and improve soil water retention. To date models to predict changes in soil water retention with biochar amendment are still missing and therefore direct measurements are required for every biochar/soil combination, which can be time-consuming. Here, a predictive model for biochar's effect on soil water retention was developed and tested that includes water retained in biochar intrapores and biochar's impact on interpores between particles. The independently measured parameters needed for the model are the particle size distributions (PSDs) and particle densities for biochar and soil, water retention data for biochar-free soil, biochar intrapore volume distribution from mercury porosimetry, amount of biochar added, bulk density of the biochar/soil mixture, and dew point potentiometer measurements of biochar. The model was tested using poultry litter and wood biochars amended to two soils (sand and sandy loam) at 2 and 7% mass fraction. The model predicted changes in the soil water characteristic well for the biochar amendment, with RMSE decreasing by ~50% when the full model was used. Model predictions of the change in available water capacity with biochar amendment for eight biochar/soil combinations had an average absolute error of 0.017 ± 0.006 and an average relative error of 10¯0 ± 40%. The model correctly predicted the increase in available water content when sandy loam was amended with wood biochar, and the decrease if amended with poultry litter biochar. The model provides an improved understanding of the mechanisms by which biochar alters water retention, and a means to estimate the initial change in available water capacity for a particular biochar/soil combination if necessary biochar and soil properties are measured.
...
Biochar is black carbon produced from pyrolysis of biomass and may be added to soil to sequester carbon and improve soil water retention. To date models to predict changes in soil water retention with biochar amendment are still missing and therefore direct measurements are required for every biochar/soil combination, which can be time-consuming. Here, a predictive model for biochar's effect on soil water retention was developed and tested that includes water retained in biochar intrapores and biochar's impact on interpores between particles. The independently measured parameters needed for the model are the particle size distributions (PSDs) and particle densities for biochar and soil, water retention data for biochar-free soil, biochar intrapore volume distribution from mercury porosimetry, amount of biochar added, bulk density of the biochar/soil mixture, and dew point potentiometer measurements of biochar. The model was tested using poultry litter and wood biochars amended to two soils (sand and sandy loam) at 2 and 7% mass fraction. The model predicted changes in the soil water characteristic well for the biochar amendment, with RMSE decreasing by ~50% when the full model was used. Model predictions of the change in available water capacity with biochar amendment for eight biochar/soil combinations had an average absolute error of 0.017 ± 0.006 and an average relative error of 10¯0 ± 40%. The model correctly predicted the increase in available water content when sandy loam was amended with wood biochar, and the decrease if amended with poultry litter biochar. The model provides an improved understanding of the mechanisms by which biochar alters water retention, and a means to estimate the initial change in available water capacity for a particular biochar/soil combination if necessary biochar and soil properties are measured.