Effect of activated carbon or biochars on toxicity of different soils contaminated by mixture of native polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals

Abstract

Activated carbon (AC), biochar from wheat straw (BCS), and biochar from willow (BCW) were added to the soils sampled from areas of strong anthropogenic influence at doses of 0.5%, 1%, 2.5%, or 5% (w/w) and incubated for 2 mo. At the end of this period, the toxicity of the soils was measured. The effect of AC and biochars on the toxicity of the soils varied based on soil, type of amendment, dose, and test organism. For most of the parameters tested, the highest effectiveness of AC in terms of reduction of toxicity was observed in soil POPI (from bitumen processing plant area). In the case of the remaining soils, after the addition of AC varied results were observed, in which a reduction or an increase of toxicity, relative to the control soil, occurred. As in the case of AC, biochars also caused a significant reduction of phytotoxicity of soil POPI. In soils KB (from coking plant area, industrial waste deposit) and KOK (from coking plant area, coking battery), the reduction or increase of toxicity depended on biochar dose. Compared with the biochars, the effectiveness of AC in the reduction of toxicity depended also on soil, type of amendment, dose, and test organism. Generally, the AC was more effective than biochars in relation to mortality and reproduction of Folsomia candida (in all soils) and for reduction of luminescence inhibition of Vibrio fischeri (in POPI soil).

Co-application of biochar and titanium dioxide nanoparticles to promote remediation of antimony from soil by Sorghum bicolor: metal uptake and plant response

“…BET surface area of the biochar was determined to be 281.35 m 2 g -1 . The biochar doses were chosen based on the literature where effective immobilization of contaminants achieved in soil by biochars ( Kiran and Prasad, 2019 ; Kołtowski and Oleszczuk, 2016 ). The biochar levels of 2.5% and 5% were selected in this research.…”

Enhanced Benzofluoranthrene Removal in Surface Flow Constructed Wetlands with the Addition of Carbon

“…The average removal efficiency of BbFA in A-CW was up to 99.0 ± 0.23%, which was 10.6 and 1.2% higher than that in the Control and B-CW groups, respectively ( p > 0.05). The results reflected that both AC and biochar promoted the removal of BbFA in CWs, and could be attributed to the immobilization and adsorption of organic contaminants due to their hydrophobic properties . Brennan et al found that the AC has better performance for PAH reduction in porewater than biochar, while the biochar had larger particle sizes.…”

“…The results reflected that both AC and biochar promoted the removal of BbFA in CWs, and could be attributed to the immobilization and adsorption of organic contaminants due to their hydrophobic properties. 18 Brennan et al 19 found that the AC has better performance for PAH reduction in porewater than biochar, while the biochar had larger particle sizes.…”

Effect of Soil Polluted with Petroleum-Derived Substances during Bioremediation on the Occurrence of Collembola and Acarina

“…On the other hand, oribatid mite communities (which dominate among invertebrates inhabiting the topsoil) display a great variety of responses to heavy metals [23]. Features such as fertility and survival rate of Collembola are mentioned as greatly sensitive indicators of soil contamination with PAHs [24,25]. We also investigated Collembola and Acarina occurrence in soils polluted to various degrees with PAHs [26,27].…”