Frederik Ossler and Haryo Wibowo, MINICOR researchers from Lund University, were granted beamtime and performed neutron-based characterization of biochar at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in February 2025. By utilizing neutron-based inelastic scattering and tomography, the chemical and structural properties of nitrogen-treated biochars were investigated. The objective was to gain further understanding of the nitrogen uptake, retention and release process in biochar produced in the MINICOR process. The studies will provide useful understanding for future use of biochar as efficient soil amendment.
The measurements were performed at the beamlines BL-16B/VISION at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) and BL-CG1D/MARS at the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR). The work was performed in collaboration with researchers from the European Spallation Source (ESS) and the ORNL.
