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Enhanced bioremediation of diesel range hydrocarbons in soil using biochar made from organic wastes

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Abstract

Hydrocarbon contamination due to anthropogenic activities is a major environmental concern worldwide. The present study focuses on biochar prepared from fruit and vegetable waste and sewage sludge using a thermochemical approach and its application for the enhanced bioremediation (biostimulation and bioaugmentation) of diesel-polluted soil. The biochar was characterized using FTIR (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy), elemental analysis, surface area analysis, and pore analysis. Adsorption experiments showed that hydrocarbon degradation was attributed to biological processes rather than adsorption. The study found that various biochar amendments could significantly increase the rate of hydrocarbon biodegradation with removal efficiencies > 70%. Bioaugmentation using cow dung further improved the removal efficiency to 82%. Treatments showing the highest degree of removal efficiency indicated the presence of 27 different bacteria phyla with Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria as the most abundant phyla. The present study concludes that biochar amendments have great potential for enhancing the bioremediation of soils contaminated with diesel range hydrocarbons.

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Data supporting the findings in this study are available within the article and its Supplementary Information files. Extra data are available from the corresponding author on request.

Funding

Funds for the study were provided by the Higher Education Commission, Islamabad (Pakistan).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, 45320, Pakistan

    Sadia Aziz, Muhammad Ishtiaq Ali & Asif Jamal

  2. Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, 45320, Pakistan

    Uzma Farooq

  3. Key Laboratory of Coal Processing and Efficient Utilization of Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, China

    Fang-Jing Liu, Huan He & Zaixing Huang

  4. College of Mining Technology, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, China

    Hongguang Guo

  5. Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, 82071, USA

    Michael Urynowicz & Zaixing Huang

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  1. Sadia Aziz
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Aziz, S., Ali, M.I., Farooq, U. et al. Enhanced bioremediation of diesel range hydrocarbons in soil using biochar made from organic wastes. Environ Monit Assess 192, 569 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-020-08540-7

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