Parameters Optimization for Compressing a Mixture of Decomposed Rice Straw and Biochar into a Seedling-raising Mat

Transplanting is the prime growing pattern for rice production, and seedling raising is an essential step of the process. However, the massive soil source and the complicated treatments needed for seedling raising are major issues. This study explored the possibility of using compressed-decomposed rice straw and biochar from rice husk into a seedling-raising mat, to replace the soil and simplify the seeding process. A quadratic rotation-orthogonal combination experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of moisture content, pressure, and residence time on the formation of seedling-raising mat. The regression models between the compressing indicators and the process factors were established. The results showed that the following factors had significant effect on bending strength of the formed mat (P < 0.01): the pressure and residence time have extreme effects on dimensional stability (P < 0.01); but the influence of moisture content was insignificant (P > 0.05). The process parameters for compression were optimized and verified using Design-Expert software 8.0.6. The optimized parameters were moisture content of 33%, pressure of 23.0 MPa, and residence time of 61 s. The prediction error is less than 6% under this condition. The results may provide a reference for biomass seedling-raising mat compression.