NewBIAS

   

Biochars - produced by the pyrolysis of biomass - can be used as soil amendments to, for example, sequester carbon (C), fix excess nutrients in the soil, reduce environmental risks, and improve soil in terms of its pH and soil structure.

NewBIAS (New Biochars for the Improvement of Agricultural Soils) aims at a multifunctional use of biochars from residues from horticulture, which will be used for nutrient recovery from manure and soil improvement with a cascade use.

 

In addition to TEER, the Jülich Research Center (IBG-2, IBG-3 and ZEA-3) and the University of Bonn (INRES) as well as the OM of RWTH Aachen University are involved as project partners. The Institute of Crop Sciences and Resource Conservation (INRES) at the University of Bonn is looking at the application of the Miscanthus substrate in horticultural vegetable plant crops. TEER deals with the production and characterization of the biochars. For this purpose, the carbonization behavior of Miscanthus is first investigated by thermogravimetric analysis. Then, the carbonization of Miscanthus substrates will be carried out on a technical scale under varying process parameters (temperature, residence time and atmospheres). The Central Institute for Engineering, Electronics and Analytics, Analytics Division (ZEA-3) will focus on the physicochemical characterization of the biochars To characterize the application, the Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, Agrosphere Division (IBG-3) of Forschungszentrum Jülich analyzes the stability of biochars and the N- and P-binding dynamics as well as the binding forms after application to the soil. The Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, Plant Sciences Division (IBG-2) of Forschungszentrum Jülich is investigating the effects of biochars on soil structure and plants. In addition, the sustainable design of value chains will be investigated by Operations Management (OM) at RWTH Aachen University during the course of the project.

At the end of the project duration, NewBIAS will have engineered tailor-made biochars, close material loops within the agronomic production and emphasize a cascading and multifunctional multi-product optimization