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Potentially Massive And Global Non-Pyrogenic Production Of Condensed "Black" Carbon Through Biomass Oxidation, Aleksandar I. Goranov, Hongmei Chen, Jianshu Duan, Satish C. B. Myneni, Patrick G. Hatcher Jan 2024

Potentially Massive And Global Non-Pyrogenic Production Of Condensed "Black" Carbon Through Biomass Oxidation, Aleksandar I. Goranov, Hongmei Chen, Jianshu Duan, Satish C. B. Myneni, Patrick G. Hatcher

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

With the increased occurrences of wildfires worldwide, there has been an increase in scientific interest surrounding the chemistry of fire-derived "black" carbon (BC). Traditionally, wildfire research has assumed that condensed aromatic carbon (ConAC) is exclusively produced via combustion, and thus, ConAC is equated to BC. However, the lack of correlations between ConAC in soils or rivers and wildfire history suggests that ConAC may be produced non-pyrogenically. Here, we show quantitative evidence that this occurs during the oxidation of biomass with environmentally ubiquitous hydroxyl radicals. Pine wood boards exposed to iron nails and natural weather conditions for 12 years yielded a …


Multnomah County 2000-2016 Forest Carbon Inventory & Trends. Strategies For Maintaining & Increasing Carbon Storage On County Forestlands To Meet Regional Climate Goals, Anthony Z. Holmes Feb 2023

Multnomah County 2000-2016 Forest Carbon Inventory & Trends. Strategies For Maintaining & Increasing Carbon Storage On County Forestlands To Meet Regional Climate Goals, Anthony Z. Holmes

PSU McNair Scholars Online Journal

In attempting to meet the aims of the 2015 Climate Action Plan to reduce countywide CO2 emissions by 40% over 1990 levels by 2030 and 80% by 2050, Multnomah County has sought to better understand the role county forest lands play in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, by conducting a forest carbon inventory and projection of carbon flux under a "business as usual" scenario for aboveground biomass. This report relies on two estimates for the 5 forest carbon pools recognized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), these include estimates published as part of the Oregon Forest Ecosystem Carbon Inventory …


Direct Air Capture: Catalyzing A Carbon Negative Future, Tagg K. Lee Jan 2023

Direct Air Capture: Catalyzing A Carbon Negative Future, Tagg K. Lee

Civil and Environmental Engineering Publications

Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology has emerged as a promising means to address the escalating challenges of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels and mitigate climate change. This paper provides an elementary overview of DAC, encompassing its underlying principles, technological advancements, and associated challenges. Point Source Carbon Capture is compared against Direct Air Capture with a solid or liquid sorbent, and physisorbents/chemisorbents are outlined. The past decade has seen a steep rise in the usage of chemical sorbents in particular, which are explored alongside their regeneration processes. This review provides an introductory explanation for the mechanisms of common DAC …


Characterization Of Biochar As A Carbon Regulator In Manure And Environmental Management Applications, Josephine Getz Jan 2022

Characterization Of Biochar As A Carbon Regulator In Manure And Environmental Management Applications, Josephine Getz

Doctoral

Biochar is a product of pyrolysis, which is the thermal decomposition of materials at elevated temperatures (300 - 900 °C) in an oxygen-limited atmosphere. Biochar has been recognized as a potentially vital tool to help reduce the climate change impact. It has been used in the agricultural sector as an addition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in several animal husbandry settings. The application in the animal sector is an important point to reduce the overall amount of greenhouse gases released as this sector produces many greenhouse gases. Though not in every case a reduction of emissions was the result of …


Interactive Effects Of Hydrology And Fire Drive Differential Biogeochemical Legacies In Subtropical Wetlands, Andrea Nocentini, John S. Kominoski, Jay Sah Mar 2021

Interactive Effects Of Hydrology And Fire Drive Differential Biogeochemical Legacies In Subtropical Wetlands, Andrea Nocentini, John S. Kominoski, Jay Sah

All Faculty

Fire is an important component of many ecosystems, as it impacts biodiversity, biogeochemical cycles, and primary production. In wetlands, fire interacts with hydrologic regimes and other ecosystem characteristics to determine soil carbon (C) gains or losses and rates of nutrient cycling. However, how legacies of fire interact with wetland hydroperiod to affect soil chemistry is uncertain. We used the Florida Everglades as a model landscape to study how fire regimes, hydroperiod, and soil types collectively contribute to long-term C, nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) concentrations and stoichiometric mass ratios (C:N, C:P, N:P) in both short- and long-hydroperiod subtropical wetlands that …


