TY - JOUR
T1 - Biochar from pyrolyzed Tibetan Yak dung as a novel additive in ensiling sweet sorghum
T2 - An alternate to the hazardous use of Yak dung as a fuel in the home
AU - Bai, Yanfu
AU - Rafiq, Muhammad Khalid
AU - Li, Shanshan
AU - Degen, A. Allan
AU - Mašek, Ondřej
AU - Sun, Hongwen
AU - Han, Huawen
AU - Wang, Ting
AU - Joseph, Stephen
AU - Bachmann, Robert Thomas
AU - Sani, Rajesh K.
AU - Long, Ruijun
AU - Shang, Zhanhuan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2021/2/5
Y1 - 2021/2/5
N2 - Yak dung is used as fuel in Tibetan homes; however, this use is hazardous to health. An alternative use of the dung that would be profitable and offset the loss as a fuel would be very beneficial. Sweet sorghum silage with yak dung biochar as an additive was compared with a control silage with no additives and three silages with different commercial additives, namely Lactobacillus buchneri, Lactobacillus plantarum and Acremonium cellulase. Biochar-treated silage had a significantly greater concentration of water-soluble carbohydrates than the other silages (76 vs 12.4–45.8 g/kg DM) and a greater crude protein content (75.5 vs 61.4 g/kg DM), lactic acid concentration (40.7 vs 27.7 g/kg DM) and gross energy yield (17.8 vs 17.4 MJ/kg) than the control silage. Biochar-treated and control silages did not differ in in vitro digestibility and in total gas (507 vs 511 L/kg DM) and methane production (57.9 vs 57.1 L/kg DM). Biochar inhibited degradation of protein and water-soluble carbohydrates and enhanced lactic acid production, which improved storability of feed. It was concluded that yak dung biochar is an efficient, cost-effective ensiling additive. The profit could offset the loss of dung as fuel and improve the health of Tibetan people.
AB - Yak dung is used as fuel in Tibetan homes; however, this use is hazardous to health. An alternative use of the dung that would be profitable and offset the loss as a fuel would be very beneficial. Sweet sorghum silage with yak dung biochar as an additive was compared with a control silage with no additives and three silages with different commercial additives, namely Lactobacillus buchneri, Lactobacillus plantarum and Acremonium cellulase. Biochar-treated silage had a significantly greater concentration of water-soluble carbohydrates than the other silages (76 vs 12.4–45.8 g/kg DM) and a greater crude protein content (75.5 vs 61.4 g/kg DM), lactic acid concentration (40.7 vs 27.7 g/kg DM) and gross energy yield (17.8 vs 17.4 MJ/kg) than the control silage. Biochar-treated and control silages did not differ in in vitro digestibility and in total gas (507 vs 511 L/kg DM) and methane production (57.9 vs 57.1 L/kg DM). Biochar inhibited degradation of protein and water-soluble carbohydrates and enhanced lactic acid production, which improved storability of feed. It was concluded that yak dung biochar is an efficient, cost-effective ensiling additive. The profit could offset the loss of dung as fuel and improve the health of Tibetan people.
KW - In vitro fermentation
KW - Methane emission
KW - Silage agent
KW - Yak dung biochar
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85089839379&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.123647
DO - 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.123647
M3 - Article
C2 - 33264862
AN - SCOPUS:85089839379
SN - 0304-3894
VL - 403
JO - Journal of Hazardous Materials
JF - Journal of Hazardous Materials
M1 - 123647
ER -
