Treatment of crop straw has been an increasingly great challenge for China's agriculture and rural environment in the past decade. To break up institutional obstacles existing in straw treatment and burning ban, industrialized treatment for commercialized products has to be developed in line with market economy. Such industrialized treatment should focus on balanced utilization of energy and nutrients recycled in agriculture. In this review, biomass pyrolysis is introduced and its merits in straw treatment are discussed in detail. Addressing the properties and functions of biochar in soils and the agro-environment, we review the development of straw pyrolysis and biochar production, focusing on soil quality improvement and safe crop production in green agriculture. Industrialization of biomass pyrolysis and biochar production offers safe treatment of crop straw as well as new resources for agricultural production as biochar can be used to improve soil fertility, providing a green and innovative way for crop straw recycling. In the context of straw burning ban, the government is suggested to establish and improve subsidy policies for straw treatment, enhance supporting services for straw collection, and encourage the emerging industrial advantages of biomass pyrolysis to solve the problem of straw treatment through marketized development of green agriculture for developing sustainable agriculture in China.

crop straw  /  biomass pyrolysis  /  biochar  /  green agriculture  /  recycling