Effects of Biochar and Nitrogen Application on Rice Biomass Saccharification, Bioethanol Yield and Cell Wall Polymers Features

oleh: Izhar Ali, Muhammad Adnan, Anas Iqbal, Saif Ullah, Muhammad Rafiullah Khan, Pengli Yuan, Hua Zhang, Jamal Nasar, Minghua Gu, Ligeng Jiang

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2022-11-01

Deskripsi

Rice is a major food crop that produces abundant biomass wastes for biofuels. To improve rice biomass and yield, nitrogen (N) fertilizer is excessively used, which is not eco-friendly. Alternatively, biochar (B) application is favored to improve rice biomass and yield under low chemical fertilizers. To minimize the reliance on N fertilizer, we applied four B levels (0, 10, 20, and 30 t B ha<sup>−1</sup>) combined with two N rates (low-135 and high-180 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>) to improve biomass yield. Results showed that compared to control, the combined B at 20–30 t ha<sup>−1</sup> with low N application significantly improved plant dry matter and arabinose (Ara%), while decreasing cellulose crystallinity (Crl), degree of polymerization (DP), and the ratio of xylose/arabinose (Xyl/Ara), resulting in high hexoses (% cellulose) and bioethanol yield (% dry matter). We concluded that B coupled with N can alter cell wall polymer features in paddy rice resulting in high biomass saccharification and bioethanol production.