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Water uptake in biochars: The roles of porosity and hydrophobicity

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  • We assessed the effects of porosity and hydrophobicity on water uptake by biochars. Biochars were produced from two feedstocks (hazelnut shells and Douglas fir chips) at three production temperatures (370°C, 500°C, and 620°C). To distinguish the effects of porosity from the effects of hydrophobicity, we compared uptake of water to uptake of ethanol (which is completely wetting and not affected by hydrophobic materials). For both feedstocks, low temperature biochars took up less water than high temperature biochars but the same amount of ethanol, suggesting that differences in water uptake based on production temperature reflect differences in surface hydrophobicity, not porosity. Conversely, Douglas fir biochars took up more water than hazelnut shell biochars due to greater porosity. Thus, designing biochars for water holding applications requires two considerations: (a) creating sufficient porosity through feedstock selection, and (b) determining a production temperature that reduces hydrophobicity to an acceptable level.
  • Keywords: Hydrophobicity, Porosity, Biochar, Water uptake, FTIR
  • Keywords: Hydrophobicity, Porosity, Biochar, Water uptake, FTIR
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  • Gray, M., Johnson, M. G., Dragila, M. I., & Kleber, M. (2014). Water uptake in biochars: The roles of porosity and hydrophobicity. Biomass and Bioenergy, 61, 196-205. doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2013.12.010
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  • 61
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  • This research was supported by grants from the WesternRegional Center of the Sun Grant Initiative and from theAgricultural Research Foundation at Oregon State University.MK further acknowledges support through a researchfellowship from the Institute of Soil Landscape Research,Leibniz—Center for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF),15374 Muencheberg, Germany. The information in this document has beenfunded in part by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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