Reversible plows are prone to uneven wear during cultivation, due to the complex and variable soil conditions, as well as high-intensity operational loads. High energy consumption of the tractors pulling can also shorten the service life of the reversible plows, thereby raising their operating costs. In this study, a self-sharpening plowshare was developed with high wear resistance using non-uniform wear regulation. Firstly, the wear patterns of the plowshare edge were investigated to determine the stress distribution in the three-sided wedge model. The force conditions on the plowshare edge were also obtained in the normal plane. The wear difference between the top face and bottom flank was calculated for a self-sharpening plowshare. According to the non-uniform wear characteristics of the plowshare, five sets of Co-WC/MoS₂ wear-resistant composite coatings were prepared with different chemical compositions using laser cladding technology in the laboratory. The wear behavior of these coatings was tested using a multifunctional friction and wear testing machine. The wear rate ratio between the coating and substrate was then calculated for each sample group. Finally, three representative coating protocols were selected to fabricate the plowshares, along with a control group of untreated conventional ones. The field tests were carried out under extreme sandy soil conditions across 60 hm² of cultivated land. The wear resistance and self-sharpening properties of the self-sharpening plowshares were evaluated to measure the plowshare width, edge thickness, and mass. Research indicates that the conventional plowshares were prone to rapid blade dulling and failure due to the differential stress distribution across their top face and bottom flank. The maximum wear difference between the conventional plowshare (Sample 1) and the self-sharpening sample (Sample 3) reached 14.02 mm after the wear and field tests. There was a great variation in the width during tests. The width loss rate at the front end of Sample 2 (0.08 mm/hm²) was 2.96 times that of Sample 3. While there were similar wear characteristics in the middle and rear sections. In plowshare edge thickness, Sample 1 exhibited the typical edge blunting after wear, with a 66.62% increase in the edge thickness after tilling 60 hm². In contrast, the self-sharpening plowshares (Samples 2 and 3) shared the edge thickness reductions of 26.90% and 17.00%, respectively, over the same 60 hm² tilling cycle. Although Sample 4 exhibited a low coating wear rate, its plowshare edge thickness closely matched the wear trajectory of uncoated Sample 1. In mass change, the self-sharpening plowshares demonstrated significant advantages during the 60 hm² tillage cycle. Sample 3 (with a coating-to-substrate wear ratio of approximately 1:3.67) exhibited a mass loss rate of 7.98 g/hm², while Sample 2 (with a coating-to-substrate wear ratio of approximately 1:2.38) shared a mass loss rate of 8.10 g/hm². The superior performance was achieved compared with Samples 1 and 4. A comparison indicated that the blunt edge growth rate was controlled below 0.03 mm/hm², when the wear rate ratio between coating and substrate was closest to 1:3.67 (as in Sample 3), indicating the optimal self-sharpening performance and the longest service life. Once the coating's wear rate was excessively high, the coating material failed to maximize the protection of the plowshare substrate. When the coating wear rate was too low, the prolonged wear caused greater top-layer abrasion than the bottom layer, thus thinning the plowshare edge for the fracture risk. The wear-resistant layer failed to fully exhibit its properties, similarly reducing the plowshare's performance. These research findings can provide the theoretical support and technical references to develop the high-performance plows. It is also of significant importance to advance the sustainable development of agricultural machinery.

The high value utilization of agricultural waste has emerged as an exceedingly attractive and highly challenging topic in the context of the "dual carbon" goal. Hydrogen energy, as a clean and efficient energy carrier, is widely recognized as the key to solving future energy crises and environmental pollution problems. Hydrogen, when produced and utilized properly, produces only water as a by-product, making it an ideal candidate for a sustainable energy transition. The technology of hydrogen production by water electrolysis has received a great deal of attention due to its green and sustainable characteristics. However, its large-scale application is severely limited by the development of efficient catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The HER is a critical step in water electrolysis, and a high-performance catalyst is needed to lower the energy barrier and increase the reaction rate. In this study, biomass pomelo peel powder was ingeniously selected as the carbon source to reduces the cost and environmental impact associated with traditional carbon sources. Amine metatungstate (AMT) was employed as the tungsten source. A biomass carbon-based composite catalyst material (WC/C) with nanosized tungsten carbide (WC) particles supported on carbon sheets was carefully prepared through a molten salt carbonization method. This method allows for precise control over the particle size and distribution of the WC nanoparticles on the carbon sheets, which is crucial for the catalyst's performance. To further enhance the performance of the WC/C catalyst, dicyandiamide and cysteine were added as the nitrogen source and sulfur source respectively. The exploration of N and S element doping on the structure, composition, and HER performance of the WC/C catalyst material was carried out with great care. N-S doping is expected to introduce new electronic states and structural defects in the catalyst, which may improve its catalytic activity. The results show that N and S element doping can significantly improve the HER activity of the WC/C@N-S catalyst. By altering the electronic structure of WC and generating lattice defects, the doping promotes electron transfer. The enhanced electron transfer allows for a more efficient utilization of the electric current during the water electrolysis process. Moreover, the generation of lattice defects increases the specific surface area, providing more active sites for the HER. When the hydrogen evolution performance in a 0.5 mol/L H₂SO₄ solution through water electrolysis was tested, the overpotential required for the WC/C@N-S catalyst to achieve a cathode current density of 10 mA/cm² was 158 mV, and the Tafel slope was 68 mV/dec. These results are quite remarkable compared to many existing HER catalysts, demonstrating excellent HER performance. The findings of this study provide a new and far reaching ideas for the high value utilization of agricultural biomass resources. It shows that agricultural waste can be transformed into high-performance catalyst materials, opening up new avenues for the circular economy in the agricultural sector. Additionally, the use of biomass carbon sources to replace traditional carbon sources in the preparation of low-cost novel hydrogen evolution catalysts has the potential to revolutionize the hydrogen production industry, making hydrogen production more accessible and sustainable in the long run.