A review and future directions on enhancing sustainability benefits across food-energy-water systems: the potential role of biochar-derived products

Abstract

The future of food-energy-water resources is an ever-increasing global concern due to a growing standard of living and population. This study presents opportunities for sustainable growth based on the previous research and developments across food-energy-water systems through biomassbased products (bioproducts), such as biochar, an emerging by-product of biofuel production. Bioproducts are in a nascent stage, but are growing steadily with improvements in production technologies and other cost-reducing strategies. Perspectives on solutions and opportunities that can promote the socio-economic resilience and ecological integrity of regional food-energy-water resources are identified through narrative and systematic literature reviews. These solutions are examined within the context of the environmental and economic parameters that influence stakeholders’ decisions concerning the adoption and use of technological solutions. Biochar has shown to be one of these products with the ability to improve productivity, particularly, in organic farming through increased water-nutrient holding capacity, organic-matter efficiency, and carbon sequestration. Additionally, biochar sorption abilities and textural features have shown to be a special solution for removing a large range of contaminants (e.g., metals and toluene) from water. However, biomass collection, transportation, and conversion costs have been identified as major challenges to produce market-responsive bioproducts. It is concluded that the recent interest in food-energy-water systems has led to research opportunities in bioproducts that can, in turn, bridge the gaps and provide groundbreaking developments for future research and growth. It is also concluded that there is an essential need for solutions-oriented projects across the food-energy-water nexus at both domestic and global level.

Keywords

• food-energy-water systems
• biomass
• bioproducts
• biochar
• sustainability