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This study explored the effects of different particle sizes of rice straw biochar (RSB) on the methane emissions of pig manure/wheat straw aerobic composting experiments to provide a theoretical suggestion for biochar application. The experiments were conducted with a control group, powder (1 mm) group, and granular (4 mm-1 cm) group. Methane emissions increased by 56.84% in the powder group but decreased by 22.15% in the granular group during the aerobic composting. Methane was generated by methanogens and methanotrophs in the specific anaerobic micro-environment characterized by X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). The porosity of initial composting samples increased by 4.02% in the granular group but decreased by 3.88% in the powder group. RSB additives typically reduced the mcrA/pmoA ratio and increased the diversity of Bacteria and Archaea. Conclusively, granular biochar benefits to aerobic composting to alleviate the CH

We study Ⅲ-nitride nanowire (NW) anti-reflection structures employed as photoelectrocatalyst for solar water splitting. We found that 1D vertical InGaN NW arrays tilted by 73° exhibit maximized photocurrent. Therefore, we grow 3D InGaN NW arrays on the facets of oblique pyramid-textured Si (311) (OPSi/InGaN) by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy, exhibiting facets tilted by 73°. In addition, using finite difference time domain simulations we find the crucial impact of the asymmetry of the oblique pyramid InGaN NW arrays on the light trapping. Compared with InGaN NWs grown on a planar Si substrate (Si/InGaN), the OPSi/InGaN photoanode exhibits ~500% enhancement of the photocurrent due to various light trapping effects attributed to: 1D vertical NW arrays, their tilt, 3D arrangement and asymmetry. Decorated with NiOOH co-catalyst, the OPSi/InGaN photoanode exhibits photocurrent densities in the mA cm−2 range. The present research provides a rational design for the fabrication of nanostructured photoelectrocatalyst with enhanced light absorption.

To investigate the emission mechanism of ammonia (NH3) and nitrous oxide (N2O) during aerobic composting and the influence of powder bamboo biochar (PBB) on this process, this paper conducted a systematic study on the nitrogen-transforming functional microbial community, including functional genes, microbial structure and metabolism pathways. PBB reduced N2O and NH3 emissions by 1.25%-8.72% and 10.4%-11.8%, respectively. The quantitative PCR results indicated that the reduced N2O emission by PBB were mainly related to denitrifying genes (nirS, nirK, nosZ, and narG). The metagenome results demonstrated that Nitrosococcus was the main genus that could oxidize ammonia to nitrite decreased by PBB. The PBB significantly affected the nitrogen metabolism pathway, reduced the activity of glutamate dehydrogenase to inhibit the formation of NH4+ to reduce NH3 emission. The higher N2O emission in the control group was also related to the higher relative contents of hydroxylamine reductase and nitrite reductase.