Maintaining a sustainable food supply without degrading our environment will require novel engineering approaches for remediating the human disruption of the nitrogen cycle. More than half of the nitrogen fertilizer applied to fields is not available for plant growth due to losses caused by surface runoff, leaching into surface and groundwater, or volatilization. As a result, the increased use of nitrogen (N) fertilizer has been linked to a variety of water and air pollution problems. In addition, the denitrification reactions generate significant amounts of N2O, a major greenhouse gas.

    We use computer simulations and experimental studies to elucidate the fundamental mechanisms controlling the transport and reaction of N fertilizers in biochar-amended soils. We are particularly interested in understanding how key biochar properties (porosity, surface chemistry, adsorption capacity) affect water retention, N leaching, the rates of nitrification and denitrification reactions, and the fate of microbial communities that carry out these reactions.

Read more…

• Dynamic Modeling of the Nitrogen Cycle in Biochar-Amended Soils

     National Academy of Engineering: Grand Challenges for Engineering:

• Manage the Nitrogen Cycle

Read our publications…

• Nutrient Transport in Soils Amended with Biochar: A Transient Model with Two Stationary Phases and Intraparticle Diffusion
• Biochar Soil Amendments for Increased Crop Yields: How to Design a “Designer” Biochar