Pedosphere 25(5): 654--665, 2015
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2015 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
Biochar: An emerging panacea for remediation of soil contaminants from mining, industry and sewage wastes |
H. M. ANAWAR1, F. AKTER2, Z. M.
SOLAIMAN1 and V. STREZOV3 |
1School of Earth and Environment (M087) and UWA
Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western
Australia, Crawley WA 6009 (Australia) 2Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Sher-e-Bangla
Nagar Dhaka-1207 (Bangladesh) 3Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of
Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney NSW
2109 (Australia) |
ABSTRACT |
Mine tailings, waste rock piles, acid mine drainage, industrial
wastewater, and sewage sludge have contaminated a vast area of
cultivable and fallow lands, with a consequence of deterioration of
soil and water quality and watercourses due to the erosion of
contaminated soils for absence of vegetative cover.High concentrations
of toxic elements, organic contaminants, acidic soils, and harsh
climatic conditions have made it difficult to re-establish vegetation
and produce crops there. Recently, a significant body of work has
focussed on the suitability and potentiality of biochar as a soil
remediation tool that increases seed emergence, soil and crop
productivity, above ground biomass, and vegetation cover on mine
tailings, waste rock piles, and industrial and sewage
waste-contaminated soils by increasing soil nutrients and water-holding
capacity, amelioration of soil acidity, and stimulation of microbial
diversity and functions. This review addresses: i) the functional
properties of biochar, and microbial cycling of nutrients in soil; ii)
bioremediation, especially phytoremediation of mine tailings,
industrial waste, sewage sludge, and contaminated soil using biochar;
iii) impact of biochar on reduction of acid production, acid mine
drainage treatment, and geochemical dynamics in mine tailings; and iv)
treatment of metal and organic contaminants in soils using biochar, and
restoration of degraded land. |
Key Words: acid mine drainage, contaminated soil,
interaction, mine tailings, mining waste, phytoremediation,
phytostabilization, revegetation |
Citation: Anawar, H. M., Akter, F., Solaiman, Z. M. and Strezov, V. 2015. Biochar: An emerging panacea for remediation of soil contaminants from mining, industry and sewage wastes. Pedosphere. 25(5): 654-665. |
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