Carbon Materials Advancing Microorganisms in Driving Soil Organic Carbon Regulation

Carbon emission from soil is not only one of the major sources of greenhouse gases but also threatens biological diversity, agricultural productivity, and food security. Regulation and control of the soil carbon pool are political practices in many countries around the globe. Carbon pool management in engineering sense is much bigger and beyond laws and monitoring, as it has to contain proactive elements to restore active carbon. Biogeochemistry teaches us that soil microorganisms are crucial to manage the carbon content effectively. Adding carbon materials to soil is thereby not directly sequestration, as interaction of appropriately designed materials with the soil microbiome can result in both: metabolization and thereby nonsustainable use of the added carbon, or—more favorably—a biological amplification of human efforts and sequestration of extra CO2 by microbial growth. We review here potential approaches to govern soil carbon, with a special focus set on the emerging practice of adding manufactured carbon materials to control soil carbon and its biological dynamics. Notably, research on so-called “biochar” is already relatively mature, while the role of artificial humic substance (A-HS) in microbial carbon sequestration is still in the developing stage. However, it is shown that the preparation and application of A-HS are large biological levers, as they directly interact with the environment and community building of the biological soil system. We believe that A-HS can play a central role in stabilizing carbon pools in soil.

Carbon-Carbon Composite Materials Based on Low Modulus Fabrics

Scientific research and the search for new technologies to increase the level of mechanical and high-temperature properties are ongoing. The article discusses the technology of using carbon materials, pyrolysis and impregnation with phenol-formaldehyde resins. It is shown that the proposed technology makes it possible to achieve a sufficient level of mechanical properties when using low-modulus carbon fabrics after pyrolytic treatment as a prepreg at a temperature treatment no higher than 900 K. Pillowcase and resole phenol-formaldehyde resins were used to impregnate the prepreg. The proposed technology also allows the introduction of alloying additives into the system to improve the properties. An example of the introduction of nitrogen into a composite by adding urotropine to a phenol-formaldehyde resin, which was used to impregnate the composite, is considered.

Direct Carbonization of Tobacco Straw Cores to Prepare Porous Carbon for Supercapacitor Applications

A large amount of tobacco straw residues is produced around the world every year. These tobacco straw residues are usually incinerated or landfilled directly, which cause environmental pollution and waste of resources. Therefore, it is necessary to find a green way to recycle these tobacco straw residues. Converting tobacco straw residues into biomass carbon materials for supercapacitor electrode materials is an appropriate way. In this study, tobacco straw core carbon (TSC) was obtained from tobacco straw core waste, which was carbonized directly in the tube furnace without N2. The tobacco straw core carbon had a higher specific surface area because of the self-activation of the H2O and CO2 in the carbonization. A variety of analytical instruments were used to characterize the prepared porous carbon. Herein, this work can provide new ideas for energy materials, and solve the problem of the disposal of tobacco straw residues. What’s more, it also can provide a sustainable development opportunity for tobacco farmers to alleviate poverty, dig potential and transform.