Preparation and Application of Biochar

Dear Colleagues,

As of late, there has been an increased interest in the production of sustainable biochar, mostly because biochar presents very versatile physicochemical properties, is easily produced with potential to use several feedstocks and has large applicability in various fields.

Biochar is a carbon-rich and porous solid material that can be produced through the thermochemical conversion of biomass (pyrolysis, hydrothermal carbonization, gasification, torrefaction) with presence of little or no oxygen. This material has very unique qualities, including a large surface area, calorific value, hydrophobicity, high porosity, valuable functional groups, high cation exchange capacity and stability. These properties have great importance to a wide variety of applications that can address several pressing ecosystem challenges, namely, soil amendment, remediation of environmental pollutants and wastewaters, carbon capture and storage (climate change mitigation), bioenergy, renewable gases production, metal production, catalysts (e.g., biodiesel production, tar reduction and enhanced syngas production, deNOx reactions, microbial fuel cell electrodes) or overall gas cleaning. Indeed, specific end-user applications have different requirements for biochar properties, and these properties are noticeably affected by production technology, process conditions, feedstock type and post modifications (e.g., activation processes).

Considering the current interest and the several positive features of biochar, this Special Issue is dedicated to collecting high-quality research on biochar preparation technologies and applications, including technical, scientific, economic and environmental topics

Dr. Catarina Nobre
Prof. Dr. Paulo Brito
Dr. Gonçalo Lourinho
Dr. Octávio Alves
Guest Editors

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