IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/engenv/v36y2025i5p2111-2130.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Comparative evaluation of biochar produced from laboratory waste media using different thermochemical methods and its potential in plant growth promoting properties

Author

Listed:
  • Priyanka Wagh
  • S. Mari Selvam
  • Balasubramanian Paramasivan
  • Neelu Nawani
  • Viniti Vaidya

Abstract

The disposal of laboratory waste, especially microbiology media, is a growing concern due to its potential environmental impact. In this study, the conversion of laboratory waste, specifically nutrient agar media, into biochar using three different pyrolysis methods: conventional tube pyrolysis, biomass gasification, and microwave-assisted pyrolysis has been explored. Microwave pyrolysis of biomass resulted in higher biochar yield (63.85%) than conventional pyrolysis (58.16%) and gasification (32.18%). The obtained biochar has been subjected to different analytical techniques to understand the comparative differences in characteristics. Conventional pyrolysis yields the most negative zeta potential (−27.5 mV), whereas biomass gasification results in −16.7 mV, and microwave-derived biochar produces −7.5 mV to −4.8 mV, indicating diverse colloidal stability, anionic character, and potential for tailored soil applications. In plant growth experiments, the application of conventionally pyrolyzed biochar demonstrated superior performance, with the highest germination percentage (84.62%) and significantly longer shoot lengths ( p  

Suggested Citation

  • Priyanka Wagh & S. Mari Selvam & Balasubramanian Paramasivan & Neelu Nawani & Viniti Vaidya, 2025. "Comparative evaluation of biochar produced from laboratory waste media using different thermochemical methods and its potential in plant growth promoting properties," Energy & Environment, , vol. 36(5), pages 2111-2130, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:engenv:v:36:y:2025:i:5:p:2111-2130
    DOI: 10.1177/0958305X241293738
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0958305X241293738
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0958305X241293738?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:engenv:v:36:y:2025:i:5:p:2111-2130. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.