The increasing generation of solid waste is recognized as one of the leading environmental and economic challenges of modern society. Optimal waste management, particularly in the agricultural and industrial sectors, necessitates innovative approaches for the efficient management of vital resources, including soil and water. One practical solution explored in the journal 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 by Seyed Hamidreza Sadeghi and an international research team involves the production of morpho-genetic porous carbon as a type of activated biochar. This material has wide applications due to its highly porous structure, chemical and thermal stability, and exceptionally high specific surface area. By converting problematic wastes into highly structured carbon materials, this research bridges the gap between advanced decision-making analysis and material science to support global waste management policies and sustainable farming growth.

To determine the most effective products, the researchers prepared carbon samples from eight distinct types of agricultural and industrial waste, including rice straw, vineyard prunings, palm prunings, sawdust, sugarcane industry vinasse, poultry slaughterhouse waste, paper mill waste, and tissue paper production waste. The initial 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 waste was pyrolyzed at a lower temperature to form raw biochar, which was then subjected to advanced chemical and physical activation at high temperatures using different activators to develop extensive internal networks of pores. The resulting materials were evaluated across dozens of structural criteria to determine which variations possessed the physical characteristics required for optimal field performance. Because individual physical properties can often conflict during manufacturing, the study utilized a decision-making approach based on game theory and the Condorcet algorithm to systematically rank the samples based on their physical merits.

The results of the structural analysis revealed that the porous characteristics of the produced carbons are highly dependent on both the original biological source and the specific conditions of the production process. Cellulosic bio-sources, particularly rice straw and sawdust, demonstrated superior performance in generating well-balanced porous networks. Chemical activation using potassium hydroxide proved significantly more effective than other chemical or physical treatments at creating an extensive surface area and opening gas adsorption pathways. The structural evaluations showed that the best-performing samples achieved a dramatic increase in specific surface area compared to traditional untreated biochar, which generally features a less developed structure that limits its effectiveness in advanced agricultural applications.

Through the mathematical framework of game theory, five priority samples were successfully identified from the dozens of experimental variations. These top-performing materials consisted entirely of samples treated with a moderate level of potassium hydroxide activation, originating from rice straw, sawdust, palm tree pruning waste, vineyard pruning waste, and tissue factory waste. The rice straw sample activated with potassium hydroxide achieved the single highest surface area recorded in the study, measuring over one thousand square meters per gram. This highly optimized internal structure provides an abundance of available space for physical water retention and nutrient absorption, which is vital for reversing land degradation and stabilizing fragile soils.

The prioritized carbon materials demonstrated a predominantly mesoporous and microporous structure that is highly uniform, with microscopic pore sizes that maximize molecular attraction. These physical attributes indicate a high capacity to trap moisture and essential plant nutrients inside the soil matrix. Such specialized structures make these advanced carbon materials ideal candidates for agricultural deployment in arid and semi-arid regions that routinely face severe water scarcity, declining soil fertility, and low crop yields. Utilizing these materials helps mitigate environmental pollution by recycling organic waste resources into a value-added by-product that actively protects the longevity of vital earth systems.

Source: Sadeghi, S. H., Zare, S., Gharehmahmudli, S., Younesi, H., Zhang, F., Mirzahosseini, M., Sadeghi, P. S., Homaee, M., Parvizi, Y., Nan, S., & Li, Y. (2026). Introducing priority morph-genetic porous carbon for potential applications in soil and water conservation through game theory. Biochar, 8(35), 1-21.