Abstract
In the present study, the biochar derived from sunflower husks was used as a mediator in the heterogeneous Fenton process. The physical and chemical characteristics were studied in terms of specific surface area, elemental contents, surface morphology, surface functional groups, thermal stability, and X-ray crystallography. The main aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of biochar in a heterogeneous Fenton process catalyzed by hematite toward the degradation of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) in Haplic Chernozem. The Fenton-like reaction was performed at a pH of 7.8 without pH adjustment in chernozem soil. The effects of operating parameters, such as hematite dosage and H2O2 concentrations, were investigated with respect to the removal efficiency of BaP. The overall degradation of 65% was observed at the optimized conditions where 2 mg g−1 hematite and 1.25 M H2O2 corresponded to the H2O2 to Fe ratio of 22:1. Moreover, the biochar amendment showed an increment in the removal efficiency and promotion in the growth of spring barley (Hordeum sativum distichum). The BaP removal was reached 75 and 95% after 2.5 and 5% w/w addition of biochar, respectively. The results suggested that the Fenton-like reaction's effectiveness would be greatly enhanced by the ability of biochar for activation of H2O2 and ejection of the electron to reduce Fe(III) to Fe(II). Finally, the presence of biochar could enhance the soil physicochemical properties, as evidenced by the better growth of Hordeum sativum distichum compared to the soil without biochar. These promising results open up new opportunities toward the application of a modified Fenton reaction with biochar for remediating BaP-polluted soils.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The raw/processed data required to reproduce these findings cannot be shared at this time as the data also forms part of an ongoing study.
References
Abdel-Shafy, H. I., & Mansour, M. S. M. (2016). A review on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: Source, environmental impact, effect on human health and remediation. Egyptian Journal of Petroleum, 25(1), 107–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpe.2015.03.011.
Ahmad, M., Rajapaksha, A. U., Lim, J. E., Zhang, M., Bolan, N., Mohan, D., et al. (2014). Biochar as a sorbent for contaminant management in soil and water: A review. Chemosphere, 99, 19–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2013.10.071.
Beesley, L., Moreno-Jiménez, E., Gomez-Eyles, J. L., Harris, E., Robinson, B., & Sizmur, T. (2011). A review of biochars’ potential role in the remediation, revegetation and restoration of contaminated soils. Environmental Pollution, 159(12), 3269–3282. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2011.07.023.
Black, C. A., Evans, D. D., & Dinauer, R. C. (1965). Methods of soil analysis: Part I (pp. 1–770). Madison, Wisconsin: American Society of Agronomy.
Chacón, F. J., Cayuela, M. L., Roig, A., & Sánchez-Monedero, M. A. (2017). Understanding, measuring and tuning the electrochemical properties of biochar for environmental applications. Reviews in Environmental Science and Biotechnology, 16(4), 695–715. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11157-017-9450-1.
Chen, S., Rotaru, A. E., Shrestha, P. M., Malvankar, N. S., Liu, F., Fan, W., et al. (2014). Promoting interspecies electron transfer with biochar. Scientific Reports, 4, 5019. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep05019.
Chia, C. H., Gong, B., Joseph, S. D., Marjo, C. E., Munroe, P., & Rich, A. M. (2012). Imaging of mineral-enriched biochar by FTIR, Raman and SEM-EDX. Vibrational Spectroscopy, 62, 248–257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vibspec.2012.06.006.
de Silva, P. T. S., Locatelli, M. A. F., Jardim, W. F., Neto, B. B., da Motta, M., de Castro, G. R., & da Silva, V. L. (2008). Endogenous iron as a photo-Fenton reaction catalyst for the degradation of Pah’s in soils. Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society, 19, 329–336.
Deng, J., Dong, H., Zhang, C., Jiang, Z., Cheng, Y., Hou, K., et al. (2018). Nanoscale zero-valent iron/biochar composite as an activator for Fenton-like removal of sulfamethazine. Separation and Purification Technology, 202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2018.03.048.
