Abstract
Jatropha (Jatropha curcas L.) represents a renewable bioenergy source in arid regions, where it is used to produce not only biodiesel from the seed oil, but also various non-oil biomass products, such as fertilizer, from the seed cake following oil extraction from the seeds. Jatropha plants also generate large amounts of fallen leaves during the cold or drought season, but few studies have examined the utilization of this litter biomass. Therefore, in this study, we produced biochar from the fallen leaves of jatropha using a simple and economical carbonizer that was constructed from a standard 200 L oil drum, which would be suitable for use in rural communities, and evaluated the use of the generated biochar as a soil conditioner for the cultivation of Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla “Fordhook Giant”) as a model vegetable in an acidic and undernourished soil in Botswana. Biochar application improved several growth parameters of Swiss chard, such as the total leaf area. In addition, the dry weights of the harvested shoots were 1.57, 1.88, and 2.32 fold higher in plants grown in soils containing 3%, 5%, and 10% biochar, respectively, compared with non-applied soil, suggesting that the amount of biochar applied to the soil was positively correlated with yield. Together, these observations suggest that jatropha fallen leaf biochar could function as a soil conditioner to enhance crop productivity.
Highlights
Jatropha (Jatropha curcas L., Euphorbiaceae) has non-edible oils in its seeds that serve as a feedstock for biodiesel production
1.5 h after ignition, both top and bottom ventilation holes were closed, and the biomass inside was subjected to pyrolysis in an oxygen-limited condition
This study described the production of jatropha fallen leaves biochar using a simplified oil-drum carbonizer, based on the auto-thermal process in which partial of the biomass provided
Summary
Jatropha (Jatropha curcas L., Euphorbiaceae) has non-edible oils in its seeds that serve as a feedstock for biodiesel production. Since this drought-tolerant species can thrive under a wide range of rainfall regimes, from 200 to over 1500 mm per annum [1,2], and can grow in poor soils, on eroded land, and on wasteland [3,4,5,6], jatropha seed oil represents a promising feedstock for renewable energy in arid lands [7,8,9]. The utilization of non-oil biomass products of jatropha has been evaluated from the perspective of whole-crop biorefineries [10]. Production of catalytic biocarbons from jatropha biomass has been demonstrated [22,23]
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