Sinha, P.; Marchuk, S.; Harris, P.; Antille, D.L.; McCabe, B.K. Land Application of Biosolids-Derived Biochar in Australia: A Review. Sustainability2023, 15, 10909.
Sinha, P.; Marchuk, S.; Harris, P.; Antille, D.L.; McCabe, B.K. Land Application of Biosolids-Derived Biochar in Australia: A Review. Sustainability 2023, 15, 10909.
Sinha, P.; Marchuk, S.; Harris, P.; Antille, D.L.; McCabe, B.K. Land Application of Biosolids-Derived Biochar in Australia: A Review. Sustainability2023, 15, 10909.
Sinha, P.; Marchuk, S.; Harris, P.; Antille, D.L.; McCabe, B.K. Land Application of Biosolids-Derived Biochar in Australia: A Review. Sustainability 2023, 15, 10909.
Abstract
Thermal treatment in Australia is gaining interest due to legislative changes, waste reduction goals, and the need to address contaminants risks in biosolids used for agriculture. The resulting biochar product has the potential to be beneficially recycled as a soil amendment. On-farm management practices were reviewed to identify barriers that need to be overcome to increase recycling and examine the role of pyrolysis and gasification in effectively improving the quality and safety of biochar. Key findings revealed: (1) thermal treatment can effectively eliminate persistent organic pollutants, microplastics and pathogens, and (2) more than 90% of the total heavy metals content in biosolids become immobilized when these are converted to biochar, thus reducing their bioavailability following land application. While reported research on the short-term effects of biosolids-derived biochar suggested promising agronomic results, there is dearth of information on long-term effects. Other knowledge gaps include optimisation of land application rates, understanding of rate of breakdown and fate of contaminants in soil and water, heavy metal mobility in soil and bioaccumulation or transfer to the food chain. Improved understanding of nutrients and contaminants dynamics in soils receiving biosolids-derived biochar is a pre-requisite for their safe use in Australian agriculture, and therefore it is highlighted as priority area for future research.
Keywords
heavy metals; microplastics; organic pollutants; pyrolysis and gasification; sewage sludge; soil amendment; thermal treatments
Subject
Environmental and Earth Sciences, Waste Management and Disposal
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
