Powerful Biochar: Agricultural Waste for Soil Stabilization in Landslide-Prone Areas
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69855/science.v3i3.709Keywords:
Biochar, Agricultural Waste, Soil Stabilization, Landslide, Shear Strength, Residual SoilAbstract
Rainfall-induced landslides on residual soil slopes remain a persistent geohazard in tropical mountainous regions, and conventional chemical stabilizers such as cement and lime raise concerns regarding cost, carbon footprint, and long-term ecological impact. This study investigates the potential of biochar produced from agricultural waste (rice husk and corn cob) as a sustainable soil-stabilizing amendment for slope soils in a landslide-prone area of Padang City, West Sumatra, Indonesia. Biochar was produced through slow pyrolysis at 450 °C and mixed with residual soil at five proportions (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% by dry weight). Physical and mechanical properties were evaluated through Atterberg limit tests, standard Proctor compaction, direct shear tests, and falling-head permeability tests. The results indicate that the addition of biochar up to 15% significantly increased cohesion from 18.2 kPa to 34.1 kPa and the internal friction angle from 24.3° to 31.2°, while reducing the plasticity index and the coefficient of permeability. Beyond 15%, mechanical performance declined, indicating an optimum biochar content. These findings suggest that agricultural-waste-derived biochar can serve as an environmentally friendly and cost-effective soil amendment to improve slope stability, offering a dual benefit of agricultural waste management and landslide mitigation.
References
Al-Amin, M., Rashid, A. S. A., & Hezmi, M. A. (2021). Cement stabilization of problematic soils: A review of mechanisms and environmental considerations. Transportation Geotechnics, 28, 100543.
Amelia, R., Prayogo, D., & Kusnadi, T. (2021). Utilization of agricultural waste as sustainable construction materials: A review. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 738, 012041.
Bordoloi, S., Garg, A., & Sreedeep, S. (2020). Effect of biochar addition on soil hydraulic properties and slope-vegetation interaction. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 146(4), 04020018.
Bordoloi, S., Ni, J., & Ng, C. W. W. (2022). Soil desiccation cracking and its impact on infiltration and slope stability: A biochar amendment perspective. Engineering Geology, 296, 106478.
Chen, X., Yan, L., & Zheng, W. (2022). Surface morphology and functional group characterization of biochar produced from different biomass feedstocks. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 165, 105561.
Choudhary, A. K., & Jha, J. N. (2022). Techno-economic assessment of chemical versus bio-based soil stabilization methods for rural road construction. Construction and Building Materials, 335, 127497.
Fauzi, A., Rachman, I., & Setiabudi, W. (2022). Potential of local agricultural waste as low-cost soil stabilizing materials in West Sumatra rural roads. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2261, 012015.
Firoozi, A. A., Guney Olgun, C., Firoozi, A. A., & Baghini, M. S. (2020). Fundamentals of soil stabilization. International Journal of Geo-Engineering, 11(1), 1-16.
Ganesan, S. P., Vasudevan, M., & Subramanian, N. (2020). Behaviour of biochar-amended lateritic soil under compaction and shear loading. Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, 38(6), 6217-6229.
Hidayat, R., Prasetyo, Y., & Anwar, S. (2021). Rainfall-induced landslide susceptibility mapping in West Sumatra using GIS-based frequency ratio method. Journal of Natural Disaster Science, 41(2), 88-101.
Islam, M. R., Hasan, M., & Islam, M. S. (2021). Statistical evaluation of biochar-amended soil shear strength using analysis of variance. Geotechnical Testing Journal, 44(5), 1345-1358.
Kim, H. K., Park, S. Y., & Lee, S. R. (2020). Assessment of biochar as a sustainable amendment for improving compacted soil properties. Sustainability, 12(19), 8098.
Kusuma, A. D., Rahman, H., & Salim, T. (2022). Spatial distribution and triggering factors of landslides in mountainous regions of Sumatra Island. Geoenvironmental Disasters, 9(1), 14-27.
Lehmann, J., & Joseph, S. (2015). Biochar for environmental management: Science, technology and implementation (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Miller, G. A., & Azad, S. (2020). Influence of soil type on stabilization with cementitious binders and associated carbon footprint. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 146(9), 04020078.
Novita, D. M., Suryani, E., & Rahmawati, I. (2022). Rice husk and corn cob as feedstock for biochar production: Physicochemical characterization and potential applications. Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery, 12(9), 4123-4135.
Ogura, A. T., Bordoloi, S., & Sarmah, A. K. (2023). Biochar as a low-carbon geomaterial for slope stabilization: Mechanisms and performance review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 384, 135554.
Pratama, Y., Handayani, S., & Nasution, A. (2023). Optimum biochar content for shear strength improvement of clayey residual soil: A laboratory study. International Journal of GEOMATE, 24(101), 118-126.
Reddy, K. R., Yaghoubi, P., & Yukselen-Aksoy, Y. (2021). Effects of biochar amendment on geotechnical properties of landfill cover soil. Waste Management, 120, 762-772.
Sadasivam, B. Y., & Reddy, K. R. (2020). Adsorption and transport of methane in landfill cover soil amended with waste biochar. Journal of Environmental Management, 260, 110033.
Setiawan, B., Kusnadi, R., & Wibowo, A. (2021). Circular economy approach for agricultural waste utilization in developing countries: A review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 313, 127866.
Syafitri, D., & Nugroho, P. (2023). Effect of rainfall infiltration on pore water pressure and slope stability of volcanic residual soils. Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, 15(3), 620-634.
Vijayaraghavan, K., & Raja, F. D. (2021). Impact of biochar amendment on soil water retention and its implication for slope hydrology. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(15), 18795-18806.
Wirasti, R., & Fadhillah, N. (2020). Characterization of residual soil properties on landslide-affected slopes in West Sumatra. International Journal of GEOMATE, 19(72), 45-52.
Wong, J. T. F., Chen, X., & Deng, W. (2021). Effects of biochar particle size and dosage on compaction and shear strength behavior of clayey soil. Applied Sciences, 11(9), 4088.
Woolf, D., Lehmann, J., & Lee, D. R. (2021). Biochar's carbon sequestration and climate mitigation potential: A global assessment. Carbon Management, 12(2), 121-138.
Yaghoubi, E., Yaghoubi, M., Guerrieri, M., & Sudarsanan, N. (2021). Improving expansive clay subgrades using recycled glass: Repeated load triaxial testing. Transportation Geotechnics, 27, 100489.
Yargicoglu, E. N., & Reddy, K. R. (2020). Effects of biochar and permeable reactive barrier application on landfill leachate migration control. Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste, 24(2), 04020005.
Zhang, T., Wang, Y., & Liu, C. (2020). Effects of pyrolysis temperature on the physicochemical properties of biochar derived from agricultural residues. Bioresource Technology, 312, 123581.
Zhao, L., Cao, X., & Mašek, O. (2020). Heterogeneity of biochar properties as a function of feedstock and pyrolysis temperature and its effect on soil hydraulic behaviour. Science of the Total Environment, 706, 135884.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Nani Kitti Sihaloho, Sariwahyuni
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
