Characterization of Solid Silicone Fertilizer Produced by Hydrothermal Processes from Silicon-containing Biomasses

Taiwan's annual agricultural waste outputs are summed up to over more than 200 million tonnes. 2.9 million tonnes of peanut shells, rice straw, and rice husk account for 1.5 million tonnes; sugarcane waste accounts for 35 million tonnes, and wood chips account for 22 million tonnes [1]. Agricultural waste material can be effectively utilized to achieve pollution reduction and also to add value to agricultural waste.

 In recent years, domestic and foreign research has focused on organic agricultural waste raw material (peanut shells, bagasse, rice husk, rice straw, stone, seeds, wheat straw, corn stalks, softwood and hardwood, etc.).To make the most efficient use of the composition of these wastes are lignocelluloses, where in peanut shells, 25-30% Cellulose, 25-30% Hemicellulose, and 30-40% Lignin [2] (Table 1). 

 In the past, hydrothermal application has been used to convert cellulose of plant into coal-like structures. Because cellulose and lignin is present in sugarcane exocarps, peanut shells and rice husk, the biomass can be converted into activated carbon, thus creating a high value-added product by the recycling of agricultural waste. Agricultural wastes have several properties (such as huge volume, high humidity, and high organic compositions). Residual crop sources are produced can be useful for agricultural activities. It can be used as an adsorbent [3, 4], biomass fuel [5] and compost. Researchers have applied plant wastes to make high strength eco-materials, soil improvers and graphene sheet contented carbon materials [6, 7, 8].

 Silicon carbides anon-oxideceramic is characterized by covalent bonding, inert microbonding power, high hardness, and excellent electrical properties. The impedance of this material can be used as a key equipment component for mobile phones, digital cameras, laptops and electric vehicles bl[9,10].The material is characterized by high heat conductivity and special optical properties. Therefore, it’s potential as a new material can be used for semiconductor, transparent conductive oxide thin film process and solar cells[11].With Si/C composite materials, manufacturing lithium-ion battery is practical[12,13]. According to studies, several cropping plants such as rice husks, corn stalks and abases contain high amounts of silicon. These biomass materials can be carbonized above 700 oC for making β-SiC material, with surface area of β-SiC at 150 m2/g [14,15]. In other studied, researchers used the hydrothermal carbonization method preparation of carbon materials from Elae is at 150, 250 and 350 oC, respectively, and produced a carbon content of 68.52 % [16]. 

Fertilizers provide plant nutrients necessary to improve soil fertility substances. Chemical fertilizers containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium have abundant N O that may cause destruction of the ozone layer in the atmosphere, which 2 creates a myriad of problems for several ecosystems and agricultural activities. Biochars produced by agricultural waste is a clean anti- pollution method that can be used as a soil amendment reagent and aids in the uptake of plant nutrients. The analysis found that cane bark, peanut shells, and rice husk raw material of silicon-containing ingredients, can contribute to environmental protection in the country and the be advocates to various health diets today. Perhaps silicon components of agricultural wastes from rice husks, peanut shells and sugarcane exocarp can be obtained to develop hypokalemia, high silicon in silicon-doped Biochars, for growing vegetables and basal soil conditioner use, to achieve high quality agricultural produce. 

[17] used Si in rice and showed that its addition to gross flower increased number and grain, improving structure of stems and enhanced its wellbeing. Silicon (Si) is an essential nutrient for rice production. Continuous cropping can cause soil silicon to reduce. Addition of silicon fertilizer aids in increase of rice growth[18] . 

In Global agricultural ecosystems, the largest biospheric sources of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO ), carbon sequestration 2 is coupled with the Si cycle with the aim to enhance C sequestration. This study attempts to produce silicon carbide fertilizer by environmentally-friendly processes from silicon containing biomasses. The use of carbon-containing silicon skin material from sugarcane exocarp, peanut shells and rice husk biomass was used as a starting material prepared to contain silicon carbide. The properties were analyzed in order to provide an alternative process of low energy consumption for re-use of agricultural waste.