Ecosystem-Scale Biogeochemical Fluxes From Three Bioenergy Crop Candidates: How Energy Sorghum Compares To Maize And Miscanthus, Caitlin E. Moore, Adam C. Von Haden, Mark B. Burnham, Ilsa B. Kantola, Christy D. Gibson, Bethany J. Blakely, Evan C. Dracup, Michael D. Masters, Wendy H. Yang, Evan H. Delucia, Carl J. Bernacchi Mar 2021

Ecosystem-Scale Biogeochemical Fluxes From Three Bioenergy Crop Candidates: How Energy Sorghum Compares To Maize And Miscanthus, Caitlin E. Moore, Adam C. Von Haden, Mark B. Burnham, Ilsa B. Kantola, Christy D. Gibson, Bethany J. Blakely, Evan C. Dracup, Michael D. Masters, Wendy H. Yang, Evan H. Delucia, Carl J. Bernacchi

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Perennial crops have been the focus of bioenergy research and development for their sustainability benefits associated with high soil carbon (C) and reduced nitrogen (N) requirements. However, perennial crops mature over several years and their sustainability benefits can be negated through land reversion. A photoperiod-sensitive energy sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) may provide an annual crop alternative more ecologically sustainable than maize (Zea mays) that can more easily integrate into crop rotations than perennials, such as miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus). This study presents an ecosystem-scale comparison of C, N, water and energy fluxes from energy sorghum, maize and miscanthus during a typical …


Soil Carbon Conservation, Land Use Change, And Sustainable Agriculture In The Peruvian Amazon, Julia L. Petty Jan 2021

Soil Carbon Conservation, Land Use Change, And Sustainable Agriculture In The Peruvian Amazon, Julia L. Petty

UVM Honors College Senior Theses

The task of integrating the scattered needs of both people and nature at a multitude of scales remains daunting in the field of environmental science. This study examined one facet of this pursuit by determining the potential sustainability and ecosystem services provided by a proposed agroforestry initiative in Loreto, Peru. Specifically, the study evaluates the mechanisms and dynamics of soil carbon sequestration as a response to land use change in the Peruvian Amazon. Both fine root biomass and soil organic carbon (SOC)- measured as loss-on-ignition- was analyzed over a vertical gradient in a primary tropical forest, a traditional slash-and-burn cultivated …


Biomass-Derived Nanoporous Carbon With High Surface Area For Practical Applications, Junayet Hossain Khan Jan 2018

Biomass-Derived Nanoporous Carbon With High Surface Area For Practical Applications, Junayet Hossain Khan

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Porous materials especially nanoporous carbon, appear especially attractive due to their high specific surface area, well-defined pore structure, high thermal and chemical stability, intrinsic high electrical conductivity, low density and wide availability. In the search for renewable, environmental friendly, cheap, abundant precursors for nanoporous carbon, biomass has been the most promising material, and the nanoporous carbon derived from it has been implemented in energy storage devices and environmental applications, as well as in biomedical sites. Among the various types of biomass, jute fiber, being the world’s second most produced natural fiber, with a 2.8 million metric tons produced each year, …


Using Ancient Practices To Fix Modern Problems: The Effect Of Biochar On Einkorn Wheat And Soil Quality, Sarah L. Miller May 2017

Using Ancient Practices To Fix Modern Problems: The Effect Of Biochar On Einkorn Wheat And Soil Quality, Sarah L. Miller

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

As farmland soils become more and more depleted, the importance of effective soil amendments grows. Biochar is a potential soil and carbon amendment that could improve water and nutrient holding capacity and foster growth of beneficial microbes and fungi. Biochar does not contain nutrients but acts like a sponge, absorbing nutrients around it. It is so effective at holding nutrients that in the first year, if applied alone, it can make the nutrients unavailable to plants and lowers crop yields. To get the best results biochar must be saturated, also referred to as inoculated or charged, with nutrients. Once the …


Activated Carbon Decreases Invasive Plant Growth By Mediating Plant-Microbe Interactions, Nicole E. Nolan May 2014

Activated Carbon Decreases Invasive Plant Growth By Mediating Plant-Microbe Interactions, Nicole E. Nolan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

