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Biochars Affect the Mobility of Carcinogenic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Amended Soil and Their Bioaccumulation in Spinach

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Abstract

The long-term persistence of potentially carcinogenic pollutants, like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), in agricultural soil has attracted the world scientists for using various biochars to assess their applicability for reducing their mobility in soils and bioaccumulation in food crops. Experiments were conducted to check the influence of different biochars, like rice straw biochar (RSBC), sewage sludge biochar (SSBC), and soybean stalk biochar (SBBC), on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons mobility and bioaccumulation in spinach added at the rates of 2, 5, and 10% to polluted soil. The application of selected biochars reduced the mobility of PAHs; however, the results were more effective at a rate of 5%. The application of biochar considerably (P ≤ 0.05) minimized the bioaccumulation of PAHs in spinach, with decreases observed as 41–72% for RSBC, 15–37% for SSBC, and 38–69% for SBBC. The efficiency of RSBC in decreasing PAHs was more significant (P ≤ 0.05) at rates of 2% and 5% compared to SBBC and SSBC. These findings suggest that RSBC treatment will be more effective for remediating PAHs from the contaminated soils.

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Funding

This research work was financially assisted by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41271324), CAS-TWAS and CAS Young International Scientist programs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment (IUE), Chinese Academy of Science (CAS), Xiamen, 361021, China

    Muhammad Waqas, Sardar Khan & Cai Chao

  2. Department of Environmental Sciences, Kohat University of Science and Technology (KUST), Kohat, 26000, Pakistan

    Muhammad Waqas, Sardar Khan & Jawed Nawab

  3. Department of Environmental Science, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, 25120, Pakistan

    Muhammad Waqas, Sardar Khan, Isha Shamshad & Ihsan Ullah

  4. National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar (UoP), Peshawar, 25120, Pakistan

    Shah Jehan

  5. Department of Earth Sciences, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA

    Shah Jehan

  6. Department of Medicine, Khyber Medical College Peshawar, Peshawar, 25120, Pakistan

    Iqbal Haider

  7. College of Ecology and Environment, Hanian University, Haikou, 570228, Hanian, China

    Muhammad Amjad Khan

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  1. Muhammad Waqas
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Contributions

Dr. Muhammad Waqas and Dr. Sardar Khan designed and performed the experimental work in the Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment (IUE), Chinese Academy of Science (CAS), and sample preparation; finally analyzed all the samples; and developed the theoretical formalism.

Cai Chao helped to collect the organic biomasses such as sewage sludge, rice straw, and peanut biochar from native villages located close to Xiamen for the preparation of different biochar; also helped to collect soil from agricultural land located surrounding a big refinery plant in Fujian, China; helped in purchasing various chemicals; and supervised the findings of this research work.

Dr. Javed Nawab and Dr. Isha Shamshad performed the analytic calculations and performed numerical simulations.

Dr. Shah Jehan, Dr. Iqbal Haider, Dr. Ihsan Ullah, and Dr. Amjad Khan helped in the preparation of the graphs, provided critical feedback, helped shape the research and analysis, and helped in the writing of this manuscript. Finally, all authors discussed the results and contributed to the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Muhammad Waqas or Iqbal Haider.

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Waqas, M., Khan, S., Chao, C. et al. Biochars Affect the Mobility of Carcinogenic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Amended Soil and Their Bioaccumulation in Spinach. Water Air Soil Pollut 234, 386 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-023-06411-8

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