Biochar from pyrolyzed Tibetan Yak dung as a novel additive in ensiling sweet sorghum: An alternate to the hazardous use of Yak dung as a fuel in the home

Bai Y 1 , Rafiq MK 2 , Li S 1 , Degen AA 3 , Mašek O 4 , Sun H 5 Show all authors , Han H 1 , Wang T 1 , Joseph S 6 , Bachmann RT 7 , Sani RK 8 , Long R 1 , Shang Z 9

Affiliations 

  • 1 State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
  • 2 UK Biochar Research Centre, School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Crew Building, King's Buildings, Edinburgh, EH9 3FF, United Kingdom; Rangeland Research Institute, National Agricultural Research Center, Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan
  • 3 Desert Animal Adaptations and Husbandry, Wyler Department of Dryland Agriculture, Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, 8410500, Israel
  • 4 UK Biochar Research Centre, School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Crew Building, King's Buildings, Edinburgh, EH9 3FF, United Kingdom
  • 5 MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China
  • 6 School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
  • 7 Malaysian Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering Technology (MICET), Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL), Lot 1988, Taboh Naning, 78000, Alor Gajah, Melaka, Malaysia
  • 8 Chemical and Biological Engineering, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, 501 E. St. Joseph Street, Rapid City, SD, 57701, United States
  • 9 State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China. Electronic address: shangzhh@lzu.edu.cn
J Hazard Mater, 2021 02 05;403:123647.
PMID: 33264862 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.123647

Abstract

Yak dung is used as fuel in Tibetan homes; however, this use is hazardous to health. An alternative use of the dung that would be profitable and offset the loss as a fuel would be very beneficial. Sweet sorghum silage with yak dung biochar as an additive was compared with a control silage with no additives and three silages with different commercial additives, namely Lactobacillus buchneri, Lactobacillus plantarum and Acremonium cellulase. Biochar-treated silage had a significantly greater concentration of water-soluble carbohydrates than the other silages (76 vs 12.4-45.8 g/kg DM) and a greater crude protein content (75.5 vs 61.4 g/kg DM), lactic acid concentration (40.7 vs 27.7 g/kg DM) and gross energy yield (17.8 vs 17.4 MJ/kg) than the control silage. Biochar-treated and control silages did not differ in in vitro digestibility and in total gas (507 vs 511 L/kg DM) and methane production (57.9 vs 57.1 L/kg DM). Biochar inhibited degradation of protein and water-soluble carbohydrates and enhanced lactic acid production, which improved storability of feed. It was concluded that yak dung biochar is an efficient, cost-effective ensiling additive. The profit could offset the loss of dung as fuel and improve the health of Tibetan people.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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