The high dose of biochar reduces polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons losses during co-composting of sewage sludge and wheat straw

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of the biochar (BC) dose on solvent extractable (Ctot) and freely dissolved (Cfree) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) content during co-composting. A significantly better reduction of sigma 16 Ctot PAHs after 98 days occurred during composting with BC (for 1% of BC - 44% and for 5% of BC - 23%) than in the control (15%). Despite the relatively high reduction of Ctot PAHs in the experiment with 5% BC rate, the content of the PAHs was still the highest compared to other variants. Regarding Cfree PAHs, 5% rate of BC resulted in the best reduction of PAHs, while the 1% BC dose resulted in a lower reduction of Cfree than the control. For 1% BC, PAHs losses was more effective, and sequestration processes played a less significant role than in the experiment with 5% dose of BC. The total and dissolved organic carbon, and ash were predominantly responsible for Ctot and Cfree losses, and additionally pH for Cfree. The results of the experiment indicate that BC performs a crucial role in composting, affecting the Ctot and Cfree PAHs in the compost but the final effect strictly depends on the BC dose.