Pyrolysis Atmospheres and Temperatures Co-Mediated Spectral Variations of Biochar-Derived Dissolved Organic Carbon: Quantitative Prediction and Self-Organizing Maps Analysis

Abstract

Biochar-derived dissolved organic carbon (BDOC), as a highly activated carbonaceous fraction of biochar, significantly affects the environmental effect of biochar. This study systematically investigated the differences in the properties of BDOC produced at 300–750 °C in three atmosphere types (including N2 and CO2 flows and air limitation) as well as their quantitative relationship with biochar properties. The results showed that BDOC in biochar pyrolyzed in air limitation (0.19–2.88 mg/g) was more than that pyrolyzed in N2 (0.06–1.63 mg/g) and CO2 flows (0.07–1.74 mg/g) at 450–750 °C. The aliphaticity, humification, molecular weight, and polarity of BDOC strongly depended on the atmosphere types as well as the pyrolysis temperatures. BDOC produced in air limitation contained more humic-like substances (0.65–0.89) and less fulvic-like substances (0.11–0.35) than that produced in N2 and CO2 flows. The multiple linear regression of the exponential form of biochar properties (H and O contents, H/C and (O+N)/C) could be used to quantitatively predict the bulk content and organic component contents of BDOC. Additionally, self-organizing maps could effectively visualize the categories of fluorescence intensity and components of BDOC from different pyrolysis atmospheres and temperatures. This study highlights that pyrolysis atmosphere types are a crucial factor controlling the BDOC properties, and some characteristics of BDOC can be quantitatively evaluated based on the properties of biochar.