Assessment of the Effects of Commercial or Locally Engineered Biochars Produced from Different Biomass Sources and Differing in Their Physical and Chemical Properties on Rumen Fermentation and Methane Production In Vitro
In recent years, interest in using biochar as feed additives to mitigate enteric methane (CH<sub>4</sub>) emissions from ruminants has increased. It has been suggested that the mitigating potential of biochar is influenced by its physical (e.g., porosity-related) and chemical (e.g., redo...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/20/3280 |
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| author | Chaouki Benchaar Fadi Hassanat Cristiano Côrtes |
| author_facet | Chaouki Benchaar Fadi Hassanat Cristiano Côrtes |
| author_sort | Chaouki Benchaar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In recent years, interest in using biochar as feed additives to mitigate enteric methane (CH<sub>4</sub>) emissions from ruminants has increased. It has been suggested that the mitigating potential of biochar is influenced by its physical (e.g., porosity-related) and chemical (e.g., redox-potential-related) properties. Thus, the aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the effects of commercial or locally engineered biochars, produced from different biomass sources and differing in their physical and chemical characteristics, on rumen fermentation and CH<sub>4</sub> production. For this purpose, a 24 h batch culture of ruminal fluid incubations was conducted in a complete randomized block design (repeated three times) that included a negative control (no additive), a positive control (monensin, 10 mg/mL), and four commercial and three locally engineered biochars, each evaluated at 1%, 2%, or 5% of the substrate’s (i.e., the total mixed ration) dry matter. The evaluated biochars greatly differ in their chemical (i.e., moisture, ash, pH, redox potential, volatiles, carbon, fixed carbon, hydrogen, and sulfur) and physical (i.e., fine particles < 250 µm, bulk density, true density, porosity, electrical conductivity, specific surface area, and absorbed CO<sub>2</sub>) properties. Despite these differences and compared with the negative control, none of the biochars evaluated (regardless of the inclusion rate) influenced gas and CH<sub>4</sub> production, volatile fatty acid characteristics (total concentration and profile), or ammonia-nitrogen (NH<sub>3</sub>-N) concentrations. As expected, monensin (i.e., the positive control) decreased (<i>p</i> < 0.05) CH<sub>4</sub> production mainly because of a decreased (<i>p</i> < 0.05) acetate-to-propionate ratio. The results of this study reveal that despite the large differences in the physical and chemical properties of the biochars evaluated, their inclusion at different rates in vitro failed to modify rumen fermentation and decrease CH<sub>4</sub> production. Based on these in vitro findings, it was concluded that biochar does not represent a viable strategy for mitigating enteric CH<sub>4</sub> emissions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:29:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-401bdac5a3d34b1597e169b1a1bab7e6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:29:13Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-401bdac5a3d34b1597e169b1a1bab7e62023-11-19T15:25:40ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152023-10-011320328010.3390/ani13203280Assessment of the Effects of Commercial or Locally Engineered Biochars Produced from Different Biomass Sources and Differing in Their Physical and Chemical Properties on Rumen Fermentation and Methane Production In VitroChaouki Benchaar0Fadi Hassanat1Cristiano Côrtes2Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Sherbrooke Research and Development Centre, Sherbrooke, QC J1M 0C8, CanadaAgriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Quebec Research and Development Centre, Quebec, QC G1V 2J3, CanadaAgrinova, Alma, QC G8B 7S8, CanadaIn recent years, interest in using biochar as feed additives to mitigate enteric methane (CH<sub>4</sub>) emissions from ruminants has increased. It has been suggested that the mitigating potential of biochar is influenced by its physical (e.g., porosity-related) and chemical (e.g., redox-potential-related) properties. Thus, the aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the effects of commercial or locally engineered biochars, produced from different biomass sources and differing in their physical and chemical characteristics, on rumen fermentation and CH<sub>4</sub> production. For this purpose, a 24 h batch culture of ruminal fluid incubations was conducted in a complete randomized block design (repeated three times) that included a negative control (no additive), a positive control (monensin, 10 mg/mL), and four commercial and three locally engineered biochars, each evaluated at 1%, 2%, or 5% of the substrate’s (i.e., the total mixed ration) dry matter. The evaluated biochars greatly differ in their chemical (i.e., moisture, ash, pH, redox potential, volatiles, carbon, fixed carbon, hydrogen, and sulfur) and physical (i.e., fine particles < 250 µm, bulk density, true density, porosity, electrical conductivity, specific surface area, and absorbed CO<sub>2</sub>) properties. Despite these differences and compared with the negative control, none of the biochars evaluated (regardless of the inclusion rate) influenced gas and CH<sub>4</sub> production, volatile fatty acid characteristics (total concentration and profile), or ammonia-nitrogen (NH<sub>3</sub>-N) concentrations. As expected, monensin (i.e., the positive control) decreased (<i>p</i> < 0.05) CH<sub>4</sub> production mainly because of a decreased (<i>p</i> < 0.05) acetate-to-propionate ratio. The results of this study reveal that despite the large differences in the physical and chemical properties of the biochars evaluated, their inclusion at different rates in vitro failed to modify rumen fermentation and decrease CH<sub>4</sub> production. Based on these in vitro findings, it was concluded that biochar does not represent a viable strategy for mitigating enteric CH<sub>4</sub> emissions.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/20/3280biocharmethane productionin vitro |
| spellingShingle | Chaouki Benchaar Fadi Hassanat Cristiano Côrtes Assessment of the Effects of Commercial or Locally Engineered Biochars Produced from Different Biomass Sources and Differing in Their Physical and Chemical Properties on Rumen Fermentation and Methane Production In Vitro Animals biochar methane production in vitro |
| title | Assessment of the Effects of Commercial or Locally Engineered Biochars Produced from Different Biomass Sources and Differing in Their Physical and Chemical Properties on Rumen Fermentation and Methane Production In Vitro |
| title_full | Assessment of the Effects of Commercial or Locally Engineered Biochars Produced from Different Biomass Sources and Differing in Their Physical and Chemical Properties on Rumen Fermentation and Methane Production In Vitro |
| title_fullStr | Assessment of the Effects of Commercial or Locally Engineered Biochars Produced from Different Biomass Sources and Differing in Their Physical and Chemical Properties on Rumen Fermentation and Methane Production In Vitro |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessment of the Effects of Commercial or Locally Engineered Biochars Produced from Different Biomass Sources and Differing in Their Physical and Chemical Properties on Rumen Fermentation and Methane Production In Vitro |
| title_short | Assessment of the Effects of Commercial or Locally Engineered Biochars Produced from Different Biomass Sources and Differing in Their Physical and Chemical Properties on Rumen Fermentation and Methane Production In Vitro |
| title_sort | assessment of the effects of commercial or locally engineered biochars produced from different biomass sources and differing in their physical and chemical properties on rumen fermentation and methane production in vitro |
| topic | biochar methane production in vitro |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/20/3280 |
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