Biochar remediation of conventional and emerging organic contaminants in soils

Abstract

Due to increased industrialization, manufacturing, farming, pharmaceuticals, and utilization of various chemicals, con cerns regarding the release of organic contaminants (OCs) into the environment dramatically increased (Das et al., 2023; Sanderson et al., 2023). As the major sink for chemicals in the environment, the soil suffers much contamination from various pollutants, including organic chemicals (Huang et al., 2012). These organic chemicals are either conven tional organic contaminants (COCs), which include pesticides and herbicides, or emerging organic contaminants (EOCs), which comprise a different group of thousands of chemical compounds, such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), flame retardants, plasticizers, surfactants, metabolites, and industrial additives, etc. (Garcı´a et al., 2020). The contaminants contain chemical compounds such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes, poly chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), for example, phenanthrene, naphthalene, and benzo[a]pyrene. The presence of COCs and EOCs in the soil results in contamination of groundwater and accumulation of pollutants in the plants and food systems, posing a great threat to numerous nontargeted living species and public health, as the contaminants are toxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic (Pazos et al., 2010; Semple et al., 2003)