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Enrichment of biochars to produce slow nutrient release fertilizers with minimal losses to the environment is a promising strategy. However, the release of potassium (K) from biochar-based fertilizer produced from sewage sludge (SS) is still poorly studied. In the present 30-day incubation study, the dynamics of K release were evaluated from SS biochar-based fertilizers enriched with potassium chloride (KBF) in different forms, subjected to two levels of silica sand moisture (10 and 20%). The KBF was evaluated in the form of granules, pellets and powder, in addition to pure KCl mineral fertilizer. During the incubation period water-soluble K extractions were performed, where the K contents were adjusted to K release kinetic models. An additional experiment was performed to assess the effect of KBFs and KCl on K leaching. In general, at both moisture levels all KBFs presented a slower K release compared to pure KCl mineral fertilizer, reducing the release rate by up to 77%. The K release dynamics were affected by the type of biochar fertilizer (granule, pellet and powder) and the silica sand moisture level. The behavior of KBFs as slow-release fertilizers is strongly dependent on the silica sand moisture level. At the 10% moisture level, biochar fertilizers in the form of pellets and granules can be classified as slow-release fertilizers with the potential to increase the efficiency of K use in agriculture. Furthermore, compared to the chemical fertilizer, KBF reduced the amount of leached K, diminishing the risk of this nutrient polluting the groundwater. Our results must be further assessed in real conditions using soil as a suitable medium for agronomic and environmental evaluation. Therefore, future studies should consider the dynamic of K and other nutrients from KBFs in distinct soil types.

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The manufacture of asbestos materials has been banished worldwide due to their toxicity, but discarding the existing wastes remains a challenge. We investigated an alternative mechanochemical method to treat asbestos-cement materials by loading them with potassium and phosphorus from KH2PO4 during the milling process to obtain a product used as liming and soil conditioner. The results showed total asbestos fibrous elimination after 7 to 8 h of milling. The materials showed a slow-release fertilizer profile. The liming property is maintained when the asbestos-cement weight proportion used is equal to or higher than KH2PO4. A comparative soil experiment with limestone also indicates that lower doses of the K- and P-enriched detoxified asbestos cement were required to reach similar liming effects. Maize cultivation (greenhouse) was used to evaluate its performance showing higher biomass production for the sample loaded with potassium and phosphorous.

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Incorporation of phosphorus (P) into an organic matrix may be an effective strategy to increase plant P use efficiency in high P-fixing soils. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of biochar-based fertilizers (BBFs), produced from poultry litter (PLB) and coffee husk (CHB) enriched with phosphoric acid and magnesium oxide, in combination with triple superphosphate (TSP) on plant growth and soil P transformations. Treatments were prepared as: TSP, CHB, PLB, CHB + TSP [1:1], CHB + TSP [3:1], PLB + TSP [1:1] and PLB + TSP [3:1]; with numbers in brackets representing the proportion of BBF and TSP on a weight basis. Cultivations were: Mombasa grass, maize, and common bean interspersed with fallow periods. After cultivations, a sequential extraction procedure was employed to determine P distribution among different P pools. A kinetic study was performed and revealed that TSP released approximately 90% of total P, and BBFs less than 10% in the first hour. BBF alone or in combination with TSP presented higher or similar biomass yields, relative agronomic effectiveness, and P uptake when compared with TSP. As for the soil, BBFs increased non-labile P fractions, which can be due to pyrophosphate formed during pyrolysis. According to these results, BBFs could totally or partially replace conventional soluble P fertilizers without compromising crop yield either in the short and long-term.

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Water-soluble phosphate fertilizers release phosphorus (P) to soils promptly, causing P fixation and low plant availability in highly weathered tropical soils. Therefore, the development of strategies to improve P use efficiency is needed. We hypothesized that biochar-based fertilizers (BBFs) can provide available P to plants and improve P use efficiency when compared with soluble fertilizers. Thus, triple superphosphate (TSP) and phosphoric acid (H3PO4) were pyrolyzed with and without magnesium oxide (MgO) and poultry litter to produce slow-release P BBFs. A pot experiment under greenhouse conditions was performed to evaluate agronomic efficiency of BBFs compared with TSP in an Oxisol. The treatments were incubated over 100 days after the application of 25, 50, 100, and 200 mg kg-1 of P. Three controls were used, including 200 mg kg-1 of P as TSP incubated for 100 days (named TSPincubation) and applied immediately before sowing (named TSPplanting) and a negative control (without P). Marandu grass (Urochloa brizantha cv. Marandu) was cultivated in pots for three cycles of 40 days each. After cultivation, a sequential extraction procedure was used to determine the P distribution among different P pools. The shoot dry matter yield in the first cropping cycle was higher at the highest P rate for TSPplanting. PLB-H3PO4-MgO showed 9% increase in the shoot dry matter when compared with TSPincubation in the first cropping cycle. In subsequent cropping cycles, all BBFs promoted higher biomass yield when compared with TSPplanting. There was an increase in the labile and moderately labile P fractions in soil after cultivation with PLB-TSP. The results suggest that BBFs can enhance P use efficiency in tropical soils in the middle- to long-term run due to slow-release profile that prevent P fixation and promote higher residual effect of fertilization.