Duan, L., Naidu, R., Thavamani, P., Meaklim, J., & Megharaj, M. (2015). Managing long-term polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon contaminated soils: A risk-based approach. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 22(12), 8927–8941. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-2270-0.
Elnour, A. Y., Alghyamah, A. A., Shaikh, H. M., Poulose, A. M., Al-Zahrani, S. M., Anis, A., & Al-Wabel, M. I. (2019). Effect of pyrolysis temperature on biochar microstructural evolution, physicochemical characteristics, and its influence on biochar/polypropylene composites. Applied Sciences (Switzerland), 9(6), 7–9. https://doi.org/10.3390/app9061149.
Faheem, & DuKimHassanIrshadBao, J. S. H. M. A. S. J. (2020). Application of biochar in advanced oxidation processes: Supportive, adsorptive, and catalytic role. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-07612-y.
FAO. (2016). IUSS Working Group WRB. World reference base for soil resources 2014. International soil classification system for naming soils and creating legends for soil maps, 106, 181.
Ferrarese, E., Andreottola, G., & Oprea, I. A. (2008). Remediation of PAH-contaminated sediments by chemical oxidation. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 152(1), 128–139. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JHAZMAT.2007.06.080.
Gan, Q., Hou, H., Liang, S., Qiu, J., Tao, S., Yang, L., et al. (2020). Sludge-derived biochar with multivalent iron as an efficient Fenton catalyst for degradation of 4-Chlorophenol. Science of the Total Environment, 725, 138299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138299.
Gitipour, S., Sorial, G. A., Ghasemi, S., & Bazyari, M. (2018). Treatment technologies for PAH-contaminated sites: A critical review. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 190(9), 546. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-018-6936-4.
Gorovtsov, A., Rajput, V., Tatiana, M., Saglara, M., Svetlana, S., Igor, K., et al. (2019). The role of biochar-microbe interaction in alleviating heavy metal toxicity in Hordeum vulgare L. grown in highly polluted soils. Applied Geochemistry, 104, 93–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2019.03.017.
Haber, F. and Weiss J. (1934). The catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide by iron salts. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A-mathematical and physical sciences, 147(861), 332–351.
ISO 11269–1. (2012). Soil quality: Definition the influence of pollutants on the soil flora. part 1. Method for measuring root growth retardation.
ISO 23470. (2011). Soil quality–determination of effective cation exchange capacity (CEC) and exchangeable cations.
Jorfi, S., Rezaee, A., Moheb-Ali, G.-A., & Jaafarzadeh, N. A. (2013). Pyrene removal from contaminated soils by modified fenton oxidation using iron nano particles. Journal of environmental health science and engineering, 11(1), 17. https://doi.org/10.1186/2052-336X-11-17.
Jorfi, S., Samaei, M. R., Soltani, R. D. C., Khozani, A. T., Ahmadi, M., Barzegar, G., et al. (2017). Enhancement of the bioremediation of pyrene-contaminated soils using a hematite nanoparticle-based modified fenton oxidation in a sequenced approach. Soil and Sediment Contamination, 26(2), 141–156. https://doi.org/10.1080/15320383.2017.1255875.
Jun, L., Wei, H., Aili, M., Juan, N., Hongyan, X., Jingsong, H., et al. (2020). Effect of lychee biochar on the remediation of heavy metal-contaminated soil using sunflower: A field experiment. Environmental Research, 188(July), 109886. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.109886.
Jung, Y. S., Lim, W. T., Park, J., & Kim, Y. (2009). Effect of pH on Fenton and Fenton-like oxidation. Environmental Technology, 30(2), 183–190. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593330802468848.
Kanel, S. R., Neppolian, B., Jung, H., & Choi, H. (2004). Comparative removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using iron oxide and hydrogen peroxide in soil slurries. Environmental Engineering Science, 21(6), 741–751. https://doi.org/10.1089/ees.2004.21.741.
