Assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in biochar and biochar-amended agricultural soil from Southern Spain

9 páginas.-- 3 figuras.-- 2 tablas.-- 36 referenciasPurpose The goal of this study was to determine if the application of four biochars produced from different feedstock leads to soil contamination with the 16 US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in biochar-amended pots incubated under greenhouse conditions. Materials and methods The PAHs were extracted by Soxhlet and quantified by gas chromatography mass spectrometry in the biochars and in biochar-amended Calcic Cambisols on which Lolium perenne was grown under greenhouse conditions during 79 days. Three of the used biochars were produced by pyrolysis at 620 °C from wood chips, paper sludge, and sewage sludge, respectively. The fourth biochar was produced from old grapevine wood by the traditional kiln method. Results and discussion The Soxhlet extraction of the Σ16PAHs of pure biochars yielded between 959±62 (sewage sludge biochar) and 2613±1380 μg kg−1 (pine wood biochar) dry mass. The lowest abundance of PAHs of sewage sludge biochar is consistent with its very low content of organic carbon and the abundance of ashes. The PAH concentration of the wood biochar produced by kiln was six times higher than the wood biochar produced by fast pyrolysis, indicating thatThe Marie Skłodowska Curie actions of the European Union’s Seventh Framework People Programme (REA grant agreement n° PCIG12-GA-2012-333784-Biocharisma project) and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) (project PCGL2012-37041) are thanked for the financial support of the present study. Ph.D. J. M. de la Rosa thanks the COST Action TD1107 "Biochar as an option for sustainable resource management" for funding his Short- Term Scientific Mission at Agroscope ART (Zurich, Switzerland). The European Biochar Network (Biochar as option for sustainable resource management-COST action TD1107) and Bodegas Torres (Spain) are acknowledged for providing the biochar samplesPeer reviewe