Effect of Acid-Base Treatment Palm Kernel Shell Biochar on The Growth of Ipomoea Aquatica (Water Spinach)

• Main Author: Nurul Nadzirah, Mohd Nor
• Format: Final Year Project Report
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, (UNIMAS) 2019
• Subjects: QD Chemistry
• Online Access: http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/36595/2/Effect%20of%20Acid-Base%20Treatment%20Palm%20Kernel%20Shell%20Biochar%20ft.pdf; http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/36595/

Biochar is produced through pyrolysis, the thermo-chemical degradation of biomass under anaerobic or oxygen-limited conditions. The properties of biochar are related to surface area and porosity, nutrient content and pH value, so it has the potential to improve physical as well as chemical soil properties and thus improve crop productivity. This study was conducted to determine the effect of untreated and treated palm kernel shell (PKS) biochar on the growth of Ipomoea aquatica (water spinach). The PKS biochar was treated by using chemical treatment which is acid-base treatment. The characterization of biochar was determined include proximate analysis, pH value, surface morphology, surface area, FTIR analysis and also elements content. The growth of water spinach was compared between three different treatment and observed for 42 days. The moisture content of treatments using PKS biochar were low between 20-25%. Meanwhile, the ash content of treatments containing PKS biochar were also low which is between 46-50%. Medium treatment that contained untreated PKS biochar has higher pH value which is alkaline characteristics compared to acid-base treated PKS biochar. The growth of Ipomoea aquatica in medium treatment containing untreated PKS biochar are retarded shows that the sample is not suitable for plant growth studied. In conclusion, the usage of acid-base treatment PKS biochar gave the positive results which is shown by the germination test of Ipomoea aquatica seeds but untreated PKS biochar gave negative results on the growth of studied plants.