Nano-black carbon (biochar) released from pyrogenic carbonaceous matter as a super suspending agent in water/soil enviro
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Nano‑black carbon (biochar) released from pyrogenic carbonaceous matter as a super suspending agent in water/soil environments Fei Lian1 · Zhenyu Wang1 · Baoshan Xing2 Received: 2 September 2020 / Accepted: 30 October 2020 © Shenyang Agricultural University 2020
Abstract Nano-black carbon (BC) is one of the most active fractions in the pyrogenic carbonaceous matter continuum. The majority of recent studies mainly focus on the role of nano-BC in the global carbon cycle. However, based on literature and our recent studies, we suggest that nano-BC may also serve as a super suspending agent, carrier, and redox mediator for sorbates during its migration from terrestrial to water bodies due to its unique properties such as high colloidal stability, strong sorption capacity, and high surface reactivity. The full implications of nano-BC in water/soil environments are far more than we expected. Thus, we call for more detailed investigations on the activity and reactivity of nano-BC in water/soil environments. Keywords Biochar · Nanoparticle · Suspension · Sorption · Redox capacity · Biogeochemical processes Pyrogenic carbonaceous matter (PCM) such as charcoal, soot, and biochar is generally produced by incomplete combustion of fresh and/or fossilized biomass, which is a significant fraction of natural organic matter (NOM) and ubiquitous in water/soil environments. Besides vegetation fires (e.g., forest fires and crop residue burnings), man-made PCM products (mainly biochar) are being produced much more than ever before for various environmental and agricultural applications. Statistically, the global production of biochar can be up to ~ 270 Tg per year, and majority of the products would remain in soils (Jha et al. 2010). The environmental functions of biochar are based on the assumption that it represents one of the most inert natural organic C pools and can be stored in soils/sediments at centurial or millennial time scales. However, an increasing number of studies have demonstrated that a fraction of PCM can be mobilized into aquatic ecosystems in dissolved and colloidal forms, serving as a crucial contributor to the global C flux. * Zhenyu Wang [email protected] * Baoshan Xing [email protected] 1
Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, and School of Environment and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
Stockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
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More importantly, the nano-sized black carbon (nano-BC) has extraordinary suspending ability in aquatic environments, which can strongly sorb contaminants and nutrients (e.g., N and P), heteroaggregate with minerals, and mediate environmental transformation of certain compounds. Consequently, the full implications of nano-BC in water/ soil environments are far more than we expected. Here, we suggest that nano-BC is not only a soil C pool but a super suspending agent, greatly altering the transport and behavior of elements, chemicals, and soil components (e.g., mineral
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