A new class of biochar-based slow-release phosphorus fertilizers with high water retention based on integrated co-pyrolysis and co-polymerization

The development of slow-release phosphorus fertilizers (SRFs) with high water retention is of significance for modern agriculture. Herein, a new class of biochar-based SRFs are developed by an integrated co-pyrolysis and co-polymerization process (PSRFs). The water-retention performance and P slow-release behavior of PSRFs are evaluated, which are compared with other types of biochar-based SRFs derived from biochar-based phosphorus adsorption (MSRFs), co-pyrolysis of biomass-bentonite-nutrients (BSRFs), and the application of coating on BSRFs (CSRFs). The results show that the obtained PSRFs exhibits high water retention with the maximum swelling capacity of 94.2 g/g, far outstripping other tested SRFs. The water-retention performance of PSRFs is found to be positively correlated with their crosslinking agent contents. In addition, PSRFs has excellent P slow-release performance which is comparable with CSRFs (similar to 51.5% of P release after 30 days), but much better than MSRFs and BSRFs with a complete P release after 30 days. Furthermore, pot experiments reveal that PSRFs has the highest P utilization efficiency (75.83% after 60 days), which can promote the growth of pepper seedlings better than other SRFs. Moreover, the soil burial tests indicate that PSRFs has a good biodegradability with the degradation ratio of 33.46% in 75 days. Finally, biological abundance analysis further reveals that Actinobacteria in soil is mainly responsible for the metabolism of starch and sodium alginate in PSRFs.

Automated summary

PSRFs exhibit high water retention and excellent slow-release of phosphorus, promoting the growth of pepper seedlings and showing good biodegradability. Actinobacteria in soil is mainly responsible for the metabolism of starch and sodium alginate in PSRFs.