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Effect of tobacco stem-derived biochar on soil metal immobilization and the cultivation of tobacco plant

  • Soils, Sec 3 • Remediation and Management of Contaminated or Degraded Lands • Research Article
  • Published:
Journal of Soils and Sediments Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Tobacco stems collected from tobacco cultivation fields were pyrolyzed to produce value-added biochar that was used to remediate metal-contaminated soil which was then used for tobacco cultivation. The feasibility of the scheme was evaluated.

Materials and methods

A pot experiment was carried out to assess the impacts of tobacco stem-derived biochar (TSB 0, 2, 4, and 8%) on tobacco growth and leaf yields, soil properties, the availability of soil Cr, Cu, and Pb, and the accumulation of the three metals in tobacco plants.

Results and discussion

Soil pH, organic matter content, and available phosphorus content increased with increasing application of TSB from 2 to 8% compared to the control (no biochar addition). In contrast, the acid-soluble and the reducible fractions of soil Cu and the reducible fraction of soil Pb and Cr decreased markedly, and the oxidizable fraction of the metals increased significantly with increasing application of TSB. This indicates that adding more TSB led to increasing immobilization of all three metals in the soil. Furthermore, both the number of tobacco leaves and the foliar biomass increased significantly with the addition of TSB to the soil. Based on our data, 4% is an economically suitable application rate of TSB for decreasing metal accumulation in plants and increasing tobacco leaf yields.

Conclusions

The results indicate that it is feasible to use biochar derived from tobacco stem waste to remediate metal-contaminated soils which can then be used for tobacco cultivation. This is very useful in the recycling of the waste biomass and for remediation of soil metal pollution.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21777148, 21577131, 41501341), the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (LQ17B070001, LY16D010011), the Key Science and Technology Special Project of Zhejiang Province (2015C02037, 2015C03019), the Techniques Research and Social Development Project of Zhejiang Province (2015C33050) and the Early Career Scheme Proposal, The Education University of Hong Kong (RG 38/2017-2018R).

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Author notes

  1. Jianyun Zhang: co-first author who contributed equally to the work

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Recycling and Eco-treatment of Waste Biomass, School of Environment and Natural Resources, Zhejiang University of Science and Technology, Hangzhou, 310023, Zhejiang, China

    Jin Zhang & Shengdao Shan

  2. School of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, 311300, Zhejiang, China

    Jin Zhang, Jianyun Zhang, Shengchun Wu & Peter Christie

  3. Jiyang College, Zhejiang A&F University, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China

    Minyan Wang

  4. Guangdong Province Biochar Engineering Technology Research Center, School of Environment and Chemical Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, 528000, Guangdong, China

    Hailong Wang

  5. Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, Faisalabad University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38040, Pakistan

    Nabeel Khan Niazi

  6. Consortium on Health, Environment, Education and Research (CHEER), Department of Science and Environmental Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, Hong Kong SAR, China

    Yu Bon Man & Ming Hung Wong

Authors
  1. Jin Zhang
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  2. Jianyun Zhang
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  3. Minyan Wang
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  4. Shengchun Wu
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  9. Shengdao Shan
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Correspondence to Minyan Wang or Yu Bon Man.

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Zhang, J., Zhang, J., Wang, M. et al. Effect of tobacco stem-derived biochar on soil metal immobilization and the cultivation of tobacco plant. J Soils Sediments 19, 2313–2321 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-018-02226-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-018-02226-x

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