Kim, P., Johnson, A., Edmunds, C. W., Radosevich, M., Vogt, F., Rials, T. G., & Labbé, N. (2011). Surface functionality and carbon structures in lignocellulosic-derived biochars produced by fast pyrolysis. Energy and Fuels, 25(10), 4693–4703. https://doi.org/10.1021/ef200915s.
Kończak, M., & Oleszczuk, P. (2018). Application of biochar to sewage sludge reduces toxicity and improve organisms growth in sewage sludge-amended soil in long term field experiment. Science of The Total Environment, 625, 8–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.12.118.
Kuppusamy, S., Thavamani, P., Venkateswarlu, K., Lee, Y. B., Naidu, R., & Megharaj, M. (2017). Remediation approaches for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contaminated soils: Technological constraints, emerging trends and future directions. Chemosphere, 168, 944–968. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.10.115.
Laird, D. A., Fleming, P., Davis, D. D., Horton, R., Wang, B., & Karlen, D. L. (2010). Impact of biochar amendments on the quality of a typical Midwestern agricultural soil. Geoderma, 158(3), 443–449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2010.05.013.
Laurent, F., Cébron, A., Schwartz, C., & Leyval, C. (2012). Oxidation of a PAH polluted soil using modified Fenton reaction in unsaturated condition affects biological and physico-chemical properties. Chemosphere, 86(6), 659–664. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.CHEMOSPHERE.2011.11.018.
Li, F., Shen, K., Long, X., Wen, J., Xie, X., Zeng, X., et al. (2016). Preparation and characterization of biochars from eichornia crassipes for cadmium removal in aqueous solutions. PLoS ONE, 11(2), 7–9. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0148132.
Li, G. L., & LangGaoYangPengWang, Y. H. M. S. W. P. X. M. (2014). Carcinogenic and mutagenic potencies for different PAHs sources in coastal sediments of Shandong Peninsula. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 84(1–2), 418–423. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.04.039.
Li, Y., Yang, Y., Shen, F., Tian, D., Zeng, Y., Yang, G., et al. (2019). Partitioning biochar properties to elucidate their contributions to bacterial and fungal community composition of purple soil. Science of The Total Environment, 648, 1333–1341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.222.
Luo, Z., Wang, J., Song, Y., Zheng, X., Qu, L., Wu, Z., & Wu, X. (2018). Remediation of phenanthrene contaminated soil by a solid state photo-fenton reagent based on mesoporous magnetite/carboxylate-rich carbon composites and its phytotoxicity evaluation. ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 6(10), 13262–13275. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b02850.
Minkina, T. M., Linnik, V. G., Nevidomskaya, D. G., Bauer, T. V., Mandzhieva, S. S., & Khoroshavin, V. Y. (2018). Forms of Cu (II), Zn (II), and Pb (II) compounds in technogenically transformed soils adjacent to the Karabashmed copper smelter. Journal of Soils and Sediments, 18(6), 2217–2228.
Muruganandham, M., & Swaminathan, M. (2004). Photochemical oxidation of reactive azo dye with UV-H2O2 process. Dyes and Pigments, 62(3), 269–275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dyepig.2003.12.006.
Qin, Y., Zhang, L., & An, T. (2017). Hydrothermal carbon-mediated fenton-like reaction mechanism in the degradation of alachlor: Direct electron transfer from hydrothermal carbon to Fe(III). ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 9(20), 17115–17124. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b03310.
Riding, M. J., Doick, K. J., Martin, F. L., Jones, K. C., & Semple, K. T. (2013). Chemical measures of bioavailability/bioaccessibility of PAHs in soil: Fundamentals to application. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 261, 687–700. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2013.03.033.
