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Past, present, and future of biochar

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Abstract

After entering the twenty-first century, biochar has become a focal point of multidisciplinary research because of its special characteristics, broad application, and promising development prospects. Basic and applied research on the application of biochar in the areas of agriculture, environment, and energy have increased dramatically in the face of food security, environmental pollution, and energy shortage. Although there are some disputes about biochar research, many studies have demonstrated the importance of biochar research from the perspective of scientific advancement and practical application. This paper briefly recalls the history of biochar application; introduces research progress on the basic characteristics of biochar and its associated production technologies; summarizes the research status and existing problems of biochar application in the areas of agriculture, environment, and energy; and analyzes the potential problems and development trends of biochar research in the future.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Earmarked Fund for Modern Agro-industry Technology Research System, China (Project No. CARS-01-46), the National Key Research and Development Program, China (Project No. 2017YFD0200800), the Innovative Talents Promotion Plan of Ministry of Science and Technology, China (No. 2017RA2211) and the Project of Promoting Talents in Liaoning Province, China (XLYC1802094). We thank Kim McGrouther for her constructive comments on the manuscript.

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  1. Biochar Engineering and Technology Research Center, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, 110866, People’s Republic of China

    Wenfu Chen, Jun Meng, Xiaori Han, Yu Lan & Weiming Zhang

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  1. Wenfu Chen
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  2. Jun Meng
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  3. Xiaori Han
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Correspondence to Wenfu Chen.

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Chen, W., Meng, J., Han, X. et al. Past, present, and future of biochar. Biochar 1, 75–87 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42773-019-00008-3

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