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Wild (or lowbush) blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.) undergo severe drought impacts due to climate warming because they grow in sandy soils with poor water retention. The feasibility was studied for using biochar in a forest biomass-fueled combined heat and power (CHP) plant to amend the sandy soils. The chemico-physical properties (e.g., bulk density, moisture content, porosity, pH) of the biochar were measured. An acid treatment method (1% to 3% acidic or citric acid solution) was developed to decrease the biochar pH from 11.4 to neutral or lower, aiming to aid in weed control in wild blueberry fields. The water holding capacity (WHC) of sandy soils (S) mixed with biochar (B) (Type I) and sandy soils mixed with both biochar and fertilizer (Type II) at four ratios of 100S:0B (control), 50S:50B, 30S:70B, and 10S:90B were measured. The biochar generated from the CHP plant had comparable physical properties (such as bulk density, porosity, pH, and surface area) with woody biochar made from pyrolysis. The acid treatment method significantly lowered the pH to a range of 5.0 to 6.5. The 50:50 mixing ratio for both Type I and Type II increased the water holding capacity by about 20% compared with control groups.

Wild (or lowbush) blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.) undergo severe drought impacts due to climate warming because they grow in sandy soils with poor water retention. The feasibility was studied for using biochar in a forest biomass-fueled combined heat and power (CHP) plant to amend the sandy soils. The chemico-physical properties (e.g., bulk density, moisture content, porosity, pH) of the biochar were measured. An acid treatment method (1% to 3% acidic or citric acid solution) was developed to decrease the biochar pH from 11.4 to neutral or lower, aiming to aid in weed control in wild blueberry fields. The water holding capacity (WHC) of sandy soils (S) mixed with biochar (B) (Type I) and sandy soils mixed with both biochar and fertilizer (Type II) at four ratios of 100S:0B (control), 50S:50B, 30S:70B, and 10S:90B were measured. The biochar generated from the CHP plant had comparable physical properties (such as bulk density, porosity, pH, and surface area) with woody biochar made from pyrolysis. The acid treatment method significantly lowered the pH to a range of 5.0 to 6.5. The 50:50 mixing ratio for both Type I and Type II increased the water holding capacity by about 20% compared with control groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the ability to recycle polyethylene (PE)-coated paperboard, one solution may be to use nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) to generate a layer that should weaken when wet that leads to a clean separation between the polymer film and the pulp fibers. This NFC layer has the potential to improve the package's oxygen and grease barrier properties, but this system has not been explored in the literature. In this study, papers coated with zero, 2, and 4 g/m² of NFC were laminated with a PE film under a range of pressing temperatures and times at a constant pressing pressure. A model was developed to predict fiber recovery given the air permeability of the paper, pressing time, polymer temperature, and paper void volume. The recyclability or fiber recovery was evaluated in addition to the adhesive strength. Samples with the NFC layer had much improved fiber recovery because the NFC layer gives a good separation during the recycling operation. The model predictions were compared to the experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]