Biochar Production for Green Economy

Biochar Production for Green Economy: Agricultural and Environmental Perspectives addresses the advancements and developments for the efficient diversification of biochar toward achieving improved agricultural and environmental benefits.  This comprehensive and cohesive volume is the first to address the potential multi-and transdisciplinary opportunities of effective biochar production and use.

Including the potential applicability of not only crop waste biochar but weeds, agroforestry, agroindustry, municipal waste, as well chapters explore surface modified, enriched or tailored biochar for soil amendment, GHGs mitigation, bioremediation of organic, inorganic, metals and other emerging pollutants, as well as soil remediation. It also covers the trending multidisciplinary approaches of nanotechnology, surface chemistry and thermal decomposition advancements being adopted for capacity enhancement and versatile applicability in the field of agriculture, environment science and green energy synthesis. Composition and characteristics of tailored biochar, their interactions, and transformation into the soil and water ecosystem are illustrated.

This book is a valuable resource for those pursuing biochar related areas as well as those seeking environmentally sustainable solutions to crop, soil or water issues.

• Includes aspects of advancement in pyrolysis techniques to produce cost-effective, high quality pyrolysis products and their multipurpose applications
• Highlights biochar’s role in boosting the circular bioeconomy, carbon footprint, GHGs mitigation, and environmental sustainability high-quality visual representation
• Compiles the trending multidisciplinary approach of nanotechnology, magnetic field, surface tailoring, and engineering for efficient and sustainable development goals

Dr. Shiv Vendra Singh (M.Sc. (Ag.) in Agronomy from N.D. University of Agriculture & Technology, Ayodhya, India. doctoral degree in Agronomy from G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India) is an assistant professor at Graphic Era Hill University, Dehradun, India. He has research experience in the field of biochar based nitrogenous fertilizers production, biochar enrichment, soil quality enhancement, carbon sequestration, GHGs emission and carbon footprint mitigation under biochar-based rice-wheat production system. Besides, he has received the reputed awards and fellowships from state and national agencies (e.g., Vice-Chancellor Gold Medal, NDUAT, Ayodhya; INSPIRE Fellowship, DST, GOI; Prize in National Essay Writing on Waste to Wealth by Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, GOI; Young Scientist Award, UCOST-Uttarakhand State Science & Technology Council, Uttarakhand; Student Excellence Award, GBPUAT, Pantnagar, INDIA).

Dr. Ram Swaroop Meena was born into a farming family and is working in the Department of Agronomy at the Institute of Agricultural Sciences (IAS), Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. With an excellent academic background, he has been elected a fellow of several academies, including the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI), the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS), the National Academy of Biological Sciences (NABS), the Indian Society of Agronomy (ISA), and the Society for Rapeseed-Mustard Research (SRMR). The Ministry of Education has also awarded him the Raman Fellowship for the USA under World Food Prize Laureate Prof. Rattan Lal, and he was an INSA visiting scientist at ISARC-IRRI (IRRI South Asia Regional Center-The International Rice Research Institute). Additionally, he has been listed among the world’s top 2% of scientists for his research impact. He has guided PhD and master’s students and completed 10 externally funded projects from IRRI, The ‘Institute of Eminence’ (IoE)-Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) Department of Science and Technology (DST), The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Ministry of Education (MOE), The Government of India (GOI). He has published books, at an international level (Springer, Elsevier, etc.). He has made significant research contributions to natural resource management and to farm and industrial waste recycling for soil health. Dr. Meena's research evaluates energy flow, atmospheric CO₂ capture, carbon credit and auditing, and eco-friendly techniques for a sustainable food system and soil regeneration, as evidenced by high-impact publications and extension work at the farmer level. His work is crucial for understanding the long-term stability of soil carbon, which enhances soil microbial and nutrient dynamics in rice-based diversified cropping systems. He trained farmers from the Deep Forest Tribe to adopt climate-smart practices to secure their livelihoods under the DST-SEED grant project. Dr. Meena has also contributed to agricultural extension activities in villages designated under the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India's initiative. His future work aims to reduce soil organic carbon oxidation and enhance its stability in agroecosystems, enabling farmers to benefit from carbon credits and generate additional income.

Dr. Sandip Mandal is a Senior Scientist in ICAR-Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal, India. He possesses nearly 17 years of research experience in the field of biochar and bioenergy, biochar production, biochar enrichment, carbon sequestration. He has published 61 scientific publications including 29 full-length articles, 9 book chapters, and 23 other technical and popular articles. He has been selected as NAAS Associate in the year 2021. He was also awarded with prestigious NRDC Societal Innovation Award 2018, Jawaharlal Nehru Award for Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Research in Agricultural and Allied Sciences in 2019 by ICAR, As a scientist, he has been associated with the development of multiple improved farm machinery and Bio-energy technologies including significant contributions towards hill agriculture and Biochar for C- sequestration and soil health improvement and enriched biochar for soil amendment.

Dr Chaturvedi has over 15 years experience in research, teaching and extension education in Agronomy and Agroforestry. He is an Associate Professor in Department of Agronomy, GBPUAT, Pantnagar, and also holds administrative position such as Nodal Officer, ICAR Cell and Assistant Coordinator, Planning & Technical Cell, VC’s Office, GBPUAT. Presently, he is associated with about 20 research projects from different government and non-government agencies, notable among them are Designing controlled release fertilizer utilizing agriwaste biochar, funded by NICRA, ICAR; AICRP-IFS; AICRP-Agroforestry; Morpho-physiological and Biochemical characterization and mitigation of Terminal Heat in Wheat, USCost, Uttarakhand and FIST, DST, GoI etc. He has various awards to his credits; notable are Chancellor gold medal (1999), 4 vice-chancellor gold medal (1999), Best Oral Presentation Award, Best Editor Award (2017) in international event, Faculty Excellence Award-2017 and ISA-Indian Associateship Award (2018) and Dr P S Deshmukh Young Agronomist Award-2017 (2021) from ISA, New Delhi.

Scientist E/Associate Professor Govindaraju K. works at the Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology in Chennai, India.