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Hydrothermal carbonization transforms biomass into value-added material called hydrochar. The release of nutrients (P, N, Ca, Mg, and K) and organic carbon (TOC) from hydrochar in different extractive solutions was investigated in this study. Two sets of hydrochar were produced: (i) hydrochar prepared from sugarcane bagasse and vinasse mixture (BV-HC) and (ii) hydrochar prepared by the addition of H3PO4 to this mixture (BVA-HC). Both hydrochar types released significative amounts of nutrient and organic carbon, mainly Ca (5.0 mg g-1) in the mixture (KCl, K2SO4, NaOH, 1:1:1) extractive solution and TOC (72.6 mg g-1) in the NaOH extractive solution, for BV-HC. Nutrient release was influenced by pH and ionic strength. The release of P, Ca, and Mg was affected by the presence of insoluble phosphate phases in BVA-HC. The release of nutrients P, N, Ca, Mg, and K and organic carbon demonstrated that hydrochar has potential for soil application purposes.

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Neste trabalho, objetivou-se comparar épocas e doses de aplicação do superfosfato triplo (SFT) cloreto de potássio (KCl) com e sem revestimento por polímero no desempenho produtivo da soja em condições edafoclimáticas de cerrado. O experimento foi realizado em Rio Verde, GO, em um Latossolo Vermelho distroférrico. Os tratamentos foram dispostos em delineamento de blocos ao acaso, em esquema fatorial 2x2x2+1. O primeiro fator foi constituído pelos fertilizantes SFT e KCl revestidos ou não por polímeros, o segundo por duas doses de fósforo e potássio (40 + 40 e 80 + 80 kg ha-1 P2O5 e K2O), e o terceiro, por duas épocas de aplicação dos fertilizantes (15 dias antes da semeadura e na semeadura). Inclui-se ainda, um tratamento testemunha sem adubação. Foi avaliada a produção de biomassa, a produtividade de grãos e componentes de produtividade. Houve resposta à aplicação da adubação com P e K na produção de massa fresca e produtividade, sendo a ausência de adubação prejudicial ao desenvolvimento da cultura da soja. A aplicação a lanço de superfosfato triplo e cloreto de potássio, revestidos por polímeros 15 dias antes da semeadura, proporcionou maior produção de massa seca, número de vagens por planta e produtividade de grãos de soja em relação aos fertilizantes convencionais. Quando aplicados na semeadura, os fertilizantes convencionais e fertilizantes revestidos por polímeros conferiram a mesma produção de massa seca e produtividade de grãos de soja.

The objetive of this work was to compare times and application rates of triple superphosphate (TSF) and potassium chloride (KCl) with and without polymer coating on soybean yield performance in the cerrado environmental conditions. The experiment was conducted in Rio Verde, GO, in an Oxisol. Treatments were arranged in a randomized block design, in factorial 2x2x2+1. The first factor consisted by fertilizer TSF and KCl coated or not by polymer, the second by two doses of phosphorus and potassium (40 + 40 and 80 + 80 kg ha-1 P2O5 and K2O, respectively), and the third by two times of application fertilizer (15 days before sowing and at sowing). It also includes a treatment control without fertilization. Biomass yield, grain yield and yield components were evaluated. There was a response to the application of fertilizer P and K in fresh mass production and productivity, with the absence of fertilizer detrimental to the development of soybean. The broadcast application of superphosphate and potassium chloride coated polymer 15 days before sowing promoted dry matter yield, number of pods per plant and grain yield of soybeans compared to conventional fertilizer. When applied at sowing, the conventional fertilizer and slow release fertilizers promoted the same dry matter yield and grain yield of soybeans.