Engineering a Novel, Compost-Derived, Multifunctional Composite to Address Climate Disaster

All figures and graphs were made by student researcher. Figures were created with Biorender.com and graphs were created with Graphpad.com.

Problem: Climate change is creating hostile environmental conditions which increase the severity and magnitude of wildfires and drought (IFAW, 2024). Soil nutrients are being depleted through oxidation and erosion (Musa, 2024), and wildfires have adversely affected air quality internationally (Chen, 2025).

Previous research: In year one of this three-year study, a proof-of-concept experiment demonstrated that synthetic hydrogel enhanced soil moisture retention and crop growth. In year-two, various synthetic and biodegradable hydrogels and fire retardants were evaluated. A biodegradable formulation of milled PEI blue mussel shells and hydrogel was effective at limiting drought and fire damage (p<0.05). Additionally, a biodegradable hydrogel created from locally-sourced compost was engineered and validated. The previous year’s Project Board can be found here: Sehn, 2025.

Present phase: A novel, biodegradable treatment was engineered from compost materials, including wheat-based biochar, cellulose-based super-adsorbent hydrogel, and milled PEI mussel shells. Biochar was added due to its capacity to capture and repurpose carbon. Effectiveness of the novel treatment was evaluated across 4 parameters, including the ability to retain moisture, limit combustion damage, retain soil nutrients, and protect air quality.

Research questions:

Can all 3 components of this novel biodegradable treatment be engineered from compost material readily-available in Canada?

Could the addition of biochar to the novel treatment further mitigate the consequences of climate change, by not only retaining soil moisture and limiting wildfire combustion, but also improving soil nutrient retention?

Could the treatment mitigate the health costs of climate change by protecting air quality?

Part I: Engineering components from compost materials.

Wheat-based biochar was created using an adapted pyrolysis method (Rajendran, 2024). Wheat stalk was dried in an oven, then placed in a nitrogen furnace. Raman spectroscopy and BET surface area analysis were conducted to analyse biochar composition and surface area.

Fire retardant: Expanding on last year’s project, particle size of the mussel shells was refined to <4mm.

Super-adsorbent hydrogel: Cellulose-based hydrogel tested in last year's project was used.

Part II: Evaluating the impact of the treatments on moisture, combustion, and soil nutrients.

Treatments groups are shown in Figure 7.

Moisture: Treatments were applied to standardized samples of soil and water; controls had no treatment. A moisture meter was used to quantify moisture percentage daily over 5 days.

As well, gravimetric moisture was done. Samples were taken from each soil group on days 0, 2, and 5, weighed, dried, and weighed again to find the soil moisture percentage.

Combustion: Treatments were applied to uniform wood samples and subjected to a standardized Small Flame Test with 4 outcomes: time to ignition, duration of combustion, weight change post combustion and success of extinguishing the flame.

Nutrient retention: Samples of biochar, mussel shells, or the combination of biochar and mussel shells were brought to equilibrium in a 10 parts per million fertilizer:water solution, and the nutrient adsorption percentage was measured using ion-chromatography.

Part III: Evaluating the impact of the treatments on Particulate Matter (PM) Reduction and CO2 Adsorption.

PM Studies: B-C-H was applied to 10 uniform wood samples, and 10 controls had no treatment. Samples were subjected to flame in an enclosed environment and PM0.3, PM2.5, PM10 emissions were measured during combustion.

CO2 Adsorption: BET surface area analysis for biochar CO2 retention properties are ongoing.

Statistical analysis: Multiple statistical tests were conducted to determine if there was a statistically significant difference on outcome measures. For Part II moisture and combustion data, ANOVA tests were performed to find analysis of variances across samples, then Dunnet’s Multiple Comparison Tests were conducted to compare treatments to the control. For the success of extinguishing the flame, the binary Fisher’s Exact Test was used. For Part III PM emission data, a Mann-Whitney test was conducted to compare the treatment to the control.

Results:

I. A biodegradable treatment was engineered from compost material and evaluated using 2 different methods.

The engineered wheat-based biochar was similar to standard biochar when analyzed with Raman-spectroscopy. BET surface area analysis also demonstrated that the biochar had a porosity of 2m2/g.

