Effect of carrier gas change during sewage sludge or sewage sludge and willow pyrolysis on ecotoxicity of biochar-amended soil

Different pyrolysis conditions determine the properties of the biochar. The properties of biochar may affect directly or indirectly their influence on living organisms. The aim of this study was to determine the toxicity of biochar obtained under different conditions (temperature: 500 or 700 degrees C, carrier gas: N2 or CO2, feedstock: sewage sludge or sewage sludge/biomass mixture) after adding to the soil in long-term pot experiment (180 days). Biochars were added to the podzolic loamy sand at a 2% (w/w) dose. Samples were collected at the beginning of the experiment and after 30, 90 and 180 days. The bacteria Aliivibrio fischeri (luminescence inhi-bition - Microtox), the plant Lepidium sativum (root growth and germination inhibition test - Phytotoxkit F), and the invertebrate Folsomia candida (mortality and reproduction inhibition test - Collembolan test) were used as the test organisms. In the long-term perspective for most tests, changing the carrier gas from N2 to CO2 resulted in reduced toxicity of the biochar. A particularly beneficial effect of changing the gas to CO2 was observed for the solid-phase test with L. sativum. The CO2 during pyrolysis had the least beneficial effect on toxicity towards A. fischeri.

Automated summary

This study aimed to determine the toxicity of biochar obtained under different conditions and added to soil in a long-term experiment. The results showed that changing the carrier gas from N2 to CO2 reduced the toxicity of biochar, especially towards the plant L. sativum.