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The agricultural use of biochar has been the focus of much research in the last decade due to the improvement of soil chemical, physical, and biological attributes. Nonetheless, Brazil still has no specific legislation for biochar, limiting its agricultural use.The objective of the present work is to evaluate the use of biochar produced from spent coffee grounds (SCG) and coffee parchment (CP) by slow pyrolysis at 700 °C according to the existing framework of the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food Supply (MAPA) legislation for organic fertilizer, soil conditioner or plant substrate. Biochar was characterized according to normative instructions No. 17, 31, 61, 7, 5 and 35. Although not required by the addressed legislation, the semitotal content of macro-and micronutrients was also determined. While CP biochar could be used as an organic fertilizer or plant substrate, SCG biochar, due to its higher Ni content and lower than required cation exchange capacity (CEC), did not meet MAPA legislation criteria to allow for its agricultural use. Future regulations can be based on the current standards, and structural attributes, such as total C content, particle size distribution, and complete macroand micronutrient determination should be included. Further research may also indicate the viability of biochar use as a soil conditioner based on a more representative set of biomasses with a higher CEC. These considerations will help to take advantage of the benefits of biochar to soil, contributing to a circular economy, which is still at a difficult stage in Brazil.

Coffee waste-derived biochar was found to immobilize heavy metals in contaminated soil, although there are few studies involving these materials. Given the large amount of waste generated in the coffee industry, this presents a relevant opportunity to contribute to the circular economy and environmental sustainability. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the application of biochars derived from coffee grounds and coffee parchment in the remediation of a Cd, Zn and Pb contaminated soil and at the development of jack beans (Canavalia ensiformis) in this area’s revegetation. The biochars were pyrolyzed at 700 °C, and the treatments were: contaminated soil (CT); contaminated soil + calcium carbonate (CaCO3); contaminated soil + 5% (weight (w)/weitght (w)) coffee ground biochar and contaminated soil + 5% (w/w) coffee parchment biochar. These treatments were incubated for 90 days, followed by the cultivation of jack beans for 60 days. Soil samples, soil solution and plants were analyzed for nutrients and heavy metals. The addition of coffee grounds and coffee parchment biochars significantly reduced the contents of heavy metals in the soil compared to the Control (32.13 and 42.95%, respectively, for Zn; 26.28 and 33.06%, respectively, for Cd and 28.63 and 29.67%, respectively, for Pb), all of which had a superior performance than the CaCO3 treatment. Thus, following the observed reduction in the soil soluble fraction of metals, its uptake by the plants was also reduced, especially limiting Cd and Pb accumulation in plant dry matter. In addition, coffee parchment biochar promoted a greater accumulation of nutrients in the shoots, i.e., for K and P (1450 and 21.5 mg pot−1, respectively, dry matter basis) compared to the control (54.4 and 9.3 mg pot−1, respectively). Therefore, coffee parchment biochar use in association with jack beans may represent a viable tool for the remediation of metal contamination concomitantly with revegetation of the contaminated area.