Life cycle assessment of greenhouse gas emissions for various feedstocks-based biochars as soil amendment

Anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are a major factor influencing climate change. The application of biochar as a soil amendment may be an effective way to reduce GHG emissions. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is widely used to assess the impact of biochar as a soil amendment on GHG emissions. The methodology is effective in assessing the impacts of the various stages of the biochar life cycle on GHG emissions. However, because of the diversity of biochar types, it is difficult to summarize the regularity of biochar life cycle impacts on GHG emissions. This paper summarizes the pathways of biochar's effect on GHG emissions and in-depth analyzes the mechanism of biochar's influence on GHG emissions from the perspective of biochar properties. Finally, the review comprehensively analyzes the effects of different types of biochar feedstock on GHG emissions at the stages of feedstock pretreatment, preparation, and application of the life cycle. The conclusions are as follows: (1) Biochar affects GHG emissions in three ways: feedstock supply, pyrolysis process, and application process. (2) The impact of biochar on GHG emissions is influenced by a combination of the physicochemical properties of biochar. (3) Biochar has a positive impact (feedstock pretreatment stage and preparation stage) or a negative impact (application stage) on life cycle GHG emissions. (4) The carbon sequestration capacity of biochar varies by feedstock type. The ranking of carbon sequestration capacity is waste wood biochar (WWB) > crop straw biochar (CSB) > livestock manure biochar (LMB) > sewage sludge biochar (SSB).