In a report published by Scientific Reports, researchers Ifeoma Juliet Opara, Eno-obong Sunday Nicholas, and Ejeh Sunday Augustine investigated how turning common agricultural waste products into soil amendments could help support sustainable farming practices. The team collected chicken manure and groundnut shells from local agricultural sources in Taraba State, Nigeria. They processed these raw feedstocks through two distinct methods, creating a rapid compost biomassBiomass is a complex biological organic or non-organic solid product derived from living or recently living organism and available naturally. Various types of wastes such as animal manure, waste paper, sludge and many industrial wastes are also treated as biomass because like natural biomass these More and generating two types of biocharBiochar is a carbon-rich material created from biomass decomposition in low-oxygen conditions. It has important applications in environmental remediation, soil improvement, agriculture, carbon sequestration, energy storage, and sustainable materials, promoting efficiency and reducing waste in various contexts while addressing climate change challenges. More through a thermal decomposition process called pyrolysisPyrolysis is a thermochemical process that converts waste biomass into bio-char, bio-oil, and pyro-gas. It offers significant advantages in waste valorization, turning low-value materials into economically valuable resources. Its versatility allows for tailored products based on operational conditions, presenting itself as a cost-effective and efficient More. By heating the organic waste to four hundred degrees Celsius in a low-oxygen environment, they successfully trapped carbon into a highly stable form. The resulting materials were then subjected to rigorous laboratory testing to evaluate their chemical makeup, nutrient concentrations, and safety for environmental application.

The laboratory evaluations revealed that both types of biochar possess exceptional properties that make them ideal for long-term agricultural use and environmental protection. The groundnut shell biochar demonstrated a remarkably high fixed carbon content of eighty-five percent, while the chicken excreta biochar registered nearly seventy-nine and a half percent fixed carbon. These elevated carbon levels mean the materials are highly stable, resisting rapid decay and allowing them to remain in the ground for years as a form of carbon storage to mitigate global warming. Furthermore, the biochars showed very low moisture levels, ranging from roughly one to three and a half percent, which makes the final products highly resistant to mold and easy for farmers to store for extended periods without degradation.

Safety was a primary consideration in this research, and the team carefully measured the levels of potentially toxic heavy metals within the organic materials. The analyzed compost and biochars contained very small, safe amounts of zinc, chromium, and lead, with only trace, insignificant amounts of cadmium across all samples. Crucially, all of these measured values fell well below the strict safety limits established by the World Health Organization and the United States Environmental Protection Agency for agricultural soils. Because these toxic elements are well within safe thresholds, farmers can apply these recycled waste materials to their fields continuously without risking the contamination of food crops or damaging the surrounding ecosystem.

When testing the actual performance of these materials on living maize plants, the amendments demonstrated a powerful ability to deliver nutrients and stimulate physical development. The raw compost was found to hold the highest initial quantities of essential macronutrients, containing substantial amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. However, when mixed with sand during practical growing trials, the chicken excreta biochar proved to be the most effective at facilitating actual nutrient uptake by the plants. In the biological tests, a specific mixture consisting of eighty-five percent chicken excreta biochar and fifteen percent sand achieved an impressive, optimal plant height of over thirty-five centimeters. This superior performance occurs because the porous structure of the biochar acts like a sponge, holding onto vital minerals and releasing them slowly so the root systems can absorb them efficiently over time.

Overall, the investigation proves that utilizing locally abundant agricultural leftovers provides an excellent, eco-friendly substitute for synthetic commercial fertilizers. The alkaline nature of these amendments makes them particularly useful as a natural soil conditioner that can neutralize highly acidic farmlands, ultimately boosting overall soil fertility and improving crop returns. By adopting these simple recycling methods, agricultural communities can effectively manage problematic animal and crop wastes, lower their overall production costs, increase food security, and participate directly in global climate change mitigation through natural carbon storage.

Source: Opara, I. J., Nicholas, E. S., & Ejeh, A. S. (2026). Sustainable utilization of biochar and compost using chicken excreta and groundnut shell to enhance soil nutrients and plants growth in Northeast, Nigeria. Scientific Reports.