To restore lands invaded by dense, non-native vegetation, it may be necessary to develop targeted restoration tools than can remove the mechanism used by these non-native species as a competitive advantage. Activated carbon (AC) is one such tool, with the ability to disrupt the mechanisms of plant to plant communication (allelopathy) and positive plant to microbe communication commonly used by non-native species. Previous studies have shown the success of high concentrations, 1000g/m2, of AC in native plant community restoration on a small scale. Here, our goals are twofold: first, to test AC effectiveness in restoring desirable plant communities …


Biofuels From Crop Residue Can Reduce Soil Carbon And Increase Co2 Emissions, Adam J. Liska, Haishun Yang, Maribeth Milner, Steve Goddard, Humberto Blanco-Canqui, Matthew P. Pelton, Xiao X. Fang, Haitao Zhu, Andrew E. Suyker Apr 2014

Biofuels From Crop Residue Can Reduce Soil Carbon And Increase Co2 Emissions, Adam J. Liska, Haishun Yang, Maribeth Milner, Steve Goddard, Humberto Blanco-Canqui, Matthew P. Pelton, Xiao X. Fang, Haitao Zhu, Andrew E. Suyker

Adam Liska Papers

Removal of corn residue for biofuels can decrease soil organic carbon(SOC) and increase CO2 emissions because residue C in biofuels is oxidized to CO2 at a faster rate than when added to soil. Net CO2 emissions from residue removal are not adequately characterized in biofuel life cycle assessment (LCA). Here we used a model to estimate CO2 emissions from corn residue removal across the US Corn Belt at 580 million geospatial cells. To test the SOC model, we compared estimated daily CO2 emissions from corn residue and soil with CO2 emissions measured using eddy covariance, …


Aquatic Priming Effects In The York River Estuary And Implications For Dissolved Organic Carbon Mineralization, Thomas M. Dunlap Jan 2014

Aquatic Priming Effects In The York River Estuary And Implications For Dissolved Organic Carbon Mineralization, Thomas M. Dunlap

Theses and Dissertations

The priming effect (PE), characterized as the enhanced microbial processing of bio-recalcitrant organic matter with the addition of labile substrates, has been hypothesized to moderate carbon (C) cycling in aquatic systems. In this study, aquatic PEs were evaluated through bacterial respiration and dissolved organic C consumption in incubations of water collected from three locations along the York River estuary. Incubations from White’s Landing on the Pamunkey River, a tidal freshwater tributary of the York, and from Croaker Landing in the middle of the estuary, displayed positive PEs when amended with labile C. In contrast, amended incubations from Gloucester Point, near …


Effects Of Activated Carbon Surface Chemistry Modification On The Adsorption Of Mercury From Aqueous Solution, Emily K. Faulconer Jan 2012

Effects Of Activated Carbon Surface Chemistry Modification On The Adsorption Of Mercury From Aqueous Solution, Emily K. Faulconer

Publications

Mercury (Hg), a naturally occurring element, is toxic and can lead to negative health impacts for humans and ecosystems. Activated carbon adsorption is effective in treating Hg-laden aqueous effluent for safe discharge. Two modifications of commercially available activated carbon were investigated: iron impregnation to allow for magnetic sorbent recapture and wet chemical oxidation to enhance aqueous Hg capture. The modified carbons were characterized by nitrogen adsorption-desorption, XRD, pHpzc, vibrating sample magnetometry, elemental analysis, and total acidity titration. The 3:1 C:Fe magnetic powdered activated carbon (MPAC) retained a high surface area of 790 m2 /g and was 95% magnetically recoverable, with …


Litter-Carbon Dynamics: The Importance Of Decomposition, Accretion, And Sequestration In Understanding Ecosystem Carbon Cycling, Amy Kochsiek Jan 2010

Litter-Carbon Dynamics: The Importance Of Decomposition, Accretion, And Sequestration In Understanding Ecosystem Carbon Cycling, Amy Kochsiek

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The atmospheric CO2 concentration has been increasing since the industrial revolution. A proposed mitigation strategy is sequestering carbon (C) in terrestrial ecosystems, either in plant biomass or soil organic matter. The litter-C pool is the second largest C pool in agroecosystems post-harvest, and the amount of litter-C loss has been correlated with ecosystem respiration. Yet, the potential importance of the litter pool as one of the major C pools in a system is relatively unknown. We do, however, know that the size of the litter pool can be affected by increases or decreases in both litter-C production and decomposition, …