Peatlands are essential long-term carbon sinks, yet continued peat extraction for horticulture contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and ecosystem degradation. Here, we introduce artificial peat, a peat-formation-inspired material produced by selectively mimicking natural humification pathways under controlled alkaline conditions. Unlike conventional biomass conversion processes that aim for complete degradation, carbonization, or simple constituent replacement, this approach promotes controlled partial transformation of lignocellulosic biomass into artificial humic substances while preserving a stabilized fibrous framework. Batch and continuous processing routes operated under mild conditions (≤120 °C) using widely available feedstocks, including paludiculture biomass, wood residues, leaves, and agricultural by-products. Artificial humic acid yields ranged from 6.9 to 42.3 wt% in batch systems. Across both processing modes, carbohydrate fractions decreased and lignin underwent partial depolymerization followed by condensation into humified macromolecular structures, accompanied by a marked reduction of readily oxidizable organic matter. Multimodal analyses (elemental composition, Van Krevelen evolution, FTIR, microscopy/EDX, and oxidative thermogravimetry) revealed a transition toward oxygen-rich, condensed architectures with enhanced oxidative stability relative to raw biomass. The applied thermal–alkaline conditions are expected to promote hygienization and seed inactivation, while the conversion of labile biomass components into humic substances suggests improved chemical and potential biological stability. Produced within minutes rather than millennia, artificial peat combines humic functionality with preserved structural integrity, establishing a scalable and resource-efficient alternative to natural peat for sustainable growing media and carbon stabilization applications.
Marzban et al. (2026) studied this question.