Depicted as large polymers by the traditional model, humic substances (HS) tend to be considered resistant to biodegradation. However, HS should be regarded as supramolecular associations of rather small molecules. There is evidence that they can be degraded not only by aerobic but also by anaerobic bacteria. HS presence alters biological transformations of organic pollutants in water and soil. HS, including humin, have a great potential for an application in aerobic and anaerobic wastewater treatment as well as in bioremediation. Black carbon materials, including char (biochar) and activated carbon (AC), long recognized effective sorbents, have been recently discovered to act as effective redox mediators (RM), which may significantly accelerate degradation of organic pollutants in a way similar to HS. Humic-like coating on the biochar surface has been identified. Explanation of mechanisms and possibility of applications of black carbon materials have only started to be explored. Results of many original and review papers, presented and discussed in this article, show an enormous potential for an interesting, multidisciplinary research as well as for a development of new, green technologies for biological wastewater treatment and bioremediation. Future research areas have been suggested.

传统模型将其描述为大型聚合物，腐殖质（HS）往往被认为具有抗生物降解性。但是，HS应被视为相当小的分子的超分子缔合。有证据表明它们不仅可以被有氧细菌降解，而且还可以被厌氧细菌降解。HS的存在改变了水和土壤中有机污染物的生物转化。HS（包括腐殖质）在有氧和厌氧废水处理以及生物修复中具有广阔的应用前景。最近发现黑炭材料，包括炭（生物炭）和活性炭（AC），它们是长期公认的有效吸附剂，可作为有效的氧化还原介质（RM），以类似于HS的方式显着加速有机污染物的降解。已经确定了生物炭表面上的类似腐殖质的涂层。黑碳材料的机理和应用可能性的解释才刚刚开始探索。本文介绍和讨论的许多原始和评论论文的结果显示了有趣的，多学科的研究以及开发用于生物废水处理和生物修复的新的绿色技术的巨大潜力。已经提出了未来的研究领域。