Review : The Impact of Biochar Application in Remediation of Contaminated Soil

Biochar is the carbon rich co-product of pyrolysis or gasification of biomass. In order to remediate contaminated sites, bioremediation has often been employed successfully. The utilisation of biochar in such contaminated sites is suggested to be an important tool to enhance remediation by governing the mobility and fate of the pollutants as a soil amendment. When biochar is incorporated into soil can retain nutrients and other organic compounds. Positive impacts of biochar amendment on soils include: increasing soil capacity to sorb plant nutrients, consequently reducing leaching losses of nutrients; decreasing soil bulk density, leading to less-compacted soil conditions favorable for root growth and water permeability; increasing the soil cation exchange capacity; increasing soil microbial activity and diversity; increasing plant available water retention; and increasing crop yields.