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  • Basak et al_STOTEN

    Rights statement: This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Science of The Total Environment. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Science of The Total Environment, 760, 2020 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143319

    Accepted author manuscript, 1.1 MB, PDF document

    Available under license: CC BY-NC: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

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Repurposing distillation waste biomass and low-value mineral resources through biochar-mineral-complex for sustainable production of high-value medicinal plants and soil quality improvement

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

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  • B.B. Basak
  • Ajoy Saha
  • Binoy Sarkar
  • B. Prem Kumar
  • N.A. Gajbhiye
  • Atanu Banerjee
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Article number143319
<mark>Journal publication date</mark>15/03/2021
<mark>Journal</mark>Science of the Total Environment
Volume760
Number of pages10
Publication StatusPublished
Early online date4/11/20
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

High cost of synthetic fertilizers and their hazardous effects catapult the exploration of alternative nutrient formulations and soil amendments. This study aimed to synthesize a novel biochar-mineral-complex (BMC), and evaluate its nutrient supplying and soil improvement performances. In a hydrothermal reaction, the BMC was prepared using a biochar derived from distillation waste of Lemongrass (Cymbopogon flexuosus) and farmyard manure, for the first time via fortification with low-grade rock phosphate and waste mica. The BMC showed improved physico-chemical properties and nutrient availability than the pristine biochar. When applied to a deeply weathered acidic soil, the BMC significantly (p<0.05) improved the herbage and bioactive compound (sennoside) yields of a medicinal plant (senna; Cassia angustifolia Vahl.) compared to the pristine biochar, farmyard manure, vermicompost, and chemical fertilizers. The BMC also improved the soil quality by increasing nutrient and carbon contents, and microbial activities. Soil quality improvement facilitated greater nutrient uptake in senna plants under BMC compared to the pristine biochar, and conventional organic and chemical fertilizer treatments. This study thus encourages the development of BMC formulations not only to overcome the limitation of sole biochar application to soils, but also to phaseout chemical fertilizers in agriculture. Moreover, BMC could bestow resilience and sustainability to crop production via value-added recycling of waste biomass and low-grade mineral resources.

Bibliographic note

This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Science of The Total Environment. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Science of The Total Environment, 760, 2020 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143319