Abstract:
Banana peduncle biomass was processed in thermal plasma reactor to produce potassium (K) enriched biochar. The effect of different gases (argon and oxygen) and plasma processing time (3, 5, 7 and 9 min) on enrichment of K in biochar was evaluated. Potassium of banana peduncle enriched in biochar due to its residualization and mineralization during the plasma processing, Proximate, elemental, FT-IR, BET surface area and SEM analysis revealed the dominant effect of processing time on physico-chemical and surface characteristics of biochar. K enrichment was found to be relatively higher in case of Argon (Ar) gas and 7 min plasma processing time. The available K content of banana peduncle (66.3 gfkg) increased to 86.2,163.5 and 258.5 g/kg in biochar produced by argon plasma processing for 3, 5 and 7 min respectively. XRD peaks confirmed the formation of K containing Kalicinite (KHCO3) mineral in biochar samples, which mainly contribute for water soluble K-fraction. The research findings highlight the scope of K-enriched biochar production through plasma processing of waste biomass for K replenishment in soil along with additional advantages of liming, conditioning and carbon sequestration. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.