Potentials of urban waste derived biochar in minimizing heavy metal bioavailability: A techno-economic review

Binaya Kumar Pattnaik; Rasmita Behera; Subhas Chandra Santra; Shuvasish Choudhury; Jayanta Kumar Biswas; Akbar Hossain; Debojyoti Moulick

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2025.111915

Potentials of urban waste derived biochar in minimizing heavy metal bioavailability: A techno-economic review

iScience. 2025 Jan 30;28(3):111915. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.111915. eCollection 2025 Mar 21.

Authors

Binaya Kumar Pattnaik¹, Rasmita Behera², Subhas Chandra Santra³, Shuvasish Choudhury⁴, Jayanta Kumar Biswas⁵, Akbar Hossain⁶, Debojyoti Moulick^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Environment Education and Research, Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University), Pune, Maharashtra 411043, India.
² Symbiosis Centre for Management Studies, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune, Maharashtra 411014, India.
³ Department of Environmental Science, University of Kalyani, Nadia, West Bengal 741235, India.
⁴ Plant Stress Biology and Metabolomics Laboratory, Department of Life Science & Bioinformatics, H.G. Khorana School of Life Sciences, Assam University, Silchar, Assam 788011, India.
⁵ Enviromicrobiology, Ecotoxicology and Ecotechnology Laboratory (3E-MicroToxTech Lab), Department of Ecological Studies and International Centre for Ecological Engineering, University of Kalyani, Kalyani, Nadia, West Bengal 741235, India.
⁶ Division of Soil Science, Bangladesh Wheat and Maize Research Institute, Dinajpur 5200, Bangladesh.

Abstract

Contamination of heavy metals (HMs) in agroecosystem presented an additional dimension of complexity along with the adverse consequences of climate change for the scientific fraternity. The increasing population and urbanization on the other hand are regarded as the main sources of urban waste (UW). Holistic utilization of UW-derived biochar (BC) has shown potential to be utilized as a source of soil supplement in the agriculture sector, fulfilling several sustainable development goals (SDGs). An attempt has been made to evaluate the techno-economical prospect, efficacy of UW-BC in remediation HMs from SDGs and circular bio-economy prospective. Current review has highlighted that biochar, when amended alone/in combination, enhances HMs remediation potential. Economic analysis of UW-BC reinforces its viability as a sustainable solution for waste management. Consequently, the application of UW-BC has the potential to contribute significantly to the achievement of multiple SDGs, warranting further research and increased investment in this field.

Keywords: Environmental management; Soil biology; Soil chemistry; Soil ecology; Soil science.

Publication types

Review