Dr. Ondřej Mašek
- Position:
- Lecturer in Engineering Assessment of Biochar
- Home Page:
- http://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/homes/omasek
I work at the UK Biochar Research Centre, which is a part of the School of Geosciences at the University of Edinburgh. My role is to lead the research on biochar production technologies and associated processes. Beside this, I also teach the introduction to CO2 capture and transport technologies on the Carbon Capture and Sequestration MSc course
Research Interests
Technologies for biochar production and utilisation of by-products (oil and gas) for bio-fuels and bio-energy generation. Thermochemical conversion of carbonaceous materials (gasification, pyrolysis, combustion, etc.). CO2 capture and transport technologies (post-combustion, pre-combustion, oxy-combustion and advanced capture technologies).
Relevant Research Areas:
Relevant Projects:
- Advanced Carbon Materials from Biowaste - GreenCarbon-ETN
- An assessment of the benefits and issues associated with the application of biochar to soil
- Biochar in Forestry
- CarboPlex - Development of C-rich biochar-mineral complexes for soil amendment, C sequestration and beyond
- EU COST Action
- Interreg IVB North Sea Region: Climate Saving Soils
- Investigating the optimum conditions for biochar production
- Leverhulme UK-Canada network
- MSc / BSc Module: Novel Strategies for Soil Carbon Storage
- Scottish Biofuel Programme
- The biochar-soil-plant interface: unlocking the potential for a sustainable phosphorus fertiliser
- Use of biochar in phosphorus recycling and recovery
Publications:
Masek O, Buss W and Sohi SP. Standard biochar materials. 2018. Environmental Science and Technology 52:9543-9544
Masek O, Buss W, Roy-Poirier A, Lowe W, Peters C, Brownsort P, Mignard D, Pritchard C and Sohi SP. 2018. Consistency of biochar properties over time and production scales: A characterisation of standard materials. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis 132:200-210
Buss W, Graham MC, MacKinnon G and Masek O. 2016. Strategies for producing biochars with minimum PAH contamination. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis 119: 24–30.
Buss W and Masek O. 2014. Mobile organic compounds in biochar – a potential source of contamination – phytotoxic effects on cress seed (Lepidium sativum) germination. Journal of Environmental Management 137: 111–119.
Buss W, Mašek O, Graham M and Wust D. 2015. Inherent organic compounds in biochar –their content, composition and potential toxic effects. Journal of Environmental Management 156: 150–157.
Buss W and Masek O. 2016. High-VOC biochar – Effectiveness of post-treatment measures and potential health risks related to handling and storage. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 23: 19580–19589.
Buss W, Graham MC, Shepherd GJ and Masek O. 2016. Suitability of marginal biomass-derived biochars for soil amendment. Science of the Total Environment. 547:314–322.
Buss W, Graham MC, Shepherd JG and Masek O. 2016. Risks and benefits of marginal biomass-derived biochars for plant growth. Science of the Total Environment. 569/70: 496–506.
Bachmann HJ, Bucheli TD, Dieguez-Alonso A, Fabbri D, Knicker HE, Schmidt H-P, Ulbricht A, Becker R, Buscaroli A, Buerge D, Cross A, Dickinson D [...] Masek O, Mumme J, Carmona M, Calvelo R, Rees F, Rombolà AG, de la Rosa JM, Sakrabani R, Sohi SP, Soja G, Valagussa M, Verheijen FGA, Franz F. 2016. Toward the standardization of biochar analysis: The COST Action TD1107 interlaboratory comparison. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 64: 513–527
Novel Strategies for Carbon Storage in Soil, 2016/7 Course Book for PGGE11212/14, University of Edinburgh, School of GeoSciences, Edinburgh
Crombie, K., Mašek, O., Cross, A., Sohi, S.P.. 2014. Biochar–synergies and trade‐offs between soil enhancing properties and C sequestration potential. GCB Bioenergy 7:1161–1175
Crombie, K., Mašek, O. 2014. Pyrolysis biochar systems, balance between bioenergy and carbon sequestration. Global Change Biology Bioenergy.
Crombie, K., Mašek, O. 2014. Investigating the potential for a self-sustaining slow pyrolysis system under varying operating conditions. Bioresource technology 162: 148-156
Downloadable PDF of UKBRC pyrolysis facilities
Mašek O, Budarin V, Gronnow M, Crombie K, Brownsort P, Hurst P (2012) Microwave and Slow Pyrolysis Biochar - Comparison of Physical and Functional Properties. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis 100:41–48
Crombie, K., Mašek, O., Sohi, S.P.. Brownsort, P., Cross, A. (2013) The effect of pyrolysis conditions on biochar stability as determined by three methods, GCB Bioenergy, 5:122-131
Gronnow MJ, Budarin VL, Mašek O, Crombie KN, Brownsort PA, Shuttleworth PS, Hurst PR (2012) Torrefaction/biochar production by microwave and conventional slow pyrolysis – comparison of energy properties. Global Change Biology Bioenergy
Shackley, S., Sohi, S.P., Ibarrola, R.E., Hammond, J., Masek, O., Brownsort, P., Cross, A., Prendergast-Miller, M., Haszeldine, S. 2012, Biochar, Tool for Climate Change Mitigation and Soil Management. In: R Meyers (ed.), Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology, Springer Verlag, New York, pp. 913-961 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5770-1_6
Mašek, O., Brownsort, P., Cross, A., & Sohi, S. (2011). Influence of production conditions on the yield and environmental stability of biochar. Fuel. doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2011.08.044
Brownsort PA, Crombie K, Mašek O, Turrion-Gomez J 2011. Pyrolysis Biochar Syatems: Pilot Scale Pyrolysis Plant for 'Specified Biochar' Production. Paper presented at the 19th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, Berlin, Germany.
Brownsort PA and Mašek O 2011. Small-scale Continuous Pyrolysis Apparatus: capabilities and initial results. Poster presented in Biochar 2011, 3rd UKBRC Annual Conference, Edinburgh, UK.
Brownsort PA and Mašek O 2010. Pyrolysis Biochar Systems: Comparison of Climate Change Mitigation Effects of Slow, Intermediate and Fast Pyrolysis Processes. Paper presented in the 18th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, Lyon, France.
Brownsort PA and Mašek O 2010. Laboratory Scale Pyrolysis Apparatus. Poster presented in the 2nd UKBRC Annual Conference, Rothamsted, UK.
Mašek O and Brownsort PA 2010. Research on Production of Bespoke Biochar. Poster presented in the 2nd UKBRC Conference, Rothamsted, UK.
Shackley SJ and Sohi SP (eds) 2010. An assessment of the benefits and issues associated with the application of biochar to soil. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, London, UK.
Sohi SP, Shackley SJ, Haszeldine RS, Manning D and Mašek O 2009. Biochar, reducing and removing CO2 while improving soils:A significant and sustainable response to climate change. Evidence submitted to the Royal Society Geo-engineering Climate Enquiry, UKBRC Working Paper 2
Sohi SP, Shackley SJ, Mandy M, Pratt K, Lopez-Capel E,Haszeldine RS, Gaunt J, Masek O, Manning D, Cook J and Carter S 2009. Biochar: An Emerging Technology for Climate Change Mitigation?, Workshop proceedings, UKBRC Working Paper 1