Invasive plants as potential sustainable feedstocks for biochar production and multiple applications: A review

Invasive plants harm ecosystems and human health due to their strong environmental adaptability, fast reproduction and spreading capabilities. Management of invasive plants, therefore, attracted more and more attention recently. Biochar is a carbon-rich solid substance formed by pyrolyzing organic substances under low or limited oxygen conditions. It has high aromaticity and strong resistance to decomposition and is widely used in agriculture, environment, energy, and other fields. As a special raw material, the high diversity and wide distribution make invasive plants ideal feedstocks for biochar production. Pyrolysis of invasive plants to prepare biochar not only realizes the protection of ecosystemsbut also benefits human health. In addition, compared with traditional biochar, invasive plant-derived biochar (IP-DB) showed significant differences in structure, composition, and adsorption performance. As an economical and easily available adsorbent, IP-DB has been gradually used in environmental remediation and agricultural soil amendment, but there are relatively few reports compared with other types of biochar, and the research is scattered. Therefore, it is necessary to review the potential of invasive plants to prepare biochar and its application value. Here we make a review on current research status of invasive plants, focusing on their potential for biochar productions and applications. Based on these reviews, we proposed possible future development in this research field, which could serve as theoretical basis for further researches.

Automated summary

Invasive plants pose threats to ecosystems and human health, while biochar has shown potential in managing them. Biochar derived from invasive plants exhibits significant differences in structure, composition, and adsorption performance compared to traditional biochar, and can be utilized in environmental remediation and agricultural soil improvement. However, there is still limited research on this topic, highlighting the need for further exploration of the potential of invasive plants in biochar production and applications.