Sazykin, I. S., Minkina, T. M., Grigoryeva, T. V., Khmelevtsova, L. E., Sushkova, S. N., Laikov, A. V., et al. (2019). PAHs distribution and cultivable PAHs degraders’ biodiversity in soils and surface sediments of the impact zone of the Novocherkassk thermal electric power plant (Russia). Environmental Earth Sciences, 78(19), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-019-8584-6.
Shaaban, A., Se, S., Merry, N., Mitan, M., & Dimin, M. F. (2013). Characterization of biochar derived from rubber wood sawdust through slow pyrolysis on surface porosities and functional groups. Procedia Engineering, 68, 365–371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2013.12.193.
Song, H., Wang, J., Garg, A., Lin, X., Zheng, Q., & Sharma, S. (2019). Potential of novel biochars produced from invasive aquatic species outside food chain in removing ammonium nitrogen: Comparison with conventional biochars and clinoptilolite. Sustainability (Switzerland), 11(24), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11247136.
Sun, H., & Yan, Q. (2008). Influence of pyrene combination state in soils on its treatment efficiency by Fenton oxidation. Journal of Environmental Management, 88(3), 556–563. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JENVMAN.2007.03.031.
Sushkova, S., Deryabkina, I., Antonenko, E., Kizilkaya, R., Rajput, V., & Vasilyeva, G. (2018a). Benzo[a]pyrene degradation and bioaccumulation in soil-plant system under artificial contamination. Science of the Total Environment, 633, 1386–1391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.03.287.
Sushkova, S., Minkina, M., Mandzhieva, S. S., Deryabkina, I. G., & Vasil’evaKızılkaya, G. K. R. (2017). Dynamics of benzo[α]pyrene accumulation in soils under the influence of aerotechnogenic emissions. Eurasian Soil Science, 50(1), 95–105. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229317010148.
Sushkova, S., MinkinaDeryabkina (Turina)MandzhievaZamulinaBauer, T. I. S. I. T., et al. (2018b). Influence of PAH contamination on soil ecological status. Journal of Soils and Sediments, 18(6), 2368–2378. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-017-1755-8.
Usman, M., Faure, P., Ruby, C., & Hanna, K. (2012). Remediation of PAH-contaminated soils by magnetite catalyzed Fenton-like oxidation. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 117–118, 10–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2012.01.007.
Usman, M., Hanna, K., & Haderlein, S. (2016). Fenton oxidation to remediate PAHs in contaminated soils: A critical review of major limitations and counter-strategies. Science of the Total Environment, 569–570, 179–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.06.135.
Vikash Kumar, K., & Sivasankara Raju, R. (2020). Statistical modeling and optimization of al-mmcs reinforced with coconut shell ash particulates. Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2696-1_67.
Vorobyova, L. A. (2006). Theory and practice chemical analysis of soils. GEOS, Moskow: Russian.
Wang, J., Luo, Z., Song, Y., Zheng, X., Qu, L., Qian, J., et al. (2019). Remediation of phenanthrene contaminated soil by g-C3N4/Fe3O4 composites and its phytotoxicity evaluation. Chemosphere, 221, 554–562. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.01.078.
Wang, S., Gao, B., Zimmerman, A. R., Li, Y., Ma, L., Harris, W. G., & Migliaccio, K. W. (2015). bioresource technology removal of arsenic by magnetic biochar prepared from pinewood and natural hematite. Bioresource technology, 175, 391–395. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2014.10.104.
Wang, W., Wang, Z., Yang, K., Wang, P., Wang, H., Guo, L., et al. (2020). Biochar application alleviated negative plant-soil feedback by modifying soil microbiome. Frontiers in Microbiology, 11, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.00799.
Wang, Y., Zhu, X., Feng, D., Hodge, A. K., Hu, L., & Lü, J. (2019). Catalyzed fenton-type degradation of ciprofloxacin. Catalysts, 9(12), 1062.
