1
|
Benchaar C, Hassanat F, Côrtes C. Assessment of the Effects of Commercial or Locally Engineered Biochars Produced from Different Biomass Sources and Differing in Their Physical and Chemical Properties on Rumen Fermentation and Methane Production In Vitro. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:3280. [PMID: 37894004 PMCID: PMC10603727 DOI: 10.3390/ani13203280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
In recent years, interest in using biochar as feed additives to mitigate enteric methane (CH4) emissions from ruminants has increased. It has been suggested that the mitigating potential of biochar is influenced by its physical (e.g., porosity-related) and chemical (e.g., redox-potential-related) properties. Thus, the aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the effects of commercial or locally engineered biochars, produced from different biomass sources and differing in their physical and chemical characteristics, on rumen fermentation and CH4 production. For this purpose, a 24 h batch culture of ruminal fluid incubations was conducted in a complete randomized block design (repeated three times) that included a negative control (no additive), a positive control (monensin, 10 mg/mL), and four commercial and three locally engineered biochars, each evaluated at 1%, 2%, or 5% of the substrate's (i.e., the total mixed ration) dry matter. The evaluated biochars greatly differ in their chemical (i.e., moisture, ash, pH, redox potential, volatiles, carbon, fixed carbon, hydrogen, and sulfur) and physical (i.e., fine particles < 250 µm, bulk density, true density, porosity, electrical conductivity, specific surface area, and absorbed CO2) properties. Despite these differences and compared with the negative control, none of the biochars evaluated (regardless of the inclusion rate) influenced gas and CH4 production, volatile fatty acid characteristics (total concentration and profile), or ammonia-nitrogen (NH3-N) concentrations. As expected, monensin (i.e., the positive control) decreased (p < 0.05) CH4 production mainly because of a decreased (p < 0.05) acetate-to-propionate ratio. The results of this study reveal that despite the large differences in the physical and chemical properties of the biochars evaluated, their inclusion at different rates in vitro failed to modify rumen fermentation and decrease CH4 production. Based on these in vitro findings, it was concluded that biochar does not represent a viable strategy for mitigating enteric CH4 emissions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chaouki Benchaar
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Sherbrooke Research and Development Centre, Sherbrooke, QC J1M 0C8, Canada
| | - Fadi Hassanat
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Quebec Research and Development Centre, Quebec, QC G1V 2J3, Canada;
| | | |
Collapse
|
2
|
Romero CM, Redman AAPH, Owens J, Terry SA, Ribeiro GO, Gorzelak MA, Oldenburg TBP, Hazendonk P, Larney FJ, Hao X, Okine E, McAllister TA. Effects of feeding a pine-based biochar to beef cattle on subsequent manure nutrients, organic matter composition and greenhouse gas emissions. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 812:152267. [PMID: 34902397 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Revised: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 12/04/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Biochar in ruminant diets is being assessed as a method for simultaneously improving animal production and reducing enteric CH4 emissions, but little is known about subsequent biochar-manure interactions post-excretion. We examined chemical properties, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and organic matter (OM) composition during farm scale stockpiling (SP) or composting (CP) of manure from cattle that either received a pine-based biochar in their diet (BM) or did not (RM). Manure piles were monitored hourly for temperature and weekly for top surface CO2, N2O and CH4 fluxes over 90 d in a semiarid location near Lethbridge, AB, Canada. Results indicate that cumulative CO2, N2O and CH4 emissions were not affected by biochar, implying that BM was as labile as RM. The pH, total C (TC), NO3-N and Olsen P were also not influenced by biochar, although it was observed that NH4-N and OM extractability were both 13% lower in BM than RM. Solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) showed that biochar increased stockpile/compost aromaticity, yet it did not alter the bulk C speciation of manure OM. Further analysis by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) revealed that dissolved OM was enriched by strongly reduced chemical constituents, with BM providing more humic-like OM precursors than RM. Inclusion of a pine-based biochar in cattle diets to generate BM is consistent with current trends in the circular economy, "closing the loop" in agricultural supply chains by returning C-rich organic amendments to croplands. Stockpiling/composting the resulting BM, however, may not provide a clear advantage over directly mixing low levels of biochar with manure. Further research is required to validate BM as a tool to reduce the C footprint of livestock waste management.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Carlos M Romero
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, Canada; Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, 5403-1st Ave. S., Lethbridge, AB T1J 4B1, Canada.
| | - Abby-Ann P H Redman
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, Canada; Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, 5403-1st Ave. S., Lethbridge, AB T1J 4B1, Canada
| | - Jen Owens
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, 5403-1st Ave. S., Lethbridge, AB T1J 4B1, Canada
| | - Stephanie A Terry
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, 5403-1st Ave. S., Lethbridge, AB T1J 4B1, Canada
| | - Gabriel O Ribeiro
- Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A8, Canada
| | - Monika A Gorzelak
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, 5403-1st Ave. S., Lethbridge, AB T1J 4B1, Canada
| | - Thomas B P Oldenburg
- Petroleum Reservoir Group, Department of Geoscience, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Paul Hazendonk
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, Canada
| | - Francis J Larney
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, 5403-1st Ave. S., Lethbridge, AB T1J 4B1, Canada
| | - Xiying Hao
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, 5403-1st Ave. S., Lethbridge, AB T1J 4B1, Canada
| | - Erasmus Okine
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, Canada
| | - Tim A McAllister
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, 5403-1st Ave. S., Lethbridge, AB T1J 4B1, Canada
| |
Collapse
|