article · Agrochemicals
Pyrolysis of olive pomace at 400 °C produces a biochar carrier for nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizer. When loaded with NPK, this composite demonstrates controlled nutrient delivery, reaching a cumulative nutrient release of 64 percent in deionised water and 91 percent in soil. In greenhouse trials on lettuce, the composite applied at 100 percent and 75 percent fertilizer rates enhanced plant development. Across these respective application rates, fresh weight reached 163.33 and 183.67 grams, height reached 23.00 and 23.67 centimetres, and leaf counts reached 34 and 36. The composite also lowered nitrate accumulation in both inner and outer lettuce leaves, yielding outer concentrations of 10 and 0.73 milligrams per gram, and inner concentrations of 2 and 1.33 milligrams per gram. This approach supports crop performance while repurposing agricultural waste.
Standard chemical fertilisers often lose nutrients to the environment, lowering efficiency and potentially elevating nitrate levels in edible crops. Converting olive processing waste into a biochar carrier offers a controlled-release alternative that sustains plant growth even at reduced application rates, simultaneously curbing agricultural waste and addressing nutrient runoff.
This work represents applied and tested research that could interest agricultural input manufacturers, olive oil producers, and horticultural growers. The composite enables the production of value-added slow-release fertilisers from abundant waste streams to improve nutrient delivery in commercial vegetable farming. Because testing remains limited to greenhouse trials, further outdoor field validation and scaled manufacturing assessments are needed before commercial use.
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The excessive use of conventional NPK fertilizers can reduce nutrient use efficiency due to nutrient losses, emphasizing the need for controlled-release fertilizer systems. This study aimed to prepare and evaluate olive pomace-derived biochar (BC) as a carrier for nitrogen–phosphorus–potassium (NPK) fertilizer and assess its effects on nutrient release and lettuce performance. Biochar was produced by pyrolysis at 400 °C and loaded with NPK fertilizer. The BC/NPK composite was characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), nutrient-release behavior was evaluated in deionized water and soil. The cumulative nutrient release reached 64% in deionized water and 91% in soil. Under greenhouse conditions, BC/NPK applied at 100% and 75% NPK rates increased lettuce fresh weight, plant height and leaf number to 163.33 and 183.67 g, 23.00 and 23.67 cm, 34 and 36, respectively. Moreover, BC/NPK reduced nitrate accumulation in lettuce leaves, with nitrate concentrations decreasing in outer leaves to 10 and 0.73 mg g−1 and in inner leaves to 2 and 1.33 mg g−1 at the 100% and 75% rates, respectively. These findings demonstrate that olive pomace-derived BC/NPK is a promising slow-release fertilizer capable of improving crop performance while supporting sustainable nutrient management and agricultural waste valorization.
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DOI: 10.3390/agrochemicals5030035
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