Watts, R. J., Stanton, P. C., Howsawkeng, J., & Teel, A. L. (2002). Mineralization of a sorbed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon in two soils using catalyzed hydrogen peroxide. Water Research, 36(17), 4283–4292. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0043-1354(02)00142-2.
Wilke, B. M. (2005). Determination of chemical and physical soil properties. In R. Margesin & F. Schinner (Eds.), Monitoring and assessing soil bioremediation (pp. 47–95). Heidelberg: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-28904-6_2.
Wu, M., Han, X., Zhong, T., Yuan, M., & Wu, W. (2016). Soil organic carbon content affects the stability of biochar in paddy soil. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 223, 59–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.02.033.
Xie, T., Reddy, K. R., Wang, C., Yargicoglu, E., & Spokas, K. (2015). Characteristics and applications of biochar for environmental remediation: A review. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 45(9), 939–969. https://doi.org/10.1080/10643389.2014.924180.
Yan, J., Qian, L., Gao, W., Chen, Y., Ouyang, D., & Chen, M. (2017). Enhanced Fenton-like degradation of trichloroethylene by hydrogen peroxide activated with nanoscale zero valent iron loaded on biochar. Scientific Reports, 7, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep43051.
Yang, G., Wang, Z., Xian, Q., Shen, F., Sun, C., Zhang, Y., & Wu, J. (2015). Effects of pyrolysis temperature on the physicochemical properties of biochar derived from vermicompost and its potential use as an environmental amendment. RSC Advances, 5(50), 40117–40125. https://doi.org/10.1039/c5ra02836a.
Yap, C. L., Gan, S., & Ng, H. K. (2011). Fenton based remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons-contaminated soils. Chemosphere, 83(11), 1414–1430. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2011.01.026.
Zhang, T., Lowry, G. V., Capiro, N. L., Chen, J., Chen, W., Chen, Y., et al. (2019). In situ remediation of subsurface contamination: Opportunities and challenges for nanotechnology and advanced materials. Environmental Science: Nano, 6(5), 1283–1302. https://doi.org/10.1039/c9en00143c.
Zhao, S. X., Ta, N., & Wang, X. D. (2017). Effect of temperature on the structural and physicochemical properties of biochar with apple tree branches as feedstock material. Energies., 10(9), 1293. https://doi.org/10.3390/en10091293.
Zhu, Y., Zhu, R., Xi, Y., Zhu, J., Zhu, G., & He, H. (2019). Strategies for enhancing the heterogeneous fenton catalytic reactivity: A review. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 255, 117739. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2019.05.041.
Zolfi Bavariani, M., Ronaghi, A., & Ghasemi, R. (2019). Influence of pyrolysis temperatures on FTIR analysis, nutrient bioavailability, and agricultural use of poultry manure biochars. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 50(4), 402–411. https://doi.org/10.1080/00103624.2018.1563101.
Funding
This research was funded by the Russian Science Foundation [project no. 20–14-00317].
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Mahmoud Mazarji: Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Investigation, Conceptualization, Supervision, Visualization, Writing-original draft preparation-review and editing. Tatiana Minkina: Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing-review and editing. Svetlana Sushkova: Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing-review and editing. Saglara Mandzhieva: Data curation, Methodology, Visualization, Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing-review and editing. Aleksei Fedorenko: Formal analysis, Methodology, Writing-review and editing. Tatiana Bauer: Data curation, Methodology, Visualization, Conceptualization. Alexander Soldatov: Conceptualization, Supervision. Anatoly Barakhov: Investigation, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology. Tamara Dudnikova: Investigation, Data curation, Formal analysis, Writing—review and editing, Methodology.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Ethical approval
Not applicable since the manuscript has not been involved the use of any animal or human data or tissue.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mazarji, M., Minkina, T., Sushkova, S. et al. Biochar-assisted Fenton-like oxidation of benzo[a]pyrene-contaminated soil. Environ Geochem Health 44, 195–206 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-020-00801-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-020-00801-1