II. Moisture, combustion, and soil nutrients.

As shown in Figure 12, all treatments were superior to the control on percentage of soil moisture retention (p<0.05). The greatest moisture retention was observed with the combination of B-C-H, though the result was not significantly greater than other treatment groups. The combination of B-C-H showed a trend towards retaining the most moisture compared to all other treatment groups. Gravimetric testing for moisture retention is still ongoing.

The B-C-H treatment was superior to other treatments and the control on 3 of the 4 combustion studies. Figure 15 demonstrates that the B-C-H treatment led to a very brief duration of combustion (mean: 3.48 seconds), which was superior to the control (p<0.05). Additionally, Figure 16 shows that the B-C-H treatment did not have any weight change across any samples after flame exposure, demonstrating that the treatment mitigated destruction from combustion. The B-C-H treatment was also more consistently effective at extinguishing the flame. However, the B-C-H treatment was not superior to the control regarding time to ignition.

The treatments also positively impacted nutrient retention across 2 measures. Figure 13 demonstrates that the combination of biochar and mussel shells was effective in retaining both nitrate and phosphate, when the nutrient adsorption percentage was measured with ion-chromatography. These two nutrients, nitrate and phosphate, are vital for soil health and fertility. Adequate soil nutrients, including the 2 nutrients measured in this study, enhance crop yields.

III. When burning did occur, the B-C-H treatment was superior to the control at protecting air quality.

Particulate matter introduced into the atmosphere during wildfires has a negative impact on human health, including respiratory distress and premature death.  More specifically, the high levels of PM2.5 Canadians were exposed to during wildfires between 2019 and 2023 caused nearly 1,900 premature deaths and $1B in economic fallout (Matz, 2026).

As shown in Figures 18-20, when wood was treated with B-C-H, there were lower levels of PM0.3, PM2.5, and PM10 emissions relative to the control (p<0.05). BET analysis of the engineered biochar’s surface CO2 adsorption is ongoing.

This proof-of-concept study demonstrates the efficacy of a novel, multifunctional, biodegradable, compost-derived treatment to mitigate the effects of climate change. It combines the moisture retention properties of hydrogel, the fire retardant properties of mussel shells, plus the nutrient and air quality control properties of biochar in a single treatment.

Scientific literature:

The materials used in this study have been tested and applied in real-world settings. Synthetic hydrogel improved mustard seed yields during drought conditions (Rathore, 2019). Mussel shells consist 95% of calcium carbonate and when subjected to heat, they reduce into carbon dioxide, displacing oxygen thereby robbing fires of their fuel (Nakamura, 2014; Srichanachaichok, 2023). Asia-green mussel shells applied to plywood delay time to ignition by 90 minutes (Magnayi, 2020). Biochar has been shown to limit drought and soil depletion (Diatta, 2020). Moreover, due to its morphology, biochar can remove PM during combustion (Itoh, 2020).

Limitations:

Limitations of this study include time to ignition as none of the treatments were superior to the control on this combustion study. Additionally, the biochar had a low initial porosity compared to standard biochar. Finally, the method to measure nutrient adsorption only measures the adsorption of two soil nutrients, while many nutrients are important for soil health.

Conclusion: An effective biodegradable treatment was engineered from compost material readily available in Canada, to address climate disaster issues for Canada.

Assess the treatment impact on various air pollutants: Studies have indicated that the materials used can remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs), adsorb CO, and enhance CO2 capture. Future research would study the VOC removal, and CO and CO2 capture ability of the treatment.

Study impact in real-world settings: Assess and study the treatment efficacy and impact in environmental settings for greater understanding of treatment benefit.

Extend duration of study: Determine the treatment impact over longer periods of time with longer drought periods and expanded sample sizes.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to my parents and mentors for their support in this project.

Professor Andrew Vreugdenhil, : Thank you for your continuous support, access to laboratory resources, and encouragement in the creation of this project.

Dr. David Hyndman: Thank you for your direction, advice, and support throughout this project.

My parents: Thank you for your endless feedback and assistance in the many hours it took in the creation of this science project.

Peterborough Regional Science Fair: Thank you for your guidance, project-aid, and accompaniment to the CWSF.

Thank you all for your help in the creation of this project. Your encouragement has helped me expand my curiosity and interest in science.

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