Development of rapid quantification of soil organic carbon pools via photocatalytic kinetics

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The proposed research project includes a partnership between the research team led by Prof. Emily Chiang and Prof. Rafael Santos at the University of Guelph (UoG, Guelph, ON) and MANTECH Inc. (Guelph, ON). The primary goal of the partnership is to develop a protocol to rapidly measure total organic carbon (TOC) and classify the organic carbon pools in soils, via photocatalytic reaction kinetics. The developed protocol will be integrated into MANTECH's existing PeCOD analyzer to carry out rapid and informative soil TOC analysis. Sequestering carbon as TOC in soil is seen as one way to mitigate climate change by reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide. Therefore, this technology is envisioned to enable farmers to adopt agricultural practices that increase TOC in soils, and in particular the stable organic fraction, for long lasting climate mitigation purpose. This research is important to Canada's strategies for climate change mitigation and improving Agri-Environmental Indicators (e.g. CO2 emission).The intended outcomes and impacts of this study include: 1) development of a technique to rapidly and at low cost determine the different soil OC fractions (i.e. labile C, humus C, and resistant C); 2) knowledge transfer activities to farmers and farmer associations (e.g. OFVGA, OSCIA, OFA), academics, and representatives of government institutions (e.g. OMAFRA, AAFC) to set a stage for carbon credits; 3) training of HQP in advanced instrumentation and analytical techniques.