Effect of aging process on adsorption of diethyl phthalate in soils amended with bamboo biochar

• Biochar amendment significantly enhanced the soil adsorption of diethyl phthalate (DEP).
• Aging can reduce the DEP adsorption to soils treated with biochar.
• The reduction was greater under the alternating wet and dry than that under constantly moist aging process.
• Soil organic carbon content can strongly affect the aging process of biochar.

Biochar is a carbonaceous sorbent and can be used as a potential material to reduce the bioavailability of organic pollutants in contaminated soils. In the present study, the adsorption and desorption of diethyl phthalate (DEP) onto soils amended with bamboo biochar was investigated with a special focus on the effect of biochar application rates and aging conditions on the adsorption capacity of the soils. Biochar amendment significantly enhanced the soil adsorption of DEP that increased with increasing application rates of biochar. However, the adsorption capacity decreased by two aging processes (alternating wet and dry, and constantly moist). In the soil with low organic carbon (OC) content, the addition of 0.5% biochar (without aging) increased the adsorption by nearly 98 times compared to the control, and exhibited the highest adsorption capacity among all the treatments. In the soil with high OC content, the adsorption capacity in the treatment of 0.5% biochar without aging was 3.5 and 3 times greater than those of the treatments of biochar aged by alternating wet and dry, and constantly moist, respectively. Moreover, constantly moist resulted in a greater adsorption capacity than alternating wet and dry treatments regardless of biochar addition. This study revealed that biochar application enhanced soil sorption of DEP, however, the enhancement of the adsorption capacity was dependent on the soil organic carbon levels, and aging